How do I get started with chickens!?

Nesting boxes are where the laying of eggs happens. Dark enclosed place, typically 1foot square. Can be wood or a simple cardboard box.

Roost is where the birds sleep.

Youll want to read this Top ten Page too,

http://www.examiner.com/urban-chick...kens-101-10-important-features-a-chicken-coop

That's a great link. Thanks!



Nesting boxes: Usually at least 1 ft. square and can be larger, with nesting material of hay, straw, or pine shavings. Some folks even used dry grasses from their lawn clippings. Your nest boxes can be on the floor or mounted up on the wall and some even build outside access into their nest boxes. You can use 5 gal. buckets, cat litter containers, old milk crates or even dresser drawers. I think the different materials used for nest boxes add character to a coop, so it is only limited by your imagination and resources.

Roosts: Picture a bird on a limb. Chickens are just big, fat birds that need somewhere comfortable to sleep and they prefer to be up on a roost for this. Your roost needs to be higher than your nest boxes by at least a foot or your birds will sleep~and poop~in the nests. This is not a good thing. You'll read nonsense on here about round roosts causing exposure of toes and possibility of frostbite but that is a myth. Just make sure whatever you use is not too narrow/slender as this may cause discomfort to the chicken. Make sure what you use is stable and doesn't move much, as this makes a bird nervous. Chickens like to roost in the highest spot available and they have a "pecking order" in the flock that they work out between them wherein the boss roo or hen gets the choicest place to roost. Only the chickens know what they consider the choice place and that can change at any given time. Do no be alarmed if it seems like they fight or fuss with each other at bed time...this is normal and they will not cause each other harm.

Poop Board: A tray or broad board structure that lies under or is suspended under roosts to catch any poop they put out each night...and they do this a lot. Some people use these and just scrape or empty the board instead of letting it drop into the bedding or onto the floor.

Bedding: Bedding is material placed on the floor to absorb moisture from fecal matter, spilled water, dropped eggs, etc. But mostly for fecal matter. Some people use pine shavings, hay, straw, pine needles, dried leaves, dried grass clippings, etc. The preferred bedding is pine shavings and you can purchase them at any pet or feed store. You will have to play around with how deep you want your bedding, how long you keep it in the coop before cleaning out and what kind you prefer. Some people clean out daily and just sprinkle a fresh, thin layer. Some put down a few inches and clean out when it gets dirty. Some use the deep litter method wherein they just add fresh bedding as necessary, fluff the old bedding and monitor the moisture and odor levels, to create a deep bedding layer that will culture good bacteria, will slowly compost all year and will add warmth to your coop in the winter. Some people clean out this deep litter bi-annually or annually. And, no, it doesn't stink if it is done properly. As a newbie, I'd suggest you not go with deep litter until you are more comfortable in your chicken knowledge.

Feed Storage: Most use metal trash cans, some use plastic trash cans. These are pretty much the best feed storage you can utilize...whatever you use, make sure your feed stays dry and safe from rodents.

Feeder: There are many different kinds of feeder styles and you will have to play around with these until you get the one that suits your needs and your husbandry style. Feed waste is a big issue because chickens like to bill, or flick, the feed out of the feeder while looking for choice bits to eat. Everyone has their own methods to prevent this...too many to mention.

Feed: There are many kinds of feed and this is personal choice also. Usually chicks are fed chick starter(medicated or non-medicated)until they use up a bag and then are switched to general flock feed until they are laying age. When they start laying they will need a layer ration(mash, pellets, crumbles) as it contains the protein and calcium levels needed for laying birds. You may also supplement their calcium needs by offering a small container of oyster shells(found at any feed store)for them to eat as they wish. You will have to decide what feed you like the best and how well your chickens do on any given kind.

Grit: Chickens grind their food in their gizzard with the aid of small grains of sand, rock fragments, even pieces of glass. If you do not free range your birds or if they do not have access to soil that contains these elements, you can buy a bag of grit at the feed store and offer it free choice like the oyster shell. No, oyster shell can not stand in for grit, nor can grit stand in for oyster shell. Both are needed at any given time, depending on your area and husbandry style.

Waterer: Water receptacles vary in style and you will have to find one that works for you. Some have the hanging plastic ones, some use the metal kind and some use rubber feed pans that one would use for feeding horses grain. Again..you will have to experiment around and see which one suits you. You may wish to add apple cider vinegar (ACV) to your water as part of your health regimen but you cannot do this in the metal waterers due to corrosion and leaching of the metals by the acidic vinegar...this is a very bad thing and can kill your birds if it goes on long enough.

Ventilation: If you are buying or building a coop, you must provide adequate ventilation in your coop, as birds clustered together on a roost breath humidity in the air and their fecal matter also adds to the humidity, along with humidity in the environment. Humidity in an enclosed coop is a chicken's enemy, summer or winter. It can cause illness and contributes to frostbite as the humid air collects near the ceiling of your coop and leaves chicken's combs and wattles moist during cold weather. Ventilation near the top of your coop is desired so that fresh air can enter through the small chicken entrance at floor level and exit, as it rises, out near the roof line. Cold or hot climates need good ventilation but be careful to not place venting directly next to the roosting areas in colder, windy climates as the drafts can steal chicken warmth and hinder their ability to keep warm. In warmer climates, the more openings in the coop, the better. You also might want to provide "double shade" in hotter climates, meaning placing your coop where it is in good shade.

Pop Door: The small opening by which the chickens exit or enter the coop. This should have a door on it so that it can be closed when needed.



Is that enough? Anyone else like to add to this....my fingers are worn out!

I'm really surprised there's not a "Beginning Chickens 101" on this site, but if there was, this post should be in it. Thanks for the great info Beekissed. :)
 
I agree. This site should, by now, have a glossary of terms in a 101 style info and then a 102 for advanced info. The only difficulty is getting people to agree on the information. I guess that would be left to the administrator and moderators.
 
I just wanted to suggest that if you are planning to build your coop, the materials cost will be the same for an 8' coop because plywood and boards come in standard sizes. If you have the room, bigger is always better.
 
I just wanted to suggest that if you are planning to build your coop, the materials cost will be the same for an 8' coop because plywood and boards come in standard sizes. If you have the room, bigger is always better.

That's some good advice. I'll try to plan my coop so that its in units of 4' x 4' so I'm not cutting odd shapes out of my plywood. Thanks!

Edit: If I sketch out a plan for a coop, can I post it here for feedback before I start construction?
 
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Perfect time of year to want to get into chickens. . . your local tractor supply either has chicks now or will within the week. . . cheap!! 2.49 straight run, 2.99 for female, should be all good egg laying breeds, maybe some meat birds too. Easy and cheap way to go about starting off, plus they are typically hardy breeds they get by what I have heard
 
Thanks for starting this thread - I too am wanting to get started w/ a small chicken "herd." I feel really dumb asking such a basic question, but: do I need a rooster?

I'm new also and my chicks will be coming in about 3 weeks. I know that I don't need a rooster, but what if there is a rooster in the chicks I buy? I ordered from a hatchery and ordered females, but we all know that is not 100% guarantee. Plus the hatchery throws in a "rare mystery chick", so that could be a rooster also.

We are wanting chickens for the eggs and don't want them to be fertilized. If there is a rooster in the bunch, do we need to get rid of him? Will there be any harm if the eggs do get fertilized, or is it best to just not have a rooster around?

THANKS!!!
 
Roosters tend to be aggressive, you wont want a rooster for that reason. Fertilized or unfertilized, the nutritional content of the egg is no different, they don't look different, don't taste different.
The primary reason to keep a rooster, other than for breeding, is for flock protection: they keep an eye out for predators and defend their girls. Even from you.
Ask your local farm supply store if they have a drop box for roos. Mine does. Lots of local farmers come by weekly looking for free roos for their flocks, it's an easy and cheep way to get rid of an unwanted roo.
 
When one of my chicks turned out be a rooster I just placed an ad on craigslist for a free rooster. He was gone the next day. The woman who took him wanted a rooster for flock protection.
 
If you get an "accidental" rooster in your order of "pullets," why not keep him if its legal where you live?

Not sure of reasons why folks wouldn't WANT fertilized eggs, because there is NO difference in taste or nutritional value and if you gather eggs regularly, even if you happened to have a hen go broody and want to hatch 'em, you just gather the eggs anyway. Chick development does NOT begin until INCUBATION of the eggs. Most hens just lay eggs and walk away, without any interest in going broody to hatch 'em. If a hen IS broody, you just take the eggs each day. There will be no chick embryo in those eggs.

They have to be incubated artificially or naturally before anything begins to develop.

So, if you like the eye candy of a handsome rooster, he does what a good rooster does and watches for the safety of the flock, treats his ladies well, and is respectful of you, why not keep one?


Some people think eggs with "blood spots" are fertile eggs. Not so - those are simply eggs with blood spots. It happens now and again. Commercial chicken farms candle eggs for ANY blemish and those which show up with a blood spot don't go to the grocery stores for sale in cartons as eating eggs.
 
I didn't want a rooster because of all of the horror stories about mean roosters. And then I ended up with an "accidental" cockerel chick. Now that he's almost a year old and still not human-aggressive in the least, I'm pretty sure he's staying. It turns out that some roosters are well-behaved! He works very hard looking after his flock and will put himself in harm's way to protect them. AND, if I do have a hen go broody, well, the eggs are fertile...
 

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