Hello, new here and new to chickens.

[Ridgerunner]

Shall I put the feeder in their coop?

Some of us put the feeder and waterer in the coop only, some put one or both outside only, and some of us both feed and water in the coop and outside. We all have our own reasons for what we do.

Some quick examples. There are other reasons. Some feed in the coop so the wild birds don't frequent the feeders. Some feed outside so they don't attract rodents into the coop. I feed both in and out as I almost always have chickens of various ages in the flock so I spread the food and water out so all of them can eat and drink without being bullied away by the adults. I'm usually not down there at the crack of dawn when they wake up so I have food and water in the coop for them until I get down there.

 

[Mark Park]

Shall I put the feeder in their

 

[Mark Park]

The rats only come out at night, as a general rule, unless you have an infestation.

You can get a metal dustbin and put the feeder in that at night when you put the chickens to bed, and take it back out in the morning when you let them out. This will generally be all you need to do. You should put the feeder up on some bricks or a breeze block (same with their water) to keep the mud and bedding out of it . If you do have a rat infestation you will have to feed the the birds once or twice a day and then put the feed back in the bin -- 100 to 150 grams a day each. If they are still hubgry they get more and if they walk away from the feed, they need less. Hopefully you won't have to do this.

The rats might nest under the shed, since you have a wooden floor. In that case they will soon chew great holes in it and attack the chickens at night. If this happens you will have to poison them with one of those enclosed poison dispensers. You will also have to make your shed ratproof if this happens. The best fix is to nail some of that rolled up sheetmetal on the floor and up the walls. If you have the odd mousehole you can stuff some steel wool in it -- nothing chews threw that. Normally putting their feeder in the bin and shutting their pop hole at night is enough to prevent a rat infestation.

You will know if you have mites because there will be little blood stains on their perch -- they hide in the cracks in the wood in the day and come out at night.

If you do end up in this situation you will have to cover a bit of the outside yard to dry it out and give them a spot for a dustbath. You should dust them with Diatomaceous Earth and put a cup or two of Diatomaceous Earth in their dustbath and they will be able to get rid of their mites. If they are just showbirds you can put some Frontline on them, like you would for a small dog, but this is a bad idea if you will be eating their eggs or meat. You should put some Diatomaceous Earth in their feed to, to get rid of internal parasites.

You will have to muck out and pressure wash and or disinfect their shed every three or four months, depending on how nasty it gets. This will help get rid of the mites. Ultimately, the only way to get rid of mites is to get rid of their hiding places. A concrete block horse box is the ultimate fix, but lining that wooden shed with some vinyl flooring remnants or some of that sheetmetal also works.

I hope that helps.

 

[StinkyAcres]

The rats only come out at night, as a general rule, unless you have an infestation.

You can get a metal dustbin and put the feeder in that at night when you put the chickens to bed, and take it back out in the morning when you let them out. This will generally be all you need to do. You should put the feeder up on some bricks or a breeze block (same with their water) to keep the mud and bedding out of it . If you do have a rat infestation you will have to feed the the birds once or twice a day and then put the feed back in the bin -- 100 to 150 grams a day each. If they are still hubgry they get more and if they walk away from the feed, they need less. Hopefully you won't have to do this.

The rats might nest under the shed, since you have a wooden floor. In that case they will soon chew great holes in it and attack the chickens at night. If this happens you will have to poison them with one of those enclosed poison dispensers. You will also have to make your shed ratproof if this happens. The best fix is to nail some of that rolled up sheetmetal on the floor and up the walls. If you have the odd mousehole you can stuff some steel wool in it -- nothing chews threw that. Normally putting their feeder in the bin and shutting their pop hole at night is enough to prevent a rat infestation.

You will know if you have mites because there will be little blood stains on their perch -- they hide in the cracks in the wood in the day and come out at night.

If you do end up in this situation you will have to cover a bit of the outside yard to dry it out and give them a spot for a dustbath. You should dust them with Diatomaceous Earth and put a cup or two of Diatomaceous Earth in their dustbath and they will be able to get rid of their mites. If they are just showbirds you can put some Frontline on them, like you would for a small dog, but this is a bad idea if you will be eating their eggs or meat. You should put some Diatomaceous Earth in their feed to, to get rid of internal parasites.

You will have to muck out and pressure wash and or disinfect their shed every three or four months, depending on how nasty it gets. This will help get rid of the mites. Ultimately, the only way to get rid of mites is to get rid of their hiding places. A concrete block horse box is the ultimate fix, but lining that wooden shed with some vinyl flooring remnants or some of that sheetmetal also works.

I hope that helps.

I advice against using rodent poison (the green or blue stuff) and diatomaceous earth. It doesn't matter if the poison is in an enclosed container, the rats can still walk out after they have eaten the poison and anything that eats a poisoned rat (chickens, other pets, and wildlife) will also get poisoned. Diatomaceous earth is not an effective pesticide during an infestation and may cause more harm than good because it can be very irritating to a chicken's delicate respiratory system. A Permethrin-based powder or spray is a better option.

Also, regular disinfecting of the coop is not necessary and you definitely don't want to get the coop wet with a pressure washer. Keep it dry and and scrape poop as needed.

 

[beany_bot]

The shed doesnt have a wooden floor its a thick poured concrete floor. I'm not planning to "put them" in or out at night. As their run is covered (no issue with wild birds) they will be free to come and go into their coop as they please. So I'd rather not have to faff about with food every morning and night.

Half their outdoor run is covered in hardware cloth, the other half is waterproof with polycarbonate sheeting. I think I'll try the food outside the coop, under there in the dry. If I get rodents I will revisit.

Good idea with lifting the food and water up thanks.

I've got a big tub that will be going under the dry are in their run for the dust bath with DE and other ingredients.

 

[Mark Park]

You might be ratproof, in which case you can leave the food out. If they start getting in, then the metal bin at night works.

 

[Mark Park]

I advice against using rodent poison (the green or blue stuff) and diatomaceous earth. It doesn't matter if the poison is in an enclosed container, the rats can still walk out after they have eaten the poison and anything that eats a poisoned rat (chickens, other pets, and wildlife) will also get poisoned. Diatomaceous earth is not an effective pesticide during an infestation and may cause more harm than good because it can be very irritating to a chicken's delicate respiratory system. A Permethrin-based powder or spray is a better option.

Also, regular disinfecting of the coop is not necessary and you definitely don't want to get the coop wet with a pressure washer. Keep it dry and and scrape poop as needed.

The permethrin (Frontline) works well, but it is systemic and you are eating the eggs.

They say it is no problem, but isn't it? The same people who say you can eat permethrin eggs allow smoking, spraying Roundup, and etc. And used to allow DDT, Red Dye #3, Asbestos, and other things -- Everyone is of course free to make their own choices. I think anything that will kill an insect has no place in human tissue. If you deprive the mites of their hiding places and keep everything fairly clean and have some diatomaceous earth for them to roll around in then you won't have to use the pesticide.

Pressure washing with strong agricultural disinfectant does get the place spotlessly clean and is a required practice on commercial poultry farms -- Broiler farms do this every 8 weeks. It rinses off and thus doesn't get into the chickens, their meat, or their eggs.

Wild birds, mice, flies, dirty wellies, feed, etc. Can transfer things like coccidiasis, bird flu, etc. Into the chicken shed. A bit of biosecurity seems sensible. In the UK no-one disinfects eggs, so whatever the chickens step on is also on the eggs, on your hands, in your kitchen, and ultimately on your plate.

Again, not washing the chicken house is a choice people can make on their home flock. I like the chicken house to be very clean so I like waterproof and miteproof walls washed nice and clean a few times a year. The perch and nestbox can be removed or better yet washed and dried in the sun. Chickens are dirty little buggers and so are their houses. I think I will continue pressure washing.

 

[beany_bot]

Another question, sorry!

Our breeder only has 2 orps available. We've read hen flocks should be a minimum 3 girls.

She does have a Light Sussex pullet same age. The breed seems ideal for us, docile, friendly, good with orps.

However....

I've read they can be quite noisy / vocal.

For our backyard coop do you think this would be an issue? Is she likely to be ok if in with two quiter orps?

Personalities aside, all I can go on at this time is "typical traits".

Thanks.

 

[Bawkbok]

We have a small yard in a crowded community. All Orpingtons are not quiet. Our hen is vocal and loud - can probably be heard a mile away.....

 

[Mark Park]

Another question, sorry!

Our breeder only has 2 orps available. We've read hen flocks should be a minimum 3 girls.

She does have a Light Sussex pullet same age. The breed seems ideal for us, docile, friendly, good with orps.

However....

I've read they can be quite noisy / vocal.

For our backyard coop do you think this would be an issue? Is she likely to be ok if in with two quiter orps?

Personalities aside, all I can go on at this time is "typical traits".

Thanks.

Start with the three orps and see how it goes for a couple of months. That's what I would do. You may love keeping chickens or you may hate it.