EDUCATIONAL INCUBATION & HATCHING CHAT THREAD, w/ Sally Sunshine Shipped Eggs

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ChickenCanoe said:
Quote:
Much depends on the size of the coop and the environment.
Most people suggest to keep drafts off of the chickens.
An opening low and big openings high will allow fresh air to enter at the bottom and let moisture and ammonia escape through the upper openings.
I have ridge vents on all my peak roofed buildings However, they're worthless with several inches of snow on them.

I, on the other hand, don't subscribe to any of that.
Chickens can live in trees - until an owl or raccoon eats them. So could someone tell me how to keep drafts out of a tree?
The only reason to have a coop is to keep them safe from predators and to keep the rain off of them at night.
Chickens can live quite nicely in open sided buildings.

In the early days of commercial poultry production (early 1900s), they closed the birds up in buildings at night and it was quite common to lose 70% of the birds through the winter. The reason wasn't well understood.
Most thought it was cold, but some thought it could be bad air.
A big poultry farmer decided to cut one entire wall out of all his buildings. Snow would blow into the building but he didn't lose a single bird the first winter.

I believe that fresh air is more important than water and nutrition for chickens.
Every time I build a building it has bigger openings than the one before.
My breeder complex has huge windows at roost height on both the east and west walls. The wind blows right through the building across the birds. I only close off one window if a huge storm is coming through and then only the windy side.
I've lost birds to heat but never to cold. It ranges from -19F to 112F here.



Another thing to keep in mind with the coop design is to arrange roosts, chicken doors and nest boxes so the chickens don't need to walk under the roosts to go from the outside to the nests. Otherwise they'll track feces into the nests.
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Agree with the ventilation. On one coop the entire gable ends are 1/2 hardware cloth. The "boards" are old scaffold boards that are nailed with 1/2 spacing. The windows are always open. This is the most closed in coop I have the rest have only three sides or only a roof with side protection at the roost height.
Like you said wild chickens and around here the wild turkeys survive plenty well without coops.
 
BantyChooks said:
Nope and nope. Got Chrissy to pick up a piece of food in her bill, and I though she was gonna eat.... Nope. She spit it out. :th
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Have you tried making a purée out of her food? When I had mono swallowing really hurt. Maybe a more liquid food you could scoop/put in her bill would help.

I am on parking lot duty at church for the service and then home to chores. Such an exciting Christmas Eve so I understand. I am going to a friend's for the day tomorrow though. The two of us may ride. I hope you have plans then.
 
daxigait said:
Have you tried making a purée out of her food? When I had mono swallowing really hurt. Maybe a more liquid food you could scoop/put in her bill would help.

I am on parking lot duty at church for the service and then home to chores. Such an exciting Christmas Eve so I understand. I am going to a friend's for the day tomorrow though. The two of us may ride. I hope you have plans then.
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Yes, same result. How she can spit ALL of that mushy stuff I'll never know, but she did it....
She flat out refuses egg and tuna, won't even pick it up.....

Plan for tomorrow is going to church..... Nothing out of the ordinary.

Fire Ant Farm said:
Did you try the sugar water?
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No, not yet; completely slipped my mind.
 
Last edited:
BantyChooks said:
Quote:
Give it a shot, maybe it'll help.
fl.gif
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