Katie's Coop

[Auntiejessi3]

The Coop

So when we first decided to get chickens we originally planned to keep 3 (the counties limit for 1.5 acres). We ordered 10 chicks from Meyers Hatchery expecting to lose some and give away any extras. With those requirements in mind, I started researching coops and found one i liked on amazon that claimed ot would hold 8-10 chickens.

I am sure you can see where this is going. I put that coop together by myself, painted it, and was very pleased with my accomplishment.

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The first nice day i put our 10 4-week old chicks in it and discovered this thing would MAYBE hold 2 full grown chickens. At this point we had become very attached to our chicks and chicken math struck. We could only bear to give away 4 of the 10 chicks. That left us with 6 instead of the planned 3.

Soooo I started looking for a bigger option. Unfortunately, we had already tapped the extent of my handiness and my husband is less handy than me. That meant we needed to find a prebuilt option and have it delivered. And it needed to be fairly soon as our chicks weren't getting any smaller. Luckily I found a shed place that didn't have a 4 month wait and they had a coop with attached run I liked. So we had one custom made and it was delivered in about 4 weeks. Just in time for the babies to move in.
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I ended up adding a roosting bar with wide side up and a poop board under the roosting bar. i also added hardware cloth on the outside of the run, and as an apron along the bottom and along the open eaves of the entire coop. I have been really happy with this setup so far.

The yard area has changed significantly since these pictures were taken. Will go into that in another post.

The white picket fence just sets it off super cute!

 

[katiefloy]

Those are so cute don’t worry I want good at chicken math for a wile I was only supposed to have 4 but I have 7

That's pretty close to my original goal and reality. Although, I think with my rooster we need at least 7 hens. Now that one girl has hatched her babies and the 2nd has gone broody, the remaining 4 girls are getting pretty fed up with him.

 

[thehenandchick01234]

Super cute

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Broody #1: Josie's Brood 1 Week Old Update with Pics

Josie's brood is one week old today. So far it has been fairly uneventful.

I noticed a couple days ago that one of the orpington babies was very lethargic, so I pulled her out dipped her beak in water and egg mixed with crumbles periodically for about 45 minutes. She would eat and drink when I dipped her beak and every few minutes I would dip it again and she would start eating and drinking more on her own. After about 45minutes she was eating and drinking on her own and much more active, so I put her back out with her mom and siblings. She has been fine since then.

The babies have started getting their wing feathers in and I can tell one of them is definitely a frizzle. The pecking order is already being established. I have seen them chest bumping multiple times. I am still trying to figure out who each one's mother is, so if anyone has idea's that would be great. Also, gender references are totally up in the air. I just use what I refer to them in my head.

Daddy for all the babies (except the 2 orpington's) is a frizzled rooster with feathered legs (pictured with 3 of the possible moms, light brahma egg wasn't viable).
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Baby #1, Oly: He hatched first. He is black and white, has feathered legs, a single comb, and smooth feathers. I'm not sure who his mom is, options are a partridge cochin, a blue laced red wyandotte, a wellsummer, or a delaware.
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Baby #2, unnamed as yet: This one is a laced orpington (from Papa's Poultry) I picked up from a local who hatched her and her sister from eggs.
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Baby #3, Poly: Hatched shortly after his brother. He is black and white, has smooth legs, can't tell what kind of comb, and frizzled feathers. I'm not sure who his mom is, options are a partridge cochin, a blue laced red wyandotte, a wellsummer, or a delaware.
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Baby #4, Lavender: Last to hatch. She hatched from Josie's egg (Easter Egger). She is grey, has smooth legs, not sure what kind of comb and possible frizzled feathers(?)
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Baby #5, Baby Olaf: 3rd to hatch. I *think* she hatched from the Delaware's egg (solely due to her yellow color). She has smooth legs, not sure what kind of comb and possible frizzled feathers(?)
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Baby #6, unnamed as yet: This is the 2nd laced orpington (from Papa's Poultry).
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[katiefloy]

The Garden and Enclosure

The area where the chickens are used to be just my vegetable garden area. When I decided to get chickens, this seemed the perfect place to put them. The area is fenced in and they could take care of any garden pests. Perfect, right?

I quickly discovered this does not work as I intended. The chickens quickly decimate any plants I install before they can mature. In fact, they often stand right next to me as I plant and then immediately start digging up the plants. So now I have wired off the garden beds and the chickens have to stay in the walkways until I pull most of the beds in the fall. Then I remove they chicken wire and they have free run of the beds.

The garden area is designed with multiple raised beds that I plant with spring and fall vegetables. I also have a strawberry bed, asparagus bed, and black raspberry's planted around the perimeter. This year we added a greenhouse, and I absolutely love it. I will be starting fall vegetables seeds in it shortly. This year I am trying square foot gardening to try and get the most from the beds.

The picket fence is super cute and, since I repurposed it from another area of the yard, it was free; but not particularly functional for keeping the chickens in. If they want out they can get out (especially when they are smaller and can fit through the pickets). However, I doubt there is a fence that could keep the determined ones inside. One of the hens flew on top of the coop last year. I have discovered, that only 3 of the 6 hens (Josie - EE, Princess - BLRW, and Olaf - Delaware) were flying over (2 of those are now broody, so the third doesn't fly over now) and they never went too far away from the fenced area. I believe this is because Napoleon, the frizzle roo, can't fly so he has to stay in the fenced area and they don't want to get too far away.

The picket fence does concern me with the baby chicks though. They could easily slip between the pickets. I am also trying to figure out how to house both broody's when Princess' clutch hatches in 2 weeks. Currently, I have Josie and her 6 babies in the original little coop. I honestly think they will probably outgrow this coop by the time Princess' clutch hatch, but I'm not sure what to do with them then. The little coop is butted right next to the big coop with the runs parallel so there is a see but no touch situation in place. I am considering moving them into the big coop, but Josie was lowest on the pecking order and the short time I let the flock and mama and babies interact didn't go too well. I am also not sure how to deal with food and water. The big coop has a treadle feeder and nipple waterer. I could add a feeder for the babies, but pretty sure the big girls would just eat it all. I did put a crate under the poop board for the little family to sleep in Any ideas on a small enclosure I could add that would let the babies in but keep the big girls out, so they could eat and drink and get away if necessary?

 

[sassychickens76]

So sweet! I am glad they are doing good. My broody hatch did not go well.....