Hello from Dayton "WPAFB" Ohio! Go Buckeyes!

[C17FlyinChicken]

I finally joined this site bc I'm now hooked on learning how to raise my six 6 week old chicks. Lots of great info. I'm looking for low maintenance techniques to tend my chickens bc I'm a pilot in the Air Force. I think Rural King sold me the tiniest coop available but at least its cedar. When I get back next week. My plans are to build a recirculating heated water cooler with nipples to go in the coop and then continue into their tiny run. I also plan on building a 3" pvc feed tube into the run. Still pondering how to put food in the tiny doll house. Maybe a vertical 2" pvc stack about 18" tall. If they make it next year I see a future coop being built. I live on the wetlands and coyotes the size of German Shepherds come right up into the backyard and mow down the bunnies... Heaven forbid one gets my chickens. Out comes the AR with NVG scope!!! God bless our Troops and keep them safe!

 

[Mrs. K]

The biggest cause of problems, both socially and phyically, in chickens is a lack of space.

The pre made coops are cute, and doll like and totally unsuitable to raising chickens. You are more than likely going to need a bigger coop long before next year. You didn't give the dimensions of your set up, or whether you have full sized birds or bantams, so I am guessing based on previous posts.

If you have 6 full size birds, by the time they are 4 months old, the coop should be at the minimum 24 square feet, something close to 4 feet x 6 feet. In reality, space is 3 dimensional, and in my opinion, the bare minimum, should be 4 ft x 6 ft x 4 ft.

If your coop is not close to this, regardless what the manufacture suggests, your birds are not going to have enough space, and this can really cause some horrible social problems. Especially in the winter, when birds are roosted up for close to 14 hours every day.

As to feed, if you are gone, then the feed in the tube would be a good way of feeding them, but 24 hour feed can really draw rodents. I only put out enough feed that they can eat in a day.

I am not quite sure what you mean with the water set up, but am interested in that, could you explain more clearly? I am currently using nipples, and that keeps the water so much cleaner.

You need a run that is predator safe, and it should be 10 square feet per bird, so at least 60 square feet. I find mine are happier if there are several levels in the run. By adding a pallet up on blocks, birds can get under it for a bit of shade, on top of it for a different view, a bit of exercise, and to get away from other birds.

Good luck, this is a fun hobby, but I am afraid that you got mislead in your coop.

Mrs K

 

[C17FlyinChicken]

Thanks for your response! Before I go modifying that tiny coop which is 30" deep by maybe 30-36"w plus 2 nesting boxes I'm going to try to return it. Probably only good for 2 chickens. Mine are full size 2- barred rocks, 2- silver wyndottes, 2- light brahmas. All seem to get along well so far. I have an old small fenced garden 6x10 I think are the dimensions. I could build a 6 ft wide by 4-5 ft deep with 3-4 nesting boxes that could sit on top of the pt 2x4 fence. They could get shade underneath the coop and have the whole garden area to rome. Its on the south side of the house facing my neighbors. Time is my concern.... I'll be back next week for 1 week to build this coop after work then off to Florida for my daughters wedding for 2 weeks. I want them out of the garage Tupperware container before they jump out. My house sitter can watch them. But would be much easier if they were in there own home. Good news, I'm very crafty but methodical. It has to be built with super easy maintenance i.e. easy to clean, water, feed, pet, get eggs, temperature regulated, non stinky, and predator safe. I have not seen many like this. And number one- beautiful. The misses doesn't want an eye sore, neither do I nor my pets. The down size is its going to be fixed- no tractor. I'm not sure I want to let them rome about free but would like to let them out in our yard maybe later in the day so when it gets darker they will want to go home. I'm in a development but no rear neighbors just protected wetlands. Not sure if I want them venturing into neighbors yards. Do they go far from home if they are out free? I also have an apiary. I have 2 bee hives out back. Unfortunately the cold has killed them 2 years in a row and I'm on my third packages.
Thx,
Brett

 

[Mrs. K]

When you are talking coop design, a couple of points that many, many people mention:
Make it big enough to walk in. My own, is just barely big enough for me to kind of stand up in, not quite straight, if it was a bit bigger, it would be so much betterr.

VENTILATION!!!!! So many times (me too, at first) I worried about keeping chickens warm during the winter, but what you really need to worry about is keeping chickens dry. Dry chickens don't smell, and dry chickens are warm. To do that, think of 5 people in a car, in cold weather no heat. Almost immediately the moisture begins to build up on the windows inside the car. The more air tight the coop, the worse it is. AArt has an excellent article on ventilation in the bottom of the posts.

So you need adequate openings above where your chickens roost. The roost need to be so that when a full grown bird is roosting there should be at least 12 inches above their heads, and the roosts need to be set up so that they are about 12 inches away from the wall. This will allow circulation around the birds, so that moisture does not condense on the birds, keeping them much healthier.

You also need to have your roosts much higher than your nesting boxes. Otherwise they will roost in the nests - that is a mess.

Check out a poop board, a lot of people swear by them for easy quick clean up.

You can make anything look nice, with a little paint.

On this website, there are numerous coop designs. I think you will be much happier with a bigger coop. The garden run sounds good. As for how far will chickens travel, it depends on how often you let them out. The longer they are out, the farther they go. If you occasionally let them out for a couple of hours in your yard, they won't go far. If you let them out each morning at 6:00 for the day, gradually they will get braver and travel farther away.

Mrs K

 

[C17FlyinChicken]

I took your advice.... I was delayed in Germany and made it back to the states and literally went from my airplane to kerchipcreek chicken coop builders. They built me a 4x8 nice coop and i opted for 4 Windows for greater circulation. I planned on building my own but they built it in 2 days and i left the next day for my daughters wedding. I'm still in Florida but have a friend checking on them. I still need to add an automatic chicken door and build the run. As well as build an auto feeder and h2o. Oh, and rural king said they would take back the tiny doll house....Thanks again
Brett

 

[Mrs. K]

You will be much happier, and so will your hens out of the doll house.