Joining two flocks and housing

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These two are facing towards where the chickens section will be.

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Clearly the opposite side of where the chickens will be. I only found one small piece of transparent siding to put on the doors. So will need to buy more of that. Is it still possible to buy old wavy siding?
 
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Since I have your attention I'll ask another question. How much lighting is needed in a shed this size to encourage laying and what kind of bulb is needed?
 
Since I have your attention I'll ask another question. How much lighting is needed in a shed this size to encourage laying and what kind of bulb is needed?
Any bulb will work, tho older fluorescent tubes have a flicker rate that is to be avoided with chickens.
I've used both incandescent 40W and 60W and CFL(60w 'replacement') and both seem to work fine, I kinda like the CFL as it gains full brightness a bit slowly rather than instantly.

It needs to be bright enough 'to read a newspaper on the roost' as one member here puts it.
Should shine a pretty good light on the roost, floor, feeder and waterer, so they can see to move around and eat and drink. Some folks just use christmas lights.

Depending on how big coop is and how many birds, you may need multiple fixtures or higher wattage bulb(s).

My Notes on winter lighting:
Sometimes first year layers will lay all winter without supplemental lighting, sometimes they won't.
Older layers need 14-16 hours of light to lay regularly thru winter. Last winter I used a 40 watt incandescent light(this year I am using a CFL) that comes on early in the morning to provide 14-15 hours of light and they go to roost with the natural sundown. Last year I started the lighting increase a bit late(mid October), the light should be increased slowly, and the pullets didn't start laying until late December. Here's a pretty good article on supplemental lighting. Some folks think that using lighting shortens the years a hen will lay, I don't agree with that theory but I also plan to cull my older hens for soup at about 3 years old.
 
It had two lights in there originally. Your eyes adjusted but was pretty dim. I put in two last night and plan on putting in another three. I figure that should be good. If I'm comfortable seeing in there the chickens must be. In a couple of days the chickens will all get put in there. Then another outlet or two on the far side of the shed. Then the apron and lastly the divider. I'm thinking I need to build a new roost as well. The roost I built doesn't seem to interest the chickens.
 
Ok so here's my follow up to this.

First off as far as joining flocks, going ok. One of the new hens fought with my alpha rooster for a day or so then that was it. My rooster has been a little more aggressive since but we have also had an eagle attack. So unsure if he is still just upset about nearly being killed while protecting his flock, trying to maintain superiority, or if he is upset about the change still. They largely still roam the yard as seperate units. My alpha rooster will hang with the new hens sometimes but then other times he is back with the old crew. Hoping they will fully join with time.

As far as coop construction/renovation. Hardware cloth apron placed. Wall started. Apparently my pics are on my phone. Will have to post them in a seperate post. It's not perfect nor is it finished but getting there. Still have to apply apron to that as well. Instead of applying a ceiling I plan on applying more hardware cloth up to the roof. Will just be easier. Also still have to frame in the door.

Now as far as the lighting goes. I now have 6 lights installed. It gets plenty light in there when the light is on, but that doesn't do me any good unless I go in there to turn them on. I found siding that matches the doors that are translucent, but it's $75. So I was planning on shopping around as that is pretty pricey for a single piece. In the interim I put up Christmas lights around the roost and set them to a timer. Three strings of led lights. These new chickens should all be laying but are not. Hopefully this will help at least until I can get a better fix.

Does anybody have a better solution for lights? I know it's controversial but I plan on lighting in the winter. So I'm not looking on being convinced otherwise just for suggestions. I have tried looking into timers at the light switch. Most seem to not have good options for manual on/off and if they do it seems cumbersome but that would be the easiest solution.
 
..... I have tried looking into timers at the light switch. Most seem to not have good options for manual on/off and if they do it seems cumbersome but that would be the easiest solution.
Most the household light timers, like for going on vacation, have a manual switch right in the timer.
Some are easier to use than others, I like the ones with a flip switch rather than the dial switch.
 
Found one at menards today that had a push button for manual on/off. Will be busy for a couple days but will install on Thursday. Also have to replace a gfi so will probably do at the same time.
 
Found one at menards today that had a push button for manual on/off. Will be busy for a couple days but will install on Thursday. Also have to replace a gfi so will probably do at the same time.
Just don't forget to flip it back after using the manual(been there done that).
 
http://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-24-Hour-Plug-In-Basic-Timer-15119/100685881

This is the model that I have found to be most dust resistant. There is another model that has little pieces you push in at the places you want the time on and off at. NOT a good choice. The chickens LOVE the color red and the push in pieces are red. Need I say more lol.

The one I linked has little built in tabs you push in or pop up to adjust the time. No fiddling with little parts that can be lost. It also has a slider on the top for manual over ride.

I am actually using one on my swamp cooler for the house right now. I save money since it runs for an hour then is off for an hour then back on. Working like a charm all summer so far and it is the one that was in the coop last summer for fan control.

I hope this helps.
 

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