My hubby and I are planning our first coop for our first chicks that arrive in June. I have questions that I have not been able to answer by searching the forums.
1. Our best and probably only location has an oak tree near it. This would mean acorns in the attached outdoor run. Is this a problem? We intend to mostly free range anyway so there would be no way to keep them away from them completely but I would like to know if acorns in the run would be a problem when we leave the chickens in the run... which would do on the rare occasion I am not home to let them out of the run. I have been told they won't eat things that are toxic for them but I still have concerns.
2. Our summers are 90ish on average for a high but can get up to 100 or slightly more. The winters are usually mild with only two to four inches of snow a couple of times a winter. The low temp averages in the 20s but can on rare occasions go to 0. We even had a winter a couple of years ago where the wind chill was 40 below for two days. We are in the northern Ozarks. We are considering insulating the walls and floor. The floor will be approx 2 feet off the ground because of our very wet season. If we insulate we are hoping we don't have to have a heat lamp(or electricity). If we might need it anyway, we are considering no insulation. What is the educated opinion of folks with experience? Insulate or skip insulating and run an electrical line?
I am sure there will be more questions later as our plan develops. Thank you for being here.
1. Our best and probably only location has an oak tree near it. This would mean acorns in the attached outdoor run. Is this a problem? We intend to mostly free range anyway so there would be no way to keep them away from them completely but I would like to know if acorns in the run would be a problem when we leave the chickens in the run... which would do on the rare occasion I am not home to let them out of the run. I have been told they won't eat things that are toxic for them but I still have concerns.
2. Our summers are 90ish on average for a high but can get up to 100 or slightly more. The winters are usually mild with only two to four inches of snow a couple of times a winter. The low temp averages in the 20s but can on rare occasions go to 0. We even had a winter a couple of years ago where the wind chill was 40 below for two days. We are in the northern Ozarks. We are considering insulating the walls and floor. The floor will be approx 2 feet off the ground because of our very wet season. If we insulate we are hoping we don't have to have a heat lamp(or electricity). If we might need it anyway, we are considering no insulation. What is the educated opinion of folks with experience? Insulate or skip insulating and run an electrical line?
I am sure there will be more questions later as our plan develops. Thank you for being here.