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

[KyCoop]

And most will squat when you reach down to them. They do this for the rooster. I'll scratch their back and wiggle their tail a bit. They jump up and shake and giggle. I think they like it.
Not sure what you'll tell your son about this but maybe say they want a back rub

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

This is old but gives an idea of our VERY SIMPLE coop. Top left is the front view, bottom left zooms in on the nest box (was also our first teeny brooder haha), and right side is our door latch - I was proud of figuring that out since it was my first time installing any kind of door .

Roof, 2 solid walls, two with hardware cloth. Wire aprons around the outer edges to prevent digging predators. Dog house was our first nest box for our 3 hens. Roost and roof not pictured since I added it after the photo shoot, but it’s a couple tree branches I attached with screws and brackets and plastic sheeting for the roof - it’s shaded, so just something to keep the rain off. And I hadn’t added many leaves yet for litter in this photo. This was the chickens’ first time checking it out.

I will be upgrading a bit this year - removing the dog house and wall-mounting a couple plastic nest boxes is the plan. More floor space that way and an extra nest they can ignore .

They “yard range” in our fenced back yard all day, so this 7x7 area has been plenty, even minus the 2x3 dog house. We typically have a large non-tipping water bowl in there but the food outside the coop.

So now you know your setup is AMAZING compared to my “make it work” one . And again, I tarp at least one wall if weather gets super wet and cold, but that is rare here.

And yes. I did use trees as posts. Which means I have to check for and patch gaps regularly…but I couldn’t dig the post holes myself. So another “make it work” moment.

View attachment 3441083

This is great, thanks for sharing your setup. It's awesome that your fence is high. The chickens have a fortress. Nice job on the door latch, as well. Being resourceful is an important part of life. Please send us your upgrade when you complete it.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

I chuck it in their area. Pull up a chair and watch chicken TV while they spread it around.
Slightly damp leaves off the leaf pile in the run are best for this kind of entertainment because there are crawlies in it and they go at it with a vengeance lots of happy clicks

Here is an old video of mine tackling the leaves. It takes them a few hours to spread a compacted lawn bag sized heap.

Ha! That gave me my best smile of the day. They're so funny. Good for them for getting some exercise. And smart of you to get them to do it for you. Well done.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

None of mine loved being picked up, and all would run if someone ran towards them, but I could calmly walk up and pick up all but my easter egger. And all of them would voluntarily hop up in my lap if I sat down to get pet - they just wanted it to be on their terms.

Total cat behavior. So now I've got 5 more cats

I think part of the difference with our easter egger is we got her at about 8 or 9 weeks and she wasn’t played with a ton by the lady we got her from. She was just buying lots of chicks to raise and sell .

So part of it will be having your son around a lot when they are little being kind and gentle and feeding them. Chickens do seem to recognize individuals so they will be friendlier with him if they know and trust him from when they were young. Our friendliest was an orpington we raised from day-old. The cuckoo marans we got at 4 or 5 weeks were close.

I hear they are warmer to their owners when they have them as chicks. Ours will arrive 2 months old. How big are they at that point? I hope they can't slip through the fence posts. I was hoping to get an Orpington because I know they are friendly but they weren't available on our hatching date.

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

Another time study: scooping the poop.

I only have to clean the poop board. It looks like this:
View attachment 3441194
From putting on my coop shoes in the mudroom to getting back into the mudroom: 4 minutes.

Ohhhhhh, I see how the board works. That makes a lot of sense to use in your case. It's much easier to scoop the poop. I don't think it would in my case since there's not much room below the roost bar (photo attached).

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

And most will squat when you reach down to them. They do this for the rooster. I'll scratch their back and wiggle their tail a bit. They jump up and shake and giggle. I think they like it.
Not sure what you'll tell your son about this but maybe say they want a back rub

Do you think they continue to warm up to their owners as they get bigger or however they are when you get them (given they aren't chicks) is generally how they remain?

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Total cat behavior. So now I've got 5 more cats

I hear they are warmer to their owners when they have them as chicks. Ours will arrive 2 months old. How big are they at that point? I hope they can't slip through the fence posts. I was hoping to get an Orpington because I know they are friendly but they weren't available on our hatching date.

Hm. 8 weeks I would estimate their main body would be a similar size as a guinea pig? But with their legs and neck, they obviously are much taller.

Anyone else want to chime in with a less insane comparison?!

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

I found an experiment that was performed on 6 common chicken bedding materials: Pine Shavings, Straw, Dried Leaves, Horse Pellets, Sawdust and Industrial Hemp. They were tested to see which is the most absorbent.

Here is a summary:

DUST
No Dust:
- Industrial hemp
- Horse pellets
Average Dust:
- Dried Leaves
- Pine shavings
- Straw
Excessive Dust:
- Saw dust

ABSORPTION (when soaking)
Best:
- Straw
- Saw dust
- Industrial hemp
Poor:
- Pine shavings
- Horse pellets
- Dried leaves

ABSORPTION (8 oz of water in 1 cubic feet of bedding - more realistic than soaking)
Best:
- Industrial hemp
- Saw dust (swarmed by flies after sitting)
- Horse pellets (swarmed by flies after sitting)
Poor:
- Straw
- Pine wood
- Dried leaves

Dust & Absorbency Summary:
Any would be fine as long as you understand the pros and cons of each.

SAW DUST:
Pros
- Best overall absorbency
Cons
- Major downside in dustiness
- Can be hard to get
- Can take a long time to dry leading to moisture and ammonia problems

STRAW:
Pros
- Inexpensive
- Easy to get
Cons
- Can be messy to work with
- Has some dust
- Allows a lot of liquid to pass to the bottom of the coop causing potential smell and mold issues

DRIED LEAVES:
Pros
- Easily accessible
Note
- Experimenter uses them in his run but not in his coop because they don't absorb enough moisture to be used as a main source of bedding

PINE SHAVINGS:
Pros
- Inexpensive
- Easy to get
Cons
- Allows a lot of liquid to pass to the bottom of the coop causing potential smell and mold issues

HORSE PELLETS
Pros
- Performed well
- Absorbency was similar to saw dust
Cons
- Retains a lot of moisture
- Takes a lot of time to dry causing problems with smells and ammonia

INDUSTRIAL HEMP
Pros
- Dust free
- Easy to work with (not messy like with pine shavings and saw dust)
- Great absorbency
Cons
- Has a higher upfront cost but this is offset by the fact that for most people 1 bale would last 1 year


OVERALL WINNER according to testing: INDUSTRIAL HELP

 

[GetFitWithKrista]

Hm. 8 weeks I would estimate their main body would be a similar size as a guinea pig? But with their legs and neck, they obviously are much taller.

Anyone else want to chime in with a less insane comparison?!

Wow, that's smaller than I was expecting. I was told they can be outside at that point, especially since it will be June and the temps should be okay.

 

[AmeliaBedelia]

Wow, that's smaller than I was expecting. I was told they can be outside at that point, especially since it will be June and the temps should be okay.

Oh they can be outside in any weather at 6 weeks and they look like pigeons! And at 4 weeks if it is summer.

They just need all their feathers, not all their size I guess.