Fermenting Feed for Meat Birds

[RoseMarie1]

Hey, will you guys give me some ideas on designing a coop, the inside part? It will be 6'X18'. The back of it (18' across) faces north, the front faces south. The sides (6' deep), east and west. The front side that faces south is shaded by a metal roof that will cover the coop and run (one roof). I am putting a window in both east and west sides and the door will be in the middle of the south side. Once you go in the door I plan to have the roosts on the left and the nests on the right side. I may possibly make it where eggs can be gathered from the outside, below the window.

*Somewhere I need feed storage.
*Do I need windows in the front (south) side along with the door?
*Do I have to have a window in the north side? I'm thinking to just keep the north side sealed up good, no window.
*2X4's for the roosts, all one level or ladder-like? How much space?

I'd really appreciate some ideas. Thanks

I did mine ladder like to begin with and with Bee's help I changed them to all the same height. I like these MUCH better! NONE of them wanted to be on the bottom 2 rails of the ladder. Only the top one and some HAD to get on the next to the top one. But they sure didn't want to. I really really like the same height one and I think they do as well because it's not sooooo close to the roof which was sooooo hot. Now they are farther away from the roof and with the 2x4's laying flat on the 4" area that don't have any trouble with balancing acts all night long.

 

[RoseMarie1]

Sounds about the same...this place had a coop with no windows that was about 4x5, one tiny roost that fit 3 birds, for about 18 birds. They were trying to roost on the sides of some wooden boxes that were being used for nests but weren't able to get comfortable. The run was about 15x 10 but on the side of a hill.

There were tiny cages here and there full of manure and a little straw, one with a hen and several tiny chicks...they barely had room to pass one another as they moved around the cage.

It was sad, it stunk, it was a bare, muddy/poopy run and the coop was muddy and poopy. They did have good shade but I didn't see any feeders, so they are eating on the ground...on that poopy mud. Consuming their own feces and can't help it.

oh Bee that is SO SAD bless their hearts!

 

[RoseMarie1]

Change of plans. Decided there was no way to get FF into these boys without also feeding my flock up on FF...which I'm trying to keep my flock on forage right now with just a dab of FF, so it's a complication. But...God gave me an idea. YAY!

I have a place under shelter that is currently a lounging area for dog, cat and chooks. It holds the feed cans for dog and cat and the water for everyone. I'm going to take all the hay bales out of it, fence it off and put the extra birds in this holding area. It's spacious enough, it's airy enough, it's already got cedar shavings in it and I'll rake up some leaves to augment the existing bedding.

This takes care of so many things, though these birds won't get to free range...but it's soooooo much better than where they were! They won't give Toby any fits, they won't be riding my poor girls and they can be fed separately. They'll have fresh air, fresh water, good feeds and clean footing and that's better than they had before. I'll lose the benefit of getting them out on the grass but they've never seen green grass before, so they won't be missing anything.

I'll post pics when I get it all done and show you these $1 roosters!

Bee wondering IF you could allow them to free range say just an hour before dark time when you have gotten your others in their pen? That is once they figure out WHERE home is by staying in the area you're doing for them for a few days. Wondering IF you'd have trouble getting them back inside though? Some folks have several birds and they keep them separated and let some frr range at one time and then others at another time. Seems a hassle to me but for just a couple weeks it might work.

 

[Triple Willow]

I did mine ladder like to begin with and with Bee's help I changed them to all the same height. I like these MUCH better! NONE of them wanted to be on the bottom 2 rails of the ladder. Only the top one and some HAD to get on the next to the top one. But they sure didn't want to. I really really like the same height one and I think they do as well because it's not sooooo close to the roof which was sooooo hot. Now they are farther away from the roof and with the 2x4's laying flat on the 4" area that don't have any trouble with balancing acts all night long. 

Yes I had planned to do mine like yours unless there was a better reason to do it like a ladder. I wonder what the best height is off the ground?

 

[RoseMarie1]

Yes I had planned to do mine like yours unless there was a better reason to do it like a ladder. I wonder what the best height is off the ground?

oh I have no clue on that but it does need to be higher than your nest or they'll want to roost on the nesting area. lol Mines roost is about weight high I guess.

 

[Beekissed]

Oh poor birds!!!
On home made ACV.... Uh, may not be right and you can tell me but it seems to be working:
I crush and juice apples from my yard then mix it all back together with some water and put it in a jar with layers of netting to keep out the bugs. Set that in my canning cabinet... once a week I take off the mesh, cap and shake it up, put back on the cap...repeat until a good odor and that is my starter.

I have trouble finding the raw stuff in stores here and am soooo remote shipping to here stinks!

I guess it is like the cider from a press but everything is still there.
I make my applesauce without adding anything either so I have used that if I run out. Simply blended in a processor and frozen. Take out when I want it and let some set with water and cook with the rest.

How much more natural can it be without a "real" apple cider press?

Bee, any problem doing that?

Sounds better than good! That's how I made my first vinegar...just juiced my own apples and let it sit and draw in aceti. Took awhile but I had some very strong vinegar. The vinegar made that way is stronger than what one finds in the store, so a little dab will do ya!

Hey, will you guys give me some ideas on designing a coop, the inside part? It will be 6'X18'. The back of it (18' across) faces north, the front faces south. The sides (6' deep), east and west. The front side that faces south is shaded by a metal roof that will cover the coop and run (one roof). I am putting a window in both east and west sides and the door will be in the middle of the south side. Once you go in the door I plan to have the roosts on the left and the nests on the right side. I may possibly make it where eggs can be gathered from the outside, below the window.

*Somewhere I need feed storage.
*Do I need windows in the front (south) side along with the door?
*Do I have to have a window in the north side? I'm thinking to just keep the north side sealed up good, no window.
*2X4's for the roosts, all one level or ladder-like? How much space?

I'd really appreciate some ideas. Thanks

I'd place as many and as big of windows you can possibly place in at least two walls of the coop, if living in a warm clime, three walls. You can never have too much light and too much air and windows are easily covered in the winter with plastic if need be. They don't have to be actual windows one buys, but just a framed out hole in the wall with 1" welded wire over it and then an additional frame over the wire placement. This keeps the wire secure.

The last coop I had was built back in the 50s and the old fella had placed huge windows that covered almost the whole eastern wall and had built storm frames one could cover with plastic and had built turn latches to keep the frames in place. Each year I put them in place in the winter, took them down in the spring. LOVED that coop...the sun came in the windows in the morning and warmed things up, but the overhang was big, so then the coop was shaded for the rest of the day. I cut an additional window on the western side, higher up to get more airflow.

Chickens like to roost near a window so they can look out, so you might think of that when you build. Rosemarie mentioned the easiest and most efficient roost design...it's easiest for you and for the chicken if those roosts are at least 3- 4 ft. or higher so that you can easily access under the roosts without being a contortionist. I'd place the roosts on the north wall.

I'd place those nest boxes on your long south wall, with outside access...that way you don't have to go anywhere but the front of the building for all your chores. I'd make the outside access have single doors for each nest or each two nests. On the east wall, you could have space for a broody nests and pens...you could even give them their own pop door that leads to their own little run.

To the left of the door I'd have my feed cans and feeders. Life is easier if the feed storage is next to the door and the feeder is next to the feed. I'd place water next to the door but to the right between the door and the nesting area. Helps to have the water next to the door as well.

I'd build a wall cupboard to the right of the door that mimicked and was built just like the nest boxes, but as storage space for equipment and such. It could blend in with your nest box unit and look like part of the whole thing from the outside. You could even give it outside access as well.

There...that's how I'd do it if I were building it and designing it.

Bee wondering IF you could allow them to free range say just an hour before dark time when you have gotten your others in their pen? That is once they figure out WHERE home is by staying in the area you're doing for them for a few days. Wondering IF you'd have trouble getting them back inside though? Some folks have several birds and they keep them separated and let some frr range at one time and then others at another time. Seems a hassle to me but for just a couple weeks it might work.

My others don't go to the roost until dusk, so too late to let out the roosters then. I've changed my mind yet again and am going to form them a bachelor pen out on the grass with a roll of fencing I have here. Not very large but sufficiently so, that can be moved easily and be sheltered on one end with some tin roofing I have. That gives them sunshine and grass, shade and air on all sides and it keeps their poop out in the grass.

 

[Lacy Blues]

Quote:

Ok! I have grit! Is it alright to use the medicated? I also only have layer mash and boss right now. Can I just use these until I can get some grains? I have a hard time finding grains around here. Unless I want to order a large quantity which I don't have room for. How much wheat, oats ect., do you all buy at once and what other grains do you use? I only have about 30 chickens.

You can use medicated. Of course its not optimal but it's better than nothing.

If they carry All Flock, you can start your chicks on this and its not medicated.

I used to have to order non-medicated feed at my local supplier too. I only had to prepay and they would get as many bags as I ordered. So, I ordered every other week when they were placing their order. They would pick it up and bring it to town. Ask your supplier if you can order just a few bags at a time? Also, you may be able to get whole grains the same way.

 

[hogster160]

Picked up 6 roosters of indeterminate breeds from a place tonight...you don't want to hear about the conditions in which they were living. Suffice to say, it was not Bee's idea of healthy, humane chicken life. I'll be doing these boys a favor by killing them. They seem reasonably healthy despite their environment, though ragged, pitiful and stinking to the high heavens. Four out of the 6 are heavy boys, so they've been getting a lot of feed at least. It's molt season, so it could account for the ragged appearance, though not the dull feathering.

They were not BOs, RIRs, Leghorns or anything resembling these breeds but looked like a duke's mixture of several breeds and who in the world would know the original breeds in the mix? Doesn't matter, though, because soup doesn't have a breed name.

And one lonely Silkie..oh, the shame of having a foo-foo bird on my land and in my coop.

What if I fall in love with all the fluffy loveliness of him and can't kill him????

They will be treated for external parasites and even internal parasites with a dose of castor oil apiece, internally, and also on the legs and feet. They will also be dusted with Pyrethrin, just as a precaution. Then they will be fed on free range and FF for two weeks before meeting a quick knife. I'll give them 2 wks to get the taste of filth out of their meat and the smell off their bodies. Toby will be having a total FIT all the while with having all these competitors and all of them younger and faster. If the biggest one gets the better of him, I'll kill him much sooner. Toby will be king here for awhile longer.

Well, I'm glad you saved them from the crap pit. Even though they are meant for soup, they deserve the best life they can have, and I know you will give them that. As far as the silkie goes, can't help you with that one. I'm of the opinion, a chicken should look like a chicken. So I suppose it fits the bill. Just don't go painting its toe nails and adding bling, and you should be good lol


Quote:

I tried to put in my favorites, but it put the whole thread there. I didn't think of copy/paste. I just started using foxfire last week, so I'm still learning it. Not that it is any harder than internet exp. but finding where everything is. I think when I tried to save it in favorites, it was on internet explorer. I will try it with foxfire.
Thanks!

I generally click on the post number of what I want to save in foxfire, that way it will take me right to that post. But it does save the whole thread. I'm probably doing it all wrong, I'm sure there is an easier way, its just how I do it lol

Sounds better than good! That's how I made my first vinegar...just juiced my own apples and let it sit and draw in aceti. Took awhile but I had some very strong vinegar. The vinegar made that way is stronger than what one finds in the store, so a little dab will do ya!


I'd place as many and as big of windows you can possibly place in at least two walls of the coop, if living in a warm clime, three walls. You can never have too much light and too much air and windows are easily covered in the winter with plastic if need be. They don't have to be actual windows one buys, but just a framed out hole in the wall with 1" welded wire over it and then an additional frame over the wire placement. This keeps the wire secure.

The last coop I had was built back in the 50s and the old fella had placed huge windows that covered almost the whole eastern wall and had built storm frames one could cover with plastic and had built turn latches to keep the frames in place. Each year I put them in place in the winter, took them down in the spring. LOVED that coop...the sun came in the windows in the morning and warmed things up, but the overhang was big, so then the coop was shaded for the rest of the day. I cut an additional window on the western side, higher up to get more airflow.

Chickens like to roost near a window so they can look out, so you might think of that when you build. Rosemarie mentioned the easiest and most efficient roost design...it's easiest for you and for the chicken if those roosts are at least 3- 4 ft. or higher so that you can easily access under the roosts without being a contortionist. I'd place the roosts on the north wall.

I'd place those nest boxes on your long south wall, with outside access...that way you don't have to go anywhere but the front of the building for all your chores. I'd make the outside access have single doors for each nest or each two nests. On the east wall, you could have space for a broody nests and pens...you could even give them their own pop door that leads to their own little run.

To the left of the door I'd have my feed cans and feeders. Life is easier if the feed storage is next to the door and the feeder is next to the feed. I'd place water next to the door but to the right between the door and the nesting area. Helps to have the water next to the door as well.

I'd build a wall cupboard to the right of the door that mimicked and was built just like the nest boxes, but as storage space for equipment and such. It could blend in with your nest box unit and look like part of the whole thing from the outside. You could even give it outside access as well.

There...that's how I'd do it if I were building it and designing it.

My others don't go to the roost until dusk, so too late to let out the roosters then. I've changed my mind yet again and am going to form them a bachelor pen out on the grass with a roll of fencing I have here. Not very large but sufficiently so, that can be moved easily and be sheltered on one end with some tin roofing I have. That gives them sunshine and grass, shade and air on all sides and it keeps their poop out in the grass.

I should have had you design the inside of my coup, that makes so much sense! I may have to redo some things lol. Had the ladder style roost, already changed that. Now all one level roost on W and N wall. And of course, they all want to be on the W wall for when the sun comes up, silly birds. No outside nesting boxes for us. They are on the N wall under the poop board, no curtains, but I am exploring that idea a bit. The grand baby gets the eggs, poop boards are at 4' with roosts a little higher. SW corner has my brooder area, mama and babies are there. But no food stored in there or water. All in the garage, which really is on my way to the coop so not a problem. I do like the idea of a little pop door from my broody area. That is so do able. Their run is actually right outside next to the coop. I may have to use that one, even though hubby seems to thing the whole chick thing will be done soon. He really doesn't under stand chicken math. Or that that same area can be used for a hurt chicken, she then would still be able to go outside with out much help from me. and still be part of the flock. Or from the bully who needs to be put in her place. Man, yea I so think I am doing this!

Thanks TW for asking, and Thanks Bee for answering! I have work to do! Although I suppose the chickens would be happy if I at least waited until they got up!

 

[Triple Willow]

I'd place as many and as big of windows you can possibly place in at least two walls of the coop, if living in a warm clime, three walls.  You can never have too much light and too much air and windows are easily covered in the winter with plastic if need be.  They don't have to be actual windows one buys, but just a framed out hole in the wall with 1" welded wire over it and then an additional frame over the wire placement.  This keeps the wire secure. 
I saw some "real" windows at a second hand store the other day. They were the actual double glass modern kind, approx 2'X3' size. I'm thinking at least one and maybe two in the E and W sides of the coop on the 6' walls.

The last coop I had was built back in the 50s and the old fella had placed huge windows that covered almost the whole eastern wall and had built storm frames one could cover with plastic and had built turn latches to keep the frames in place.  Each year I put them in place in the winter, took them down in the spring.  LOVED that coop...the sun came in the windows in the morning and warmed things up, but the overhang was big, so then the coop was shaded for the rest of the day.  I cut an additional window on the western side, higher up to get more airflow. 

Chickens like to roost near a window so they can look out, so you might think of that when you build.  Rosemarie mentioned the easiest and most efficient roost design...it's easiest for you and for the chicken if those roosts are at least 3- 4 ft. or higher so that you can easily access under the roosts without being a contortionist.  I'd place the roosts on the north wall. 
How much roost space would each chicken require? I will build the complete roost on hinges so when I need to get under it to clean or whatever I can just lift the whole thing up out of the way. Since the entrance door is in the middle of the South facing 18' wall, I figured the roosts would be more out of the way to the left, on the W wall. That would be sitting in front of two window. I just have to figure our how to have access to the windows too.
I'd place those nest boxes on your long south wall, with outside access...that way you don't have to go anywhere but the front of the building for all your chores.  I'd make the outside access have single doors for each nest or each two nests. On the east wall, you could have space for a broody nests and pens...you could even give them their own pop door that leads to their own little run.
The S wall is inside of the covered run. I will have the entrance to the coop in the middle of the S wall (inside the run). The nests would have to be on the E wall to have outside access. I will have to see if it is possible to put two windows and nests on that 6' E wall. The walls on the E and W sides are only six feet tall. The broody nest and pen is an excellent idea. I will find a place for it for sure.

To the left of the door I'd have my feed cans and feeders.  Life is easier if the feed storage is next to the door and the feeder is next to the feed.  I'd place water next to the door but to the right between the door and the nesting area.  Helps to have the water next to the door as well.  
I'm thinking of having some kind of narrow shelf or table and putting my feed in totes up on it. That way the feed will not take up any of their floor space. The run willl be completely covered so feeding and watering out there will never be an issue. I do believe a water supply in the coop would be good though??? I could actually store the feed out in the run on a shelf because it is covered.
I'd build a wall cupboard to the right of the door that mimicked and was built just like the nest boxes, but as storage space for equipment and such.  It could blend in with your nest box unit and look like part of the whole thing from the outside.  You could even give it outside access as well. 
Is there any reason not to have a dirt floor?

There...that's how I'd do it if I were building it and designing it. 

 

[Triple Willow]

@Hogster... Thanks for your input! I'd like to hear from everybody. We could build a chicken mansion if we put all our ideas together! ...and had the $$$ of course. lol Most of the money on mine has gone into the roof and frame because of the rain we get in the spring and fall. The rest will be what I find here and there. lol