good morning from TN

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kriseayre

kriseayre

Chirping
7 Years
Sep 2, 2012
7
0
55
Tennessee
Morning everyone. I figured I'd join, because I'm doing a bunch of research into getting some of my own chickens. My husband and I love farm fresh eggs, and we are looking for land out in the country to build on, and become more self sufficient. I've been doing a lot of extensive research into different breeds of chickens, and I think I've decided on 3. Plymouth barred rocks, Silver laced Wyandottes, or Sussex. I like that they are all mostly friendly, and to top it off, they are all fairly hardy, weather resistant, and yes, "pretty" for lack of a better term.

I grew up with chickens, but from my research now, I believe they were leghorns. I call it your typical white chicken. I'm not going to go with more than about 10 chickens total. My folks had 35 and a rooster. A lot of my research right now is in figuring out how tall to build the chicken coop run, and coop size. From what I remember, I think the one for our chickens at home was about 15 feet high. We also had a building that housed chickens with a concrete floor. Our chickens went in and out as they pleased.

My ideas for my chicken coop are:

buy one of the premade "amish made storage sheds" they are in abundance here in TN, and I'm sure I could get one made with a door on each end. That will give me enough space for a roost, nesting boxes, waterer and feeder, and of course room for the chickens. The run itself will probably be 15x30 or so, with walls about 15 feet high.

Any recommendations or thoughts would be welcomed and appreciated. I value others ideas and comments.

I'm doing research into feeders and waterers, but cant yet make a decision on what yet to buy. Most of the waterers I've found through TSC or Rural King dont have the greatest reviews. I remember my folks just used your typical black low rubber bucket, like whats used to give grain to horses. That and they had a long metal feeder.
 
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ive been doing that as we speak. I liked some of the ideas for homemade waterers and feeders. A member had talked about using a large trash can as a resevoir, which gives me some awesome ideas. I'm not one of those people who can just describe it. Pictures help me explain much better.
 
Hi there, and welcome to BYC! Glad to have you aboard.

I wish we could afford a little bit of land here too...I could sure do a lot more than with our little quarter acre, nearly half of which is house, LOL. Still, we have 6 chickens in a portable coop/run and we too out all the grass in the front yard and planted it in flowers, herbs, some little patches of grain and clover, strawberries and such like.

For coop size, you should consider about 3 to 4 square feet per chicken, with a much higher amount for the run...that'll give them plenty of room to move around and not feel crowded. If I were going with a permanent coop/run I'd definitely want it big enough to stand up and walk around in...for people, I mean ;) at least 8' high. Take into consideration the ventilation...that's paramount. We left the walls of ours short and left the roof overhang to keep the rain out, but the air can move through it, and it's high enough that even on the roosts, the breeze doesn't blow directly ON the birds. So with a higher coop, you can put most of the ventilation up high and set the roosts accordingly.

We made ours out of recycled, re-claimed and re-purposed materials for the most part because we're on a budget and didn't want to buy any more than we absolutely had to...of the $80 we spent, it was mostly for screws, brads, hinges and paint, with the biggest bulk the paint. However since we didn't use all the paint, we still have lots left for future projects, so I figure we have about $20 in the materials used. If you'd like to see it, I have an album on my profile :)

Don't blame you on your choice of breed...if we had the room and weren't restricted to 6 hens, I'd have gone for "pretty" too...both in the birds and the eggs. However, since our primary intent was to have fresh, large brown eggs, we went with the Red Sexlinks...they're calm, quiet and give us about 4-5 large to xlarge sized eggs every day. They're cute but not like some of the really pretty ones out there ;)

For feeders and waterers, and also coop designs, have a look here on BYC...there are lots and lots of things there that work great! We're pretty low tech...we use one of those plastic feeders that you screw a Mason jar to, and with just the 6, it works fine. For water, I have a flat plastic bowl that's about 3 inches high and about 12" across. It's easy to clean and with the thin sides, they don't sit on it and therefore don't poo in it. Every morning I give it a good rinse and fill it up. They've never yet drunk all of it but if they do...well, we do have a hose, LOL.
 
I plan on being able to walk around inside. For the shed size I'm thinking 12x10 or so. I dont plan on having more than 10 chickens or so (however thats always subject to change). My only concern with buying a prebuilt shed, is the wood flooring. To help protect it I'm considering getting some of the floor matting that is used in horse stalls, along with some weatherproof/resistant plywood flooring, and copious amounts of sealant. The reason for the height, is I'd like to be able to deep clean it periodically, and walk around with ease.

Ventilation: I'd planned on cutting some slots between the joists, up next to the rafters, using heavy gauge wiring to keep put predators.

I'd also figured on a couple of different heights of roosts on one side, the nesting boxes on the other, which will leave plenty of space in the middle to walk.

I'm thinking about installing a feeding and watering system that will feed to both the outside and inside. The ideas are up in the noggin, its just a matter of creating it. For times like this, Lowes is my favorite place to go. That or TSC. Ideas, ideas. They are always running through my head, just cant wait till I can put them into creation.
 
I hear you...planning is the biggest part of the fun!

I would recommend using vinyl linoleum for the floor over the wood. That provides a nice slick-ish surface that's easily cleaned. The floor of our coop is 3/4' plywood from a sign that had been painted and sealed for use outdoors, so we didn't cover that. We put down the bedding (we use straw) and sprinkle it fairly liberally with Sweet PDZ. It really helps keep things dry and cuts the smell to almost non-existent.

We don't keep feed or water in the coop (that will likely change come winter). They're only locked in from dusk to dawn and pretty much all they do then is sleep. The ramp is open all day so they can come and go as they please, but they don't spend much time in there other than to lay. We take the food (have the plastic gizmo screwed to a piece of 1/4'' ply for stability) into the shed at night so as to not attract unwanted guests, and I generally fill it and put it in the run before I let them out. So far, this has worked very well for us, but we do only have 6 birds (all we're allowed) and I work from home, so am able to attend to them at any time of day.

Our coop is just big enough for the girls but we built it with access doors at both ends...one for the nesting boxes and one for clean out...just wheel the barrow up, stick in a rake and pull it all in the barrow and wheel it to the compost :) The entire roof is hinged as well, so we can access the entire inside if necessary. We have a fairly small back yard, so we didn't want to make anything permanent...we move the whole shootin' match around every 3 or 4 days, which keeps the grass from getting too beat up and it has a good chance to recover by the time the rig has moved all around and come back.

Roosts of different heights and diameters is an excellent idea! We've found that the more dominant girls like the higher roosts and the more timid ones prefer ones they don't have to work too hard to get to. We have a flat board for one so they can cover their feet on cold winter nights, and are going to put in a tree branch about 2" in diameter as well...that way they have their choice.
 
Ooh, I like the idea of using linolium. That would make it evene easier, and would "seal" the floor.

I dont plan on getting my flock anytime soon. I am just in the planning stages of everything. I firmly believe in being prepared. I'm guessing at least another year, to possibly 2, till I get my hens and probably a rooster, to help keep unwanted guests out.

The chicken coop will probably end up being out next to my horse barn, for water access, then I can also store all the feed elsewhere too. For the run, I'm debating on digging a trench, then installing my chicken wire, crushed stone, then a thin layer of concrete on top to help keep out any diggers.

I'm considering setting the coop up on blocks about a foot high or so, to enable them to hunt and peck under the coop during the day, and to provide extra shade, then wrapping the bottom with more chicken wire and paver stones, or something similar.
 
Greetings from Kansas, kriseayre, and
welcome-byc.gif
! Happy you joined us! It appears you are doing some pretty extensive research - that can be fun as well! I like the breeds you are considering! Best of luck to you!!
 

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