FLORIDA!!!!!ALWAYS SUNNY SIDE UP!!!

[dawg53]

I purchased 20 bales of hemp from New Country Organics. They were $19.95 each and shipping was $224 total. This comes out to $623 total or $31.15 per bale (5 cubic foot bags). This is far less costly than any other place I could find online. I live south of Orlando. Does anyone else want to go in on this with me when I am ready for my next order? It gets even cheaper up to a pallet load as the $224 was a flat rate for the shipping. The bedding itself was $399. You can get up to 27 bales for that shipping price. If there are people in central Florida interested in going in on this together, I don’t mind paying up front, storing it and then redistributing it but people would need to pick it up at my house in Lake Wales FL. I live about 1.5 hours from Tampa and Orlando.

A bale of hay is cheaper, just dont smoke it.

 

[dawg53]

Hi everyone! I currently live in South Texas but am relocating to the Gainesville area for a job next month. I'm very excited! I'm bringing about 15 of my chooks with me.

Welcome to Florida. Watch out for those Gators down there, they're sore losers.

 

[cmom]

A bale of hay is cheaper, just dont smoke it.

 

[cmom]

Happy New Year 2020... Good luck and have fun...

 

[Bbrothers]

Hi! I live in Ocala and want to build a coop for my chicks and am a little overwhelmed by the options! New chick momma here.

1) First off I like the appeal of the DLM in the coop because it seems to be less work (I’ve got three kids 4 and under so I already deal with a lot of poop) but I heard it gives off a lot of heat. That’s the biggest concern for me right now as it gets so hot in the summer. Any experience with DLM in Florida? So I need a special set up to do it???
2) Another option that seemed easier than changing out pine shavings daily is using sand and scooping out like a litter box.

We have a bunch of free wood and are
Ready to build so any pointers are helpful. I literally know nothing about coops. I found a coop I love but I am afraid it will be too warm for Florida.

We have a small lot right outside of city limits (neighbors are in the city limits so basically feels like city). Visual appeal is definitely important to me but I obviously want it to function well for my chicks and us.

Pictured below is a coop I love and also my boy holding one of his chicks.

 

[Paula321]

That coop is adorable. How many chickens are you planning to house there? Will they have any access to free range?

I live inLake Wales about two hours south of you. if it is large enough, I would modify it so you can still walk inside but with stairs so the chickens have full access to go under the coop. I would also make a huge window (practically the whole coop wall) between the coop and the run. This could stay open all summer. Then put an opening on the side with the nesting boxes and the back with shutters so you can keep those open all winter.

I’ve only had chickens for three months now. We spend hours walking them around our property daily. It is so sweet and lovely adding them to a

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I live near the GA border but I’m from Ocala. Ocala will get freezes, but nothing that necessitates heavy duty winter quarters. The traditional Florida coop faces south and is either open on all sides except the north side or open on just the south side and enclosed on the 3 other sides. Either way gives the chickens some blockage of the north wind in winter but allows for more air circulation in the summer. If enclosed on the sides, the bottoms of the sides are off the ground so air can circulate at ground level. That allows the waste to get air and break down. The inside or the coop is nothing but stepped roosting boards. Nest boxes go on the outside of the coop, not the inside. Open coops like this don't get stinky. That's their primary advantage in dealing with Florida's heat and humidity. But that may not be a practical setup for you living in the city. That kind of coop is what was traditionally seen on old Florida homesteads in the woods. The coop wasn't meant to provide predator protection. The dogs and maybe the run did that.

On my current farm my largest coop is an enclosed shed that I converted to a coop. It has one north-facing window and a large west-facing window on the door. Both windows are wired over. I use the DLM in that coop. Once the litter starts breaking down I don't find the coop all that stinky. But it does look funky inside. You have to let nature take its course and let big piles of poop break down. Sometimes mushrooms grow in it. If you get to disturbing it all too much by removing large chunks of the bedding, you'll end up removing a lot of the beneficial microbes and whatever else is growing in it and it will get stinky. I did a 2/3rds change out in the fall and that absolutely started my DLM at square 1. I use mostly bahai hay and pine shavings as my bedding. I prefer the bahai when its available. I cut it off my yard, bag it, and transport it all over the farm for animal bedding and compost piles.

That same coop could probably benefit from more ventilation. I don't believe you can have too much ventilation in a Florida coop so long as you can keep the north wind blocked. You'd probably want to add a lot of ventilation to the coop in your plans.

 

[Bbrothers]

That coop is adorable. How many chickens are you planning to house there? Will they have any access to free range?

I live inLake Wales about two hours south of you. if it is large enough, I would modify it so you can still walk inside but with stairs so the chickens have full access to go under the coop. I would also make a huge window (practically the whole coop wall) between the coop and the run. This could stay open all summer. Then put an opening on the side with the nesting boxes and the back with shutters so you can keep those open all winter.

I’ve only had chickens for three months now. We spend hours walking them around our property daily. It is so sweet and lovely adding them to a

We have 4 but I’m going to assume at least one is a roster we can’t keep.
Unfortunately, They will not have access to free range.
We were thinking of putting up a wall of wire in between the coop and the run just like you were saying. Thanks for the tipsy

 

[Bbrothers]

I live near the GA border but I’m from Ocala. Ocala will get freezes, but nothing that necessitates heavy duty winter quarters. The traditional Florida coop faces south and is either open on all sides except the north side or open on just the south side and enclosed on the 3 other sides. Either way gives the chickens some blockage of the north wind in winter but allows for more air circulation in the summer. If enclosed on the sides, the bottoms of the sides are off the ground so air can circulate at ground level. That allows the waste to get air and break down. The inside or the coop is nothing but stepped roosting boards. Nest boxes go on the outside of the coop, not the inside. Open coops like this don't get stinky. That's their primary advantage in dealing with Florida's heat and humidity. But that may not be a practical setup for you living in the city. That kind of coop is what was traditionally seen on old Florida homesteads in the woods. The coop wasn't meant to provide predator protection. The dogs and maybe the run did that.

On my current farm my largest coop is an enclosed shed that I converted to a coop. It has one north-facing window and a large west-facing window on the door. Both windows are wired over. I use the DLM in that coop. Once the litter starts breaking down I don't find the coop all that stinky. But it does look funky inside. You have to let nature take its course and let big piles of poop break down. Sometimes mushrooms grow in it. If you get to disturbing it all too much by removing large chunks of the bedding, you'll end up removing a lot of the beneficial microbes and whatever else is growing in it and it will get stinky. I did a 2/3rds change out in the fall and that absolutely started my DLM at square 1. I use mostly bahai hay and pine shavings as my bedding. I prefer the bahai when its available. I cut it off my yard, bag it, and transport it all over the farm for animal bedding and compost piles.

That same coop could probably benefit from more ventilation. I don't believe you can have too much ventilation in a Florida coop so long as you can keep the north wind blocked. You'd probably want to add a lot of ventilation to the coop in your plans.

Thanks for the tips!!

 

[Aristocat123]

Good morning from very cold South Florida.

Boy is it cold out there. It feels like 32F with the windshield. How cold is too cold for spoiled Fl chickens. I am concerned for the drastic temperature change. I put tarp around their coop last night to keep them a bit warm. Gave them BOSS, meal worms, flax seed and scratch mix this AM. What else can I do for them?Are they going to be ok? They free range during the day so they only go in the coop to eat, drink water, lay eggs and sleep.