Hey Gang! Whatcha think of my plans and Rooster issue?

[TonySorrento]

Thanks, gre!

My wife talked to the farmers wife about the roosters today, and she just laughed

They are the ones who own all the land around me and the dairy farm across the street. They said, "how much noise can one little rooster make"

They have no problem with us having roosters ... my other neighbor is the farmers son and his son and my son are best friends ... both live about 700' away from us.

The farmer is retiring this fall, so he may be interested in selling some of his land to us and his boy ... he does not want anymore development on it

Getting close ..... one week from Friday the fun starts!!

 

[Young Farmer]

Your plan sounds great! I live in a suburbin neighbor hood, my neighbors are close, the closest is about 50 yards and the farthest is 100 yards. I had a rooster a few months ago but i sold him at a swap. and i just got a new rooster today, I went door to door (much like you did tallking to the farmer) and asked if they had a problem with the rooster, all of them loved the idea and said they misssed the crowing...SCORE! Your coop and run sound awesome, dont forget to post pics of it. And the new rooster in a established hen house comment made me laugh

 

[TonySorrento]

Your plan sounds great! I live in a suburbin neighbor hood, my neighbors are close, the closest is about 50 yards and the farthest is 100 yards. I had a rooster a few months ago but i sold him at a swap. and i just got a new rooster today, I went door to door (much like you did tallking to the farmer) and asked if they had a problem with the rooster, all of them loved the idea and said they misssed the crowing...SCORE! Your coop and run sound awesome, dont forget to post pics of it. And the new rooster in a established hen house comment made me laugh

YF ... thank you for your thoughts ... I am looking forward to learning by personal experience. I will post pics as I build the coop and run and also as I get my birds

As far as the rooster in the hen house comment ... I thought that was pretty funny myself

 

[Young Farmer]

So let me ask you a question.

What made you pick the breeds you did? Im always curious too see why people have a certin breed.

 

[TonySorrento]

So let me ask you a question.

What made you pick the breeds you did? Im always curious too see why people have a certin breed.

Why Chosen

2-Australorp pullets Egg laying and beauty
2-Buff Orpington pullets Beauty
2-Barred Rock pullets Egg laying; color variety
2-Partridge Rock pullets Egg laying
2-Light Brahma pullets son's choice
2-Buttercup pullets beauty
2-Ameraucana pullets egg color
1-Buttercup Rooster Beauty (wife's choice)
1-Dorking Rooster Beauty (my choice )


So I wanted a mixed group .... most of the birds were docile and friendly ... but from everything I have read, this also varies withing the breed, so we will see what hapens ... the best part of this whole deal is I get to eat any chicken that ticks me off

 

[Young Farmer]

Hahaha thats what I said about the RIR rooster i just got today if he makes me mad i eat him simple as that. Once you get your chicks and they start laying and what not i would love to know how they do. I want to add some new breeds to my flock

 

[TonySorrento]

Hahaha thats what I said about the RIR rooster i just got today if he makes me mad i eat him simple as that. Once you get your chicks and they start laying and what not i would love to know how they do. I want to add some new breeds to my flock

I am a bit of a braggart, so you will be kept up to date

I actually decided to make my coop bigger ... it's gonna be 9x12 now

... gotta be ready for the inevitable increase

let's see .... 9x12=108/4 = 27 chickens!!!

 

[Young Farmer]

And then there was chicken math.....

 

[Cass]

Welcome to chickens. They are wonderful pets that can lay your breakfast. I built an 8x10 coop and it's already toooo small....so much for just "5 - 6 birds for fresh eggs"

I have experience with chicks 2 different ages and intigration of those chicks to an exsisting flock. First, take a deep breath. Second, remember they have bird brains and really don't think about things in the depth we do. I tend to put my "new" birds in much earlier than most people do....about 4 weeks old (Depending on outside temps)....HOWEVER I have an upside down laundry basket tacked to the back wall, at a very low level, so only the younger birds can scoot under it....Mainly they just ignore the little ones....once in a while a hen will peck at one that gets out of line, but usually there is peace in the coop.

Where are you going to brood your chicks? Can you make/build a LONG brooder that has hardware cloth dividers in it to separate the different sizes/ages? It seems you are going to have 3 ages....however you may find that you only have 2 sizes because the the breeds you have chosen. Use a red brooder light, it's more calming for the chicks and they can't see any blood, if someone does get evil and attack one of their brooder mates. Add new ANYTHING at night. No matter if you are adding to the brooder, the coop or the flock in general...do it at night when it is dark. (I have a hat with a light on it, it's wonderful for adding things in the dark....Father's day is coming, might want to put one on the wish list)

Roosters are wonderful. They will protect the flock...HA!!! They will ALERT the flock and alarm the flock if something isn't just right...."protect"? Not likely....they can outrun the hens and make it back to the coop faster.

With that said, I have 3....two were raised as hatchmates and one was purchased as an adult. I don't have them for flock reasons I have them for breeding....I want fertile eggs so I can hatch my replacements. If you don't have a rooster a hen will step up and take over the "protection" role. BUT most people like the sound of a rooster, so I don't think you are going to have a problem with noise complaints. My neighbors missed my roosters crowing when I got rid of a bunch who were NASTY, before the new ones got old enough to crow. Most roosters don't crow all day.....Just when they want to be noticed.

Now about your building materials. 1x2 wire for the run? You won't be able to let the chicks out in the run until they can't fit through the holes and chickens are mainly feathers and can fit through smaller spaces then you would think. I had one hatchling fit through the hole in chicken wire, but couldn't find his way back to his Momma.

Like I said "bird brains".

What predators did you say you might have to deal with? Coons? They will reach through and grab the neck of your birds and bite their heads off. EWWW!!! Possums too. How about rats? They eat eggs and chicks....one sneaks in through the wire and gets in the coop and sets up housekeeping. OK...I'm lieing, the birds will peck the heck out of the rat if they can, but he will steal your eggs and bite your chicks. (My chickens amuse themselves chasing the squirrels around the yard. And there is a dead one on the lawn....hope he died of natural causes) Snakes? They love chicks and eggs. Esp eggs. Are you doing to close your pop door (entrance from the coop to the run) every night? (FYI that gets OLD really really fast) If you build your run so nothing can get in (meaning hardware cloth instead of 1x2, at least on the bottom half) you don't have to make sure that the pop door is closed every night (365 days a year, 366 this year). Yes, it is more expensive, but how much is your time worth 365 days a year? Oh and planning your day to be home to close it before the predators sneak in. Did I meantion if you close it every night you have to OPEN it every morning? (I haven't closed my pop door yet. Well, ok, once or twice to catch a roo that ****** me off, but not regularly) And I strongly recommend you have an outside entrance to your run. I don't. It is my ONLY regret in my design....I can't get in the run to clean, retrieve mislaid eggs or add floor covering.

My first egg cost me $1200. (Not counting food) My coop has vinyl siding, however. I'm getting old and didn't need another building to paint every 5 - 8 years. The rest of the eggs were free. (again, not counting food) Compared to what my sister in law spends on photographing her kids (she has 8 right now) it's not as expensive a hobby as you might think. And what other hobby can you eat what pisses you off?

Definately get the Brahmas. You won't regret it. They lay wonderful eggs. And they are a big bird, so they won' t be tiny chicks.

 

[Cass]

I am a bit of a braggart, so you will be kept up to date

I actually decided to make my coop bigger ... it's gonna be 9x12 now

... gotta be ready for the inevitable increase

let's see .... 9x12=108/4 = 27 chickens!!!

Ok, that 4 sq feet is just a generalization. Annie has a wonderful set up, with very few or no problems, and has a LOT less space per bird than 4 sq feet. She does use her vertical space to give the chickens places to get away from each other; roosts at various heights both in the coop and in the run. She uses natural tree limbs in the runs, her birds love them.

My point? You can probably have 40 chickens in that space with few problems. And you eat the problems. Remember to subscribe to the NY Chicken Lover's thread, so you can keep up with what your fellow NY State chicken lovers are up too.