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

[RoyalChick]

Yes, exactly. The main variable is the moisture content and thus whether the system is dry or actively composting.



One of the beauties of this system is that it doesn't have to be precise. If your coop/run don't stink then you're fine.



Probably.

You're looking at two things with ventilation, first, the replacement of warm, moist, ammonia-laden air with clean, fresh air -- which is why in my article you see vents at the top and bottom of the roof slope -- and, second, temperature control.

If your ventilation is sufficient to keep the temperature inside the coop equal to the temperature outside the coop then you're probably good on the fresh air part too.

The guideline is to have at least 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation per adult, standard-sized hen. By experience I have found that in my climate if I don't have DEEP shade I have to have double or triple that to keep the coop under 100F on a 90F day.

You need to think about airFLOW, which is why I made the diagrams in the article I linked.

Put all the ventilation you can manage up right under the roof and you'll never have to worry about drafts. Have a look at my brooder, where I can have chicks who are less than week old outside in the winter with their heat source, 16 square feet of ventilation, but no drafts down on the floor where they are.

To comment on all these feed issues,

I do not move feed in and out and have not had a rodent problem in the chicken area. The hanging feeders I mentioned earlier limit the spillage that attracts rodents. I tried those spill-proof feeders and found my chickens unwilling to put their heads into a hole in order to eat.

If you are going to use that sort of feeder, be aware that rodents, including squirrels, can chew right through plastic. Also, depending on climate, it could be prone to condensation, which would cause the feed to get moldy -- very bad for the birds' health.

This is one of those areas where everyone's situation is going to be a bit different and thus each of us must determine what works for us in our situation rather than try to come up with a one-size-fits all solution.

Chickens are tough, adaptable livestock that are capable of doing well under many different management systems.



There are many, many different kinds of bedding that you could use, each with its advantages and disadvantages. Some are universally available, some are locally abundant but unavailable in other areas. Sometimes you get free bedding where the price makes up for any disadvantages it has.

Wood shavings -- universally available at a reasonable price, absorbent, somewhat resistant to packing/matting, light and easy to handle, slow to break down, may be dusty. Beware Cedar because Eastern Red Cedar contains aromatic oils that are highly irritating to the lungs and birds have delicate respiratory systems.

Straw (the stalks left over after harvesting grain) -- comes in bales or chopped and in different textures depending on which grain it was. Traditional animal bedding over millennia, absorbent, often inexpensive, composts readily, can be prone to packing/matting and thus may need to be fluffed up more often, may grow mold if it gets wet, hollow stems *might* (or might not), harbor parasites IF they are present (this is debatable). An intact bale with one string cut is an EXCELLENT boredom buster for a flock that has to be confined for some reason. Intact bales make excellent chicken-level windbreaks.

Sawdust -- fine and dusty. Fairly absorbent. Scoopable. May be available for free but be careful of the source to not get treated wood or Eastern Red Cedar. Easy to handle, composts faster than shavings but not as fast as straw.

Pelleted Horse Bedding -- Easy to handle, highly absorbent, may be expensive. Composts like sawdust because that's mostly what it is.

Wood Chips -- Coarse wood chips from a tree trimming service are generally considered the gold standard for controlling mud and odor in the run. Do not pack or mat. Highly absorbent. May be available free from a municipal waste site in variable quantities, may be available free by the dump truck load from a tree trimming service. Bagged mulch is similar but be sure to get it free of dyes and fertilizer and the coarse kind rather than the finer variety.

Hemp Bedding -- Trendy among the eco-conscious. Expensive. Scoopable. I have no direct experience with it.

Pine Straw (the long, soft needles from the Loblolly and/or Longleaf pines) -- Locally available in the US southeast. Inexpensive or free-for-the-raking. Not particularly absorbent. Highly resistant to packing/matting. Dries out on top quickly after even the heaviest rains. Very slow to break down.

Shredded Paper -- light, absorbent, may be free for the labor of doing the shredding. There's a long thread about it here: Using Shredded Paper for Coop Litter - As Good As Wood Chips?

Fall Leaves, Lawn Clippings, and other yard waste -- highly variable in availability and composition. May be excellent, may need extra management to keep it from packing and matting. Free. Uses material you would otherwise have to dispose of.

Ground Corn Cobs, Rice Hulls, etc. -- Locally available materials worth looking into if the price is right.





While the commercially available pine straw in the US Southeast comes from the Loblolly and Longleaf pines, any soft pine needle can be included in the "yard waste" category. I wouldn't use Spruce needles or anything like them simply because they're too sharp for me to handle comfortably.



An excellent point.

My climate and water source tends to grow algae so I don't use a giant system for that exact reason.

Also, with my large, mixed age, mixed sex flock it's better to have multiple water sources in case of flock bullying issues.

Wonderful thorough and concise response and I fully agree with all of it!
I have always loved your article and the chicken cartoons and I have exactly what you recommend in terms of ventilation.
I have to chuckle though, because I now have two chickens that insist on roosting on the rafters holding up the roof - I think they are perfectly placed in the only draft possible which is between the soffit vents and the roof ridge vent and facing the gable end top triangle vents. Silly girls!
I think they are fine and it probably isn't really a big draft except when it is very windy - but I always picture them in the little skirts and scarves of your cartoons being blown about while the roost provided is lower down and nicely draft free.
Turns out you just cannot control for the chickens and they will do what they will do!

 

[Sally PB]

I think I started with one bale of pine shavings in the coop from Tractor Supply. It's compressed, so the size of the bale isn't what you'll end up with.

My run was part of our yard, so it was grass. For about a week. I would put a tote of raked up leaves in every few weeks when I first got chickens. They LOVED those. I got a bale of straw, and that was a great Thing To Stand On, then it began to fall apart, so it got spread all over.

Oh boy. Does everyone move the feed inside at night? Do you have a suggestion?

I have 3 feed stations. I use the black rubber bowls from TSC, and 2 of them are on cinder blocks, so they are about level with the chickens' backs. This keeps them mostly free of scratched in dirt/debris. The third on is in a Tupperware style food container that is about 12x15. With that one, I have a small dish of grit, and another dish of crushed egg shells.

I empty whatever is left into the third one, put the lid on it, and bring it inside at night. The main reservoir of feed is a metal trash can with a tight fitting lid, and it stays in the mudroom, where all the chicken gear is.

Do you have a lot of spillage?

No, almost none. Another thing I do to prevent waste: The fine bits in the bottom of the bowl that I bring inside at night get dumped into a metal bin, one of the ones you get full of popcorn during the holidays, with a tight fitting lid.

That stuff I use to make "mash snack," which is just the fine bits mixed with enough water to make a mash about the same thickness as oatmeal. The chickens LOVE it! (It's your regular feed, silly chickens!!) I can make that warm in the winter, cool in the summer, dress it up with kitchen scraps, or whatever. VERY little feed is wasted with my chickens.

The guideline is to have at least 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation per adult, standard-sized hen.

Yes, this! When people say "open," however, they do mean that it's covered with hardware cloth to keep out predators.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

I’m in Georgia. So all the hot and humid, teeny tiny baby winter. If you even count it as winter at all.

Ah, I'm so jealous. We want to move south so badly. Family is here so it's impossible. If we ever do, I promise we won't bring our Jersey attitude with us.

 

[Sally PB]

I went directly to the water situation next. I have been doing some research. Please chime in with your thoughts. I don't think we can use a hose in the winter. But I think we can do a rain water collection system. I think the biggest problems with that are algae, bacteria and parasites.

You and I have similar climates. We're probably colder, and we surely got more snow.

As my first winter with chickens approached, I was wondering how I'd deal with the water issue. I don't have electricity in my coop/run, but it is near my garage. Hubby solved the issue for me by drilling a 1" diameter hole through the garage wall. I got a construction grade, 3-outlet extension cord, and ran it from the garage to the run.

Then I bought a heated water bowl, like what they sell for dogs. It holds over a gallon, so I fill up a gallon milk jug with tepid water, take that out to the run in the morning, and that's it for the day, and it's plenty. I have the bowl up on a cinder block, and not much debris gets scratched into it. I unplug it and dump it out each evening.

If I hadn't done that, I would have been taking gallon jugs of water out 2-3 times a day. Not too bad, but this way is better. Since it's dumped out each day and it's cold, it isn't growing any algae.

In the summer, I use one of the same rubber bowls from TSC that I use for food. I empty it out, wipe it out, sometimes add some (1/4 cup?) kombucha to acidify to get rid of algae. (Kombucha is a fermented tea that is acidic like vinegar.)

I do not put any water in the coop. That way, no water gets spilled in the coop.

A lot of people jump into getting chickens and then try to figure what to do about coop/run/feed/water, etc? So thank you for asking questions, doing research, and listening (reading) what others have to say. You will be a great chicken mom.

 

[sdm111]

My husband is going to run electrical to the coop. We don't know what we'd need it for yet but it's good to have. You never know, right.

This is interesting. Is there a reason you prefer kombucha over vinegar? You don't use a large water system, you fill the bowls, correct?


Right. Most people advise this which seems smart. Why clean up spills if you don't have to.



Why thank you. Honestly, I feel like an idiot asking all of these questions but I also feel better when I'm prepared for big undertakings. I'm sure I'll change things around as I go but I need a starting point. I really appreciate your help. It's amazing to have this group of pros!

Make sure yall run all the electric in conduit and GFCI outlets. Fire is a real hazard. I wouldn't use heat lamp bulbs inside a coop either. I know, I know "we'll be fine". Well it only takes one time.
You can search here about how many people have burned their stuff down. I've been dealing with fire, fighting it, suppressing it or preventing it for the better part of 29 years now. I've seen it time and time again

 

[littlecoopnextdoor]

Wait I'm confused. How would they get into the coop without a ladder? What could I use instead of a ramp or ladder? Can you send a photo

I also don't have a ramp/ladder but I built a few floating steps that they just hop up on.

 

[fuzzi]

Don’t stress too much, you can always change things as you go, as long as the basic structure is sound. We’ve only had chickens for about two years now, and there is always something however minor…many small tweaks a few big tweaks…expect them and roll with it.
Like you wrote in your post, it’s nice to just sit and watch the hens and remember how simple life is for them and that you help make that possible! They truly are great entertainment and you’ll learn what they need soon enough

@In the mtns @GetFitWithKrista

I changed so many things I had planned to do for a coop and run due to BYC: the ideas, suggestions, experience here. I was planning on a pallet coop, but am very happy so far with my hoop coop...and I built it myself with very little help.

 

[KyCoop]

Here's my ramp. It's covered with a rubber treaded mat.

 

[3KillerBs]

Me too. I use actually tree branches too. It works well

For me it boiled down to the fact that pine and scrub oak saplings are weeds on this property while 2x4's cost money.

The thing with branches/saplings is to be sure that they are thick enough.

We don't measure it exactly, but make sure that they're no thinner than the diameter of my wrist and upt to the diameter of my ankle.

 

[Folly's place]

About Silkies, and introducing one bird at a time. Not best, better to introduce at least two, or more, if possible. Silkies can't fly, or manage either high heat or extreme cold. Those cute feathers aren't efficient at all, and in general this breed is more fragile than normally feathered birds. Many people with Silkies have a separate coop for them.
We started with Belgian d'Uccles and Silkies from a neighbor, and no knowledge about them. It didn't go well for the Silkies, and we've never had any again.
Can you build a wider run? At least five feet wide, or more, will work better for managing flock interactions.
Mary