For the MINIMALISTS - those who think less is more in chicken keeping - Please help

[ChicFil- A]

This discussion is for the MINIMALISTS - those who think less is more in chicken keeping.

Hi all, I am new to chickens. I want to create the most efficiently run coop possible with the least amount of work. I am not lazy but I am generally efficient in my life and I know that running a backyard chicken gig can be too, like anything else. Since I'm new though, I need some guidance. I am okay with putting in a little extra work in the setup to make it easier on myself as I go. Do you have any tips to keep things simple or can you share your setup if it is similar?

Here is some info pertaining to my situation:

I'm in New Jersey.

We're building a henhouse for 5 hens (see photos)
- Henhouse 11.5'w x 9'd x 8.5'h
- Coop 11.5'w x 3'd
- Integrated enclosed/covered run 11.5'w x 6'd

Coop
- I am hoping to use course sand so it is scoopable. I have read that it doesn't really need to be changed out completely but more may need to be added as you go.
- Our structure is wood but we were thinking of attaching vinyl to the inside of the coop to it's easily wipeable
- Is it possible to do the coop poop cleanup 3 days a week instead of every day and not cause problems?
- I have heard of the droppings boards but I don't know how to add it to my setup (see photo of coop) or if it's even needed for my situation.
- We were thinking about using removable sanded PVC bars in the coop and run so they are easily wipeable and they hold up.

Run
- We have grass now but I know it will become dirt quickly. Can it stay dirt? Will it be gross and harbor bacteria?
- I can throw down a little bit of some kind of material but I don't want something that needs to be changed out more than once a year or needs maintenance.

Food
- We researched using a large trash bin and adding feeders (see photos) so it only needs to be refilled periodically and it stays neat.

Water
- Rain barrel so it's basically automated.

Nesting boxes
- I have no plan for this other than I was told to use something that is soft and can be removed to be cleaned.

Thanks in advance for any info you would be willing to share with me. I'm grateful.

This looks like a dream chicken keeping system. I’m obvious of you well thought out plan.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

This looks like a dream chicken keeping system. I’m obvious of you well thought out plan.

I'm sure we'll screw something up just a rough plan. We'll see. We officially started yesterday. Fingers crossed

 

[enrgizerbunny]

I’m late to the party, but I have a few suggestions based on my plans of having a mostly hands off coop plan.

1. Large coop/ chicken ratio. Just like raising fish in a pond, bigger is better. Chicken math aside, more sqft/bird means less poop/sqft overall, and less pressure on the birds to go out every day (mine hated the snow).

2. Automatic pop door (or predator proof run). Anything that doesn‘t require you to let them out and lock them up. (Pain in the posterior!)

3. Electricity in the coop. from water defrosters to ventilation fans, to convenience lights and receptacles, electricity is a must for a low maintenance coop In my opinion.

4. Large run. Mine will free range because I don’t have daytime predators, but a large run follows the large coop thought line. Dont even think about growing plants. Chickens destroy everything on the ground With their constant scratching the ground.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

I’m late to the party, but I have a few suggestions based on my plans of having a mostly hands off coop plan.

1. Large coop/ chicken ratio. Just like raising fish in a pond, bigger is better. Chicken math aside, more sqft/bird means less poop/sqft overall, and less pressure on the birds to go out every day (mine hated the snow).

2. Automatic pop door (or predator proof run). Anything that doesn‘t require you to let them out and lock them up. (Pain in the posterior!)

3. Electricity in the coop. from water defrosters to ventilation fans, to convenience lights and receptacles, electricity is a must for a low maintenance coop In my opinion.

4. Large run. Mine will free range because I don’t have daytime predators, but a large run follows the large coop thought line. Dont even think about growing plants. Chickens destroy everything on the ground With their constant scratching the ground.

Awesome, thanks for sharing your protocols. Where do you live? Is it really cold in your area? I'm in NJ so it gets cold but rarely below freezing and if so, it's not very long. We have electricity run. I guess we can figure that out next winter.

We just started our build. We have the studs up and 1 wall. I hope our run is large enough. Last night we were discussing disassembling to make the run bigger. Ahhh, I really don't want to do that.

Thank you for bringing up the plant situation. We have landscaping with shrubs. Our vegetable garden is separate. Are they going to eat all of the shrubs? I'll have to take a photo to show you...

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

I ditched the solid flooring, and plan to raise the coop onto those 8x8x16 concrete blocks. After we lift the coop onto the blocks (it's a small coop), I'm going to throw the deep litter into the cavity below.

Why? I decided I'm going to let the chickens do the work for me.

I will also place a layer of those thin concrete caps along the outside edge to keep things from digging in.

Sounds great. Why should you do the work when they can do it - and would enjoy it at that. Thanks for chiming in

 

[3KillerBs]

Thank you for bringing up the plant situation. We have landscaping with shrubs. Our vegetable garden is separate. Are they going to eat all of the shrubs?

*Generally* a well-established, deep-rooted shrub or tree is safe, though it might get the leaves nibbled as high as they can reach. This *may* depend on how much other green stuff is available.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

Can I jot a few thoughts down regarding our water system? Please let me know if I'm missing anything.

I would like to do a semi-automated or fully-automated watering system. We plan to use a rain barrel to collect rain. Another chicken person graciously shared her procedure for this and I feel comfortable that we can minimize bacteria pretty well. The next step is figuring out how to provide the water to the chickies.

Option 1: PVC with nipples (horizontal system)
The general plan would be to attached our rain barrel to this system with various shut off points
Pros
- This system would be pretty much fully automated which is a huge pro for me
- Minimal cleaning and upkeep - again a huge pro for me
Cons
- Has a higher chance of leaking (than the bucket) and flooding the run. Maybe? I feel like this can be taken care of to reduce the likelihood though
- The system would need to be cleaned out every few months or so. If I have a horizontal setup, I think I could probably just cap the end, remove the cap when I'm ready to drain it and run a hose through it. Probably would be hard to "scrub" clean - not sure if that's even necessary?
- I'm not sure how much more likely this system would be to freeze than the bucket since there would be a small amount of water in it due to the diameter of the PVC
- Will they stand on this? I saw a video of someone who had PVC vertically hanging from a chain which prevented the chickens from getting on top but then I would need to detach and refill the PVC often and that was a con I listed for the bucket system

Option 2: 5 gallon bucket
The general plan would be to add nipples to a bucket and probably hang the bucket versus setting it on riser, because I thought the chickens might stand on top of it if it's immobile?
Pros
- It seems like leakage would be less likely
- It would probably be harder to freeze given there would be a decent amount of water in it - but what happens when the water level gets low hmm.
Cons
- I would have to clean it more frequently than PVC - Probably would require at least a weekly cleaning. Not a big deal but worthy to be mentioned
- Seems to be more complicated with refilling - Do I detach it, fill it from the barrel, and then bring it back and reattach to carabiners? Do I drag a hose in and fill it where it is? This kind of defeats the purpose of the rain barrel which I already purchased and is difficult to return.

Sorry this is written kind of stream of consciousness... Thanks always for your thoughts!

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

*Generally* a well-established, deep-rooted shrub or tree is safe, though it might get the leaves nibbled as high as they can reach. This *may* depend on how much other green stuff is available.

I'm going to try to snap a photo to share...

 

[3KillerBs]

PVC with nipples

Warning: This WILL blow out when it freezes.

Even in my mild-winter climate I lost my first coop's PVC watering system at the first hard freeze.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

Hmm, what to do. I wonder if there is an easy way to heat the water slightly. Do you think the bucket method would be better?