Is this a total waste of time/money?

[enola]

In general, Leghorns are not bullies. You will find bullies in every breed. Leghorns do not care to live in cramped quarters, if the coop is big enough ALL of your chickens will be fine. Sex link chickens will lay almost as many eggs as Leghorns, but they need a lot more feed. Sex links are bigger bodied chickens.

 

[monkcat]

spartan and enola thanks so much for that info. Will look at those. As they would be bigger bodied, I'm guessing good eating birds as well.

To be honest, we are such animal nuts, I figure we will end up with something so over the top in terms of size, they should be quite comfortable. All our critters tend to be a bit spoiled and over-indulged. We figure if you're taking the responsibility and commitment of caring for an animal, it should be done right. On the plus side, if we use the barn, it's huge! And totally empty at the moment. Space shouldn't be an issue really. My husband can build pretty much anything and our younger son is fast following in his footsteps in mechanical and carpentry skills. And I'm not totally incapable So, I am hoping we are reasonable and realistic in providing ample space for the flock. Knowing that it may help cut down on bullying is peach of mind. I do realize bullying can occur with any breed - any species for that matter. But if there is one breed that has more of a tendency and/or is just more boisterous in such a way that it may be disrupting to another group, I'd rather make a kinder choice in breed selection or have different coops. May end up with coops around the barn, in the barn and the storage building! LOL

It's overwhelming looking at all the different styles of coops in knowing where to begin! I have a basic idea of what I think will work. Easy to clean, maintain and the comfort of the animals as well as their safety are my top priorities. Run will be done for rainy days or if we can't be home to keep an eye out. But really want them to have as much freedom as possible during the day. And if they can annihilate fire ant beds, so much the better. Something where we can keep them warm in winter and (coolish) in summer. On the plus side, lots of trees and shade available. Plan to run electricity and running water as the barn is close enough to the house to be reasonable. Fans will be a real possibility.

I have about two weeks to make my final decision on design before the buildinng can begin. Will this put me too late to start my flock? Wanted babies so the kids can help raise them and tame them as they grow.

Oh, and some of the local farm eggs I've been getting here are blue and am wondering if it is Aurucana and maybe they do well here? Would love some of those.

 

[enola]

Araucanas, easter eggers, ameraucanas and cream legbars all lay blue/green eggs. Some of them lay better than others.

While you can eat any chicken, if you are planning on raising chickens to provide meat for the table, meat breeds are a better choice. Hatchery bought 'dual purpose' breeds take many months to produce a carcass with meat on it. I eat all of my cull roosters when they start crowing. Most of them are 4-5 months old, not much meat but still fairly tender when cooked. If you wait until they are full grown, 9-10 months they will lay a lot more, but take a long time to cook at a low temperature to make them tender. Nothing wrong with that, it just takes a lot more feed, which isn't cheap.

After keeping chickens for 50+ years, i have found the easiest way to deal with all bullies is to eat them. Your hens will be much happier.

 

[Eliza1313]

I had seen the add for that coop at TSC, but decided against it once I saw one assembled at another feed store. Too small for the cost. I already have the chicks, now need coops. Their brooder is set up in a finished (insulated/drywall/electricity) shed, that will be partitioned off for a temporary set up.

We also have a pole barn, however it is currently being used for storage. It is already wired for electric, so I like you idea of converting to a coop, will pass it along. Only problem I see with using the pole barn is the opening on ours faces South. Would be a good thing for Northern winters, but bad thing for Southern summers. So I could see that being a problem for us. Since I believe you stated you live in a Southern locale, I think the ideal way the opening should face would be East, so you don't have sunlight beating in in the summer, and don't have cold wind coming from the North. Obviously it is already built, so changing the orientation would be a pain. You can research info on site analysis to help with that. So the idea of building against the pole barn may be a good option. If you built the coops along the outside walls of the pole barn you could have access to the nesting boxes from inside the pole barn.

We have a lot of standing dead wood, and other drought damaged trees, and were considering using those to construct our coops with. We also plan on building hoop style movable runs for when we know predators are around (have had a pair of hawks nesting in the area each spring). PVC pipe is great for doing the arches with. It was recommended to us to use the grey pipe (electrical conduit) as it is more UV resistant. I also have Guinea Keets that I am raising with the chicks to be "watchdogs" for the flocks. They will at least sound an alarm that will alert me to problems.

Good luck.

 

[monkcat]

LOL I like the way you handle your bullies. To time for all that foolishness. Thanks so much for the egg color info. I think it was rolling around somewhere in the brain that there were other breeds that laid blue eggs, but apparently didn't roll to the front!

You definitely have me thinking about meat birds. I guess I was thinking would do the eggs first and get used to taking care of chickens before diversifying. But I may throw a couple into the mix. See how it goes.

What do you do with the hens when the egg production slows drastically or stops due to age? I don't see spending money to feed a bunch of hens that aren't laying and taking up space when we could add ones who do. Getting past the emotional part of that for me and the kids will likely be a hard road at first. But practically speaking, it doesn't make sense to feed and house them at that point. A Silkie or two will be pets/show animals, but am trying to be realistic about why we are doing this. Working in the medical field, I know with absolute certainty that without the brain there is no pain. So, I am a proponent of fast dislocation of the brain from the spine through cervical dislocation or chopping. May be more gore factor for us, but it is not about us. It's about the birds. But at the age point, do you have to cook them for hours to be edible? Just curious what you do with them.

 

[monkcat]

Eliza, the pole barn has random stuff that will have to be cleaned out. It's more a shelter just for rain and some shade. The openings even with one facing south, would probably be pretty breezy and cooler than beside it. Definitely would have to work on whatever is built being solid as the barn itself has spaces you could throw a cat through. We haven't been here long, about a year, and are still getting used to all the space. LOL

There are a few good places I would think would be good for a coop. One is a drop shed off the side of another building. Currently has firewood and an old lawnmower there. Is on the north side of the building. Husband really doesn't want it there. But it would be inside a chainlink fence with our dogs.

The small storage building could easily be moved. It is currently underneath a huge old live oak near my bedroom window. Would move it under a stand of trees that would have lots of shade and great space for a run or to free range. Lots of dewberries, ants and random bug haven

Oh, and the barn has a wonderful area next to it we could plant a garden for the chickens. We have other gardens for us. This would be fun for them and if we get something from it, great.

I'm going to try to post some pics. Don't know if I can though. Too new maybe.

This is the inside of the barn.

Side of the barn would do a drop roof and a coop under it if we go that route. Area to the right would be garden

Oh, and this barn is about 100 yards from my house, so I think it would be close enough. Dogs are right near too to sound the alarm.

Storage building I think would be perfect to convert

where I would put it under the trees

 

[Eliza1313]

Sorry, sometimes forget that pole-barn is a style of construction and not a set type of building. Our pole barn is about half the size, and only 3 sides have walls. Becomes a hot box in the summer, since the sun beats in and the prevailing breezes do not come from the South.

The shed could work, would probably need more ventilation though. I need to add windows to the coop/tractor my hens are in now. They have all been piling near the door way since it started warming up, it was built in late December. It looks like the area you want to move the shed to is a pecan grove, if it is and you want to harvest the pecans you might want to pick another location. My hens love pecans, of course they have only been given the shelled type, so ones in the shell may be safe.

 

[monkcat]

Sorry, sometimes forget that pole-barn is a style of construction and not a set type of building. Our pole barn is about half the size, and only 3 sides have walls. Becomes a hot box in the summer, since the sun beats in and the prevailing breezes do not come from the South.

The shed could work, would probably need more ventilation though. I need to add windows to the coop/tractor my hens are in now. They have all been piling near the door way since it started warming up, it was built in late December. It looks like the area you want to move the shed to is a pecan grove, if it is and you want to harvest the pecans you might want to pick another location. My hens love pecans, of course they have only been given the shelled type, so ones in the shell may be safe. 

Oh, how I wish those were pecan! Not so though. Sawtooth oak. Huge acorns. The barn, I guess because of the height, is really quite cool in summer in comparison with being in the open at least. Somewhat shaded parts of the day.

Would love the storage building but really don't think I can convince DH. Dunno why. Not being used for more than a few plant pots. Now THAT gets hot during summer. Even under the live oak as it is now. Another window and vents would help but I don't know how much.

hmmm... The barn may still be the best, if not cheapest option. Dirt floor, i'm thinking deep litter method and build inside on the northeast with an outside run... That barn is big enough he could still use it for lots off other stuff, tractor parking, etc. Ah, decisions, decisions.

 

[Eliza1313]

To get them through the summer, since you are in a warmer climate, you could always start with building a hoop coop. Just make sure to use hardware cloth instead of chicken wire to keep predators out. Raccoons can and will reach through and dismember any that are sleeping too close to the wire, if it is big enough for them to fit a paw through. A tarp over an area to provide a shady spot is advisable if not under a thick canopy. Then you have incentive to build the actual coop. With a hoop coop the largest expense is the wire, but you could build one twice as large for about half the cost or less than the one sold. Also if you don't have the permanent coop built by winter it is light weight enough to be moved into the barn, but you may need to provide supplemental warmth.

So there is a tree that masquerade's as a pecan. Will have to do more research, so I can figure out what is on our property near the creek. It was too overgrown last fall to go tromping back there.

 

[monkcat]

To get them through the summer, since you are in a warmer climate, you could always start with building a hoop coop. Just make sure to use hardware cloth instead of chicken wire to keep predators out. Raccoons can and will reach through and dismember any that are sleeping too close to the wire, if it is big enough for them to fit a paw through. A tarp over an area to provide a shady spot is advisable if not under a thick canopy. Then you have incentive to build the actual coop. With a hoop coop the largest expense is the wire, but you could build one twice as large for about half the cost or less than the one sold. Also if you don't have the permanent coop built by winter it is light weight enough to be moved into the barn, but you may need to provide supplemental warmth.

So there is a tree that masquerade's as a pecan. Will have to do more research, so I can figure out what is on our property near the creek. It was too overgrown last fall to go tromping back there.

You know someone mentioned hoop coops and I did look at them. Think that may be a viable option. AND could probably repurpose the hardware cloth at some point for another coop if need be. We have a tremendous amount of coons here. I know they are everywhere and in large numbers. But just with a walk through the property, the sheer volume and SIZE of the tracks is just mind boggling. I know to really predator proof as much as I can. Years ago we had some feral chickens show up where we lived in the woods. We fed them and they stayed and we would have the occasional egg. A coon got the hen and we hatched out one of her eggs. Ended up with a pet chicken!

When we bought this place, my husband teased me cuz I though those were pecan trees. Until giant acorns started falling! Won't let me live it down. Stinker.