Renovating 2 stalls of a barn (more like a glorified lean-to, lol) on our property into a home for our first chickens and needless to say, we have lots of questions. The back wall is solid except for a small gap caused by corrugated tin roofing, and there is one other solid wall. We're in West TN so weather goes upper 20's to just over 100 in summer, and the barn is on hill - it gets good drainage and breezes. We plan to start with 5-10 chickens and the space is 10X14' with a dirt floor. So that's the background, onto the questions!
1) How big should nesting boxes be? 12" square looked puny to me, and 16" causes math. Do chickens need turn around room and such?
2) How wide should perches be? I'm thinking no more than 3-4" or else their butts will be getting them all poopy.
3) Is a dirt floor okay? Do we need to pour concrete?
4) What equipment do you consider a must have for your henhouse?
5) Can you use grass clippings for litter on the floor? I'm afraid they'll be too wet, but they are free...
I'm sure I'll be posting more questions as soon as I remember what my dh told me to ask...
1) How big should nesting boxes be? 12" square looked puny to me, and 16" causes math. Do chickens need turn around room and such?
2) How wide should perches be? I'm thinking no more than 3-4" or else their butts will be getting them all poopy.
3) Is a dirt floor okay? Do we need to pour concrete?
4) What equipment do you consider a must have for your henhouse?
5) Can you use grass clippings for litter on the floor? I'm afraid they'll be too wet, but they are free...
I'm sure I'll be posting more questions as soon as I remember what my dh told me to ask...