FIRST TIME chicken owner

[Tookie]

Welcome! Good luck with your flock!

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Welcome to BYC @Dita Orlik

 

[chrissynemetz]

Welcome to BYC! It's nice to meet you! Please make yourself at home here!

 

[Blue Raptor]

Hello. Thank you for accepting me. I have received the 3 day old baby chickens over 9 weeks ago. I have built chicken coop 5’ off the ground( I have to dig it out on one side still) and made semi open chicken run. For 4 weeks they sleep there locked up inside the coop since 8:30 pm till 6:30 am. They can go in and out of my run and free range. I have 4+ hawks everyday waiting for their chance and 3 owl coming day and night also. I have 3 free roaming coonhounds keeping coyotes and raccoons far away. I have posted one question but I don’t think anyone answered. Do chickens in the wild frequently change their sleeping spot? Will owl enter the coop if she can’t see the chickens inside? I would be grateful if you know the answers to this please. Thank you again!

Welcome to BYC! I agree with SilverBirds and TwoCrows.

 

[sourland]

Hello, and welcome to BYC. If birds are frequently changing their sleeping spots, they are probably being harassed by predators. Yes, owls will enter a coop searching for birds.

 

[N F C]

Hello, best of luck with your flock!

 

[Burnt Brass Homestead]

Hi Dita

Welcome!

 

[Dita Orlik]

Welcome to BYC! You've come to a great place to get answers to your questions, and share stories and photos. We love photos! And we'll probably have a whole bunch of questions for you, too. Like this one: where in the world are you posting from?


It sounds like you have a very challenging environment. I never thought of putting a coop so far above the ground, but I can certainly see why you would. With the hounds keeping guard, and the height - sounds like raccoons would not be able to get up to it before a dog gets him!
Is it really balanced on top of those T-posts? How does it handle high winds? How do your chickens get up there? Is it a long ramp or a series of jumps/bars to reach it? How do you secure it at night?
You are fortunate to have such well-trained and controlled dogs. It's interesting to hear about how your chickens can free-range in this arrangement with all those predators lurking nearby and hovering overhead. Oh my.


@Allsfairinloveandbugs answered, but you posted within someone else's thread here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coyote-killing-free-range-hens.212879/page-3#post-26897705
(scroll down to see your post and the answer below it)
So it didn't get wide exposure, such as you're getting with posting your own thread here. Be sure you have notifications turned on in your settings/preferences, so you'll see the little bell above, in the menu bar, highlighted whenever there's a reply to something you've posted, wherever you post it.


I have no idea, but I'll tag this guy, maybe he will know: @Shadrach


I don't know that either, but is it worth taking a chance? Please find a way to seal up the entrances with wire cloth or something similar, so they keep the ventilation they need but avian predators can't get in, day or night.

Thank you for the answers.

 

[Dita Orlik]

Thank you for the answers.

My coop is build on only one 4x6 post and has 1/2” wire cloth for the floor except were the nest boxes in the corners are. When they are old enough I will move the run 10’ away so the raccoon can’t jump there, the post will have metal sheeting so nothing will climb there, the coop will have metal sheeting 20”wide around so if something can jump higher than 5’ with their front paws and under the overhang roof it will not be able to use hind legs to climb there. The wire cloth will have 1” holes than that I don’t have to clean it and the entrance will be always open once I will test that owl. The run will be just like now like a jungle looking but many exits for the chicks to escape and hard for the stray dogs to apprehend them. They are spending time all around in the bushes and under the cars or trailers strategically placed no further than 15’ all around my house. The coop is only 35-40’ feet away. Because they move through out the day their poop doesn’t pile up and doesn’t stink. You can see in the run is vegetation and not plain dirt. Since I camouflage the entrance the owl is not lurking from the tree every night. It is working progress, I am learning from the chicks as I go. The food and water is in the coop of the ground only. The side facing the house is where that blue seat is. Because I let the nature to my door steps also the wild birds are a huge help to alert if danger, like crows spot the cougar or bobcat and make a huge noise. So what do you think? Is this going to work? The entrance is facing the run, you cant even see it ..

 

[swampfox440]

Welcome to BYC!