Hi All! My husband and I are new to this...he is in the process of building a coop in our backyard. I am very excited about having the chickens but am a little skeptical on the coop! It was done on a semi-whim when I was out of town. I just went out to see how it was going and am questioning a few things.... 1. What type of flooring should be in the house they will go in at night...according to him they will just sleep on the box where they will lay the eggs and he is going to put chicken wire down in the other area (this is off the ground about 3ft). 2. The house is fully enclosed with a door to let them out in the fenced area during the day and the lid to get into the box where he is hoping to have them lay the eggs. We live in south Florida and I afraid we might end up with cooked chickens in the morning if we dont have any openings in the house or am I wrong? 3. Where would one get hens that are of the laying egg age!? I dont think he has looked into that part yet either! We will start with that! Thanks for all of the input!! -Kristen
It's sounds like you were right to be concerned, the problem will be bring it up with your husband so he isn't insulted. Good luck with that The coop has got to have ventilation, it's a huge must. Also you don't want them sleeping the nesting boxes. They will end up pooping in them and making a nasty mess, maybe even breaking eggs which could lead to egg eating (huge problem) Check out the learning center for lots of good information. Typing in keywords into the search bar near the top of this page will lead you to great information as well. Welcome to the site and best of luck!
go to "where am I, where are you," sub forum to locate and post on your state thread. Then you will get first hand suggestions of how your chickens need to be housed In your climate. In real hot areas some people use two or three screened panels as walls rather than having all solid panels. This way the coop has air flow
Howdy from Kansas, kswayze, and ! Happy to have you aboard! Here's a link about dealing with egg eaters. Good luck to you! https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/six-tips-on-breaking-your-egg-eater
