I am a total newby to chickens

[TwoCrows]

Raised coops are hard to clean. At least it was for me. I am too old to be crawling and stooping around.

Sounds like you are doing a fabulous job already!

 

[Gone to the birds!]

We have been looking into that also. We are going to ask about putting in air vent in the upper corners on the roof line, if not we will do it. My husband is thinking of Rhode Island reds for our layers.

Rhodies are great layers and a hardy bird. If you are only interested in birds for laying.... look on the review page for recommendations on the breeds. If you are interested in for pets and fun..... why not mix the flock. I have two mutts, an then an americauna and a jubilee orpington. My breeder gave them to me a pullets and after the normal adjustment of squabbling over the pecking order.... which at first panicked me.... but they all grew in to a great flock. My smallest is now the biggest and she and the other mutt take care of the other two. Enjoy!

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to Backyardchickens.com aka BYC!
We are glad you joined our flock.
Jump right in and make yourself at home.

This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

A good read:
http://articles.extension.org/pages/69065/feeding-chickens-for-egg-production

 

[MrsMistyReal]

 

[drumstick diva]

Roasts are too narrow. Chickens don't grasp a roost like wild birds do. They prefer to have a wider roost bar . They lay their feet out flat with their head on top of them to keep them warm.

 

[Redhead Rae]

We have been looking into that also. We are going to ask about putting in air vent in the upper corners on the roof line, if not we will do it. My husband is thinking of Rhode Island reds for our layers.

I would put the vents on the back of the coop, opposite the windows. That way you can take advantage of the fact that heat rises to increase circulation. Cooler air comes in from the back, hotter air rises up to go out the windows in the front. That is how I have my coop build. I don't have any condensation problems.

 

[Wooden Eagle Farm]

Roasts are too narrow. Chickens don't grasp a roost like wild birds do. They prefer to have a wider roost bar . They lay their feet out flat with their head on top of them to keep them warm.

We plan on putting in more roosts with 2 x 4 with rounded edges and making sure there is a way to close off the nesting boxes at night to keep them clean.

 

[Wooden Eagle Farm]

I would put the vents on the back of the coop, opposite the windows. That way you can take advantage of the fact that heat rises to increase circulation. Cooler air comes in from the back, hotter air rises up to go out the windows in the front. That is how I have my coop build. I don't have any condensation problems.

We are going to put the windows to the south and wouldn't the vents on the north side be to chilly? We have a very strong wind that blows across our fields. We were thinking of vents on the east and west above the doors.

 

[TwoCrows]

We are going to put the windows to the south and wouldn't the vents on the north side be to chilly? We have a very strong wind that blows across our fields. We were thinking of vents on the east and west above the doors.

Our winds mainly come from the north or south too. So we positioned the coop and run north/south, opening door to the coop on the east side, vents in eaves on the east and west sides. This allows for a natural draft inside the east side going up and out the west side, while avoiding the heavy direct winds from north or south.

 

[Redhead Rae]

We are going to put the windows to the south and wouldn't the vents on the north side be to chilly? We have a very strong wind that blows across our fields. We were thinking of vents on the east and west above the doors.

Cold and dry is better than slightly warmer and moist. As long as your roosts are low and out of the air circulation your birds will be fine.