Light in coop, dark outside

[Mrs. K]

Yes, kind of, as Ridge Runner is fond of saying, one never really knows for sure what will happen. Harvesting is hard, but if it turns out not to be enough space, they will let you know, and you will need to reduce a few more.

Sometimes new people come here, and loving the chickens they want to keep everyone.

taken for meat (which I'm sure will give me nightmares).

Made me worried you were talking yourself out of harvesting some.

As for the long nights, it is a long time to be cooped up too crowded. If you reduce to 20, I would expect it to work.

Mrs K

 

[Bawkbok]

Congratulations on your retirement. You chose a fun 'project'. 33 birds will keep you very busy.
It sounds like a nice coop; I can't speak to the size vs. number of chickens, however, I don't see any ventilation up high and that seems to be important based on many other posts I've read here about coop design.
I've also read that the higher birds jump down, the more susceptible they are to bumblefoot - I don't know if that will be an issue or not, just wanted to share what I've read.
It looks like you're using straw / hay. I eliminated using hay due to the attractant of mites and lice. That could be an environmental issue as we are in the deep south with high humidity so I don't know if that is an issue for cold weather climates, I presume so.
Learning to chicken care is fun and this is a great place to learn. Have fun with your flock.

 

[Sherrirod]

Yes, kind of, as Ridge Runner is fond of saying, one never really knows for sure what will happen. Harvesting is hard, but if it turns out not to be enough space, they will let you know, and you will need to reduce a few more.

Sometimes new people come here, and loving the chickens they want to keep everyone.

Made me worried you were talking yourself out of harvesting some.

As for the long nights, it is a long time to be cooped up too crowded. If you reduce to 20, I would expect it to work.

Mrs K

I keep trying to square my shoulders. The 15 youngest chicks are mutts that came as eggs from extended family for the purpose of becoming meat chickens. What I didn't expect was for these to be sooo much friendlier than the "fancy" chicks I bought for eggs and to look good in the run. I hate it but keeping them is not an option.

Women killed chickens for Sunday dinner for centuries. I refuse to believe that centuries of women were made of sterner stuff than I am. It's just that I have never lived on a farm and don't come from farmer folk. I don't even know how many generations back you have to go to find a farmer in my family. The only animals I've really been around were pets.

However, I'm not a vegetarian, I hate the factory farm conditions of the chicken I buy, and I can insure a safe and happy life full of treats and love with a quick and virtually painless death. That's kind of what we all want, just on a much shorter timeline.

My strategy is to have my husband dispatch and run through the plucker. He's not happy about it, but he used to hunt for fun, so my pity is limited. Then, when I can't recognize which bird is which, I will try to process them out. I just have to make it through the first culling without ending up in a weeping puddle of grossed out girly goo.

I am also planning on keeping my BR roo so all of the future meat chickens my hens produce look pretty much alike. It's harder to get attached to an individual if they all look alike.

We are committed to the first culling no matter what because we have run ourselves out of space. If after that we are forced to concede that we are made of delicate sensibilities after all, (which would be a bitter pill to swallow) then we will get rid of the rooster and any frequent broodies, and just collect eggs until we run out of hens. At least I'll get my shed back...although, if the chickens don't work out maybe I'll finally talk my husband into some of those super cute miniature goats and try my hand at making cheese.

 

[Sherrirod]

Congratulations on your retirement. You chose a fun 'project'. 33 birds will keep you very busy.
It sounds like a nice coop; I can't speak to the size vs. number of chickens, however, I don't see any ventilation up high and that seems to be important based on many other posts I've read here about coop design.
I've also read that the higher birds jump down, the more susceptible they are to bumblefoot - I don't know if that will be an issue or not, just wanted to share what I've read.
It looks like you're using straw / hay. I eliminated using hay due to the attractant of mites and lice. That could be an environmental issue as we are in the deep south with high humidity so I don't know if that is an issue for cold weather climates, I presume so.
Learning to chicken care is fun and this is a great place to learn. Have fun with your flock.

The shed actually has a peaked roof and there is ventilation in the eaves. I blocked most of the open lower cross beams with left over greenhouse panels because the stupid chicks kept wanting to roost on them and I was afraid they'd hurt themselves.

The bedding is actually over half pine bedding, with shredded cardboard, mulched leaves and a little straw mixed in. They just keep pulling straw out of the bale, so it is on top. Since I'm now using the dirty bedding for my compost pile, the cardboard, leaves and straw I used to use for compost is all going to the chickens to add nitrogen to.

I've been waiting for someone to address how high my roosts are because of the bumblefoot issue. It's the thing I'm most concerned about long term. I tried to mitigate the problem by giving them multiple paths to get down but still...some just like to jump/fly down. I see them make longer jumps/flights in the run all of the time getting from one roost to another. So I hoped it would be ok.

Originally, I blocked off the bunk and just had regular roosts on the back wall. But they were really determined to see what I was hiding behind the tarp, plus they kept going to the ceiling beams, so I opened it up and put roosts on it. They love it there! It's where everyone wants to be. Oddly, their favorite spot is on the front edge. I'm going to have to put another 2x4 on it so that it is 4" instead of 2" since they are determined to use it.

I was afraid to post the pics lest everyone say it is a really bad plan. All of my other options involve moderate reconstruction and limit the square footage they can actually use. It took me awhile, but I finally decided I'd rather know if it is bad than find out the hard way in the middle of winter.

The pics really don't do it justice. It's really cute when you step into it...and best of all, very easy to keep clean. I really like it, but of course I want what is best for the chickens.

 

[Bawkbok]

On culling - we lost our first and only 3 hens in a 5 month period. That was my initiation into the chicken world.

The first one happened organically (probably a bad heart we were told), I cried for a week.

The second one we took to a vet for evaluation and consequently euthanized as she developed neurological issues, went blind and couldn't walk - all over night - that was extremely costly - because I was too chicken to do it myself and my husband (NOT a hunter), refused and couldn't do it either - this chicken thing is my project he said. I cried for two weeks. I was in love with my favorite chicken.

The third one - also neurological issues - my husband dispatched. We BOTH cried. I thought if I don't get ahold of myself, I'll never survive this chicken initiative and I'll be weeping forevermore.

Two lessons learned:
1. Acquire chickens that have been vaccinated for Marek's (those three were not).
2. Acquire chickens from a reputable source only.

 

[Sherrirod]

On culling - we lost our first and only 3 hens in a 5 month period. That was my initiation into the chicken world.

The first one happened organically (probably a bad heart we were told), I cried for a week.

The second one we took to a vet for evaluation and consequently euthanized as she developed neurological issues, went blind and couldn't walk - all over night - that was extremely costly - because I was too chicken to do it myself and my husband (NOT a hunter), refused and couldn't do it either - this chicken thing is my project he said. I cried for two weeks. I was in love with my favorite chicken.

The third one - also neurological issues - my husband dispatched. We BOTH cried. I thought if I don't get ahold of myself, I'll never survive this chicken initiative and I'll be weeping forevermore.

Two lessons learned:
1. Acquire chickens that have been vaccinated for Marek's (those three were not).
2. Acquire chickens from a reputable source only.

Oh my!!! I'm so sorry! I'm not sure how I'd have handled that. Where did you get your first 3 chickens from??

We don't have a chicken vet nearby, so we will have to put any sick chickens down. We're already dreading that. My big manly man raised husband couldn't put my little Pomeranian out of her misery last year either. We took her to the vet and paid him to do it...we both cried.

My 15 little ones weren't vaccinated at all. We hatched them. Fortunately, they seem healthy. I don't know about the ones we bought from the stores. I think they always are. If you start with healthy stock and keep them in a fully enclosed run with solid roof, do they still need vaccinated? So far, my strategy on illness has been to keep them isolated and cross my fingers.

Where would you even get it? As I said we don't have a poultry vet nearby. I have given people shots, and my husband gives dogs rabies shots, how hard could it be?? That is something on my list to investigate, that I haven't got to yet. May as well start here.

What can you tell me??

 

[Yardmom]

You will find mixed opinions on whether vaccinations for Marek's is best or not. I have heard that vaccinations for a small flock is costly because of the quantity it is sold in. Mine are not vaccinated.
I had not heard of high roosts being the cause of bumble foot. I think it is more likely caused by the surfaces they walk on. My roosts are 4 foot, and I have never had a case of bumble foot.

 

[Sherrirod]

You will find mixed opinions on whether vaccinations for Marek's is best or not. I have heard that vaccinations for a small flock is costly because of the quantity it is sold in. Mine are not vaccinated.
I had not heard of high roosts being the cause of bumble foot. I think it is more likely caused by the surfaces they walk on. My roosts are 4 foot, and I have never had a case of bumble foot.

Oh, thank goodness on the roosts! I think they get it from jumping down and landing too heavily, especially from not having enough out going space to control descent. I tried to mitigate but wasn't sure I did enough. You make me feel MUCH better about it.

On the vaccines, I hadn't thought about price yet. You probably make a great point. How long have you had chickens without incident? Do you buy from really good breeders? Are they protected or do they free range?

 

[Bawkbok]

Oh my!!! I'm so sorry! I'm not sure how I'd have handled that. Where did you get your first 3 chickens from??

We don't have a chicken vet nearby, so we will have to put any sick chickens down. We're already dreading that. My big manly man raised husband couldn't put my little Pomeranian out of her misery last year either. We took her to the vet and paid him to do it...we both cried.

My 15 little ones weren't vaccinated at all. We hatched them. Fortunately, they seem healthy. I don't know about the ones we bought from the stores. I think they always are. If you start with healthy stock and keep them in a fully enclosed run with solid roof, do they still need vaccinated? So far, my strategy on illness has been to keep them isolated and cross my fingers.

Where would you even get it? As I said we don't have a poultry vet nearby. I have given people shots, and my husband gives dogs rabies shots, how hard could it be?? That is something on my list to investigate, that I haven't got to yet. May as well start here.

What can you tell me??

We purchased pullets from a farmer who breeds, but does not vaccinate. I knew it was a 50/50 chance they could have issues but decided to try it. Nothing but regrets. I've since heard other customers whose pullets / chicks died that bought them from this farm. I will not mention the name as vaccinations are a personal decision when one purchases chicks/started pullets.
Even if vaccinated, it is no guarantee that the chicken may not encounter issues later on.
I have never purchased chicks as we are not set up with a brooder (yet). When purchasing chicks from Tractor Supply or Rural King, it's my understanding they are already vaccinated for Marek's and most national hatcheries will vaccinate, if requested.
We now purchase our starteds from a different farmer who only acquires chicks from a reputable national hatchery who vaccinates.

There is extensive information on this site about Marek's disease - go to the search feature or search the articles here.

On the hen we took to the vet, it was verified she acquired neurological problems that she was never going to recover from, which would only get worse with time so we were not going to allow her to suffer. She was in a very bad way. There are no avian vets anywhere near us, we found a dog / cat vet who graciously took us as an emergency. ($$$ kick 'em when they're down). He was actually very good about it and I'm grateful we did it. Being our first time at this chicken gig we needed to better understand what was happening and why and there is no one around in our circle of life to ask so we had to seek professional help.
I've since learned much from not only this site, where there are wonderful people willing to help, but also from reading chicken health books.

 

[Yardmom]

Oh, thank goodness on the roosts! I think they get it from jumping down and landing too heavily, especially from not having enough out going space to control descent. I tried to mitigate but wasn't sure I did enough. You make me feel MUCH better about it.

On the vaccines, I hadn't thought about price yet. You probably make a great point. How long have you had chickens without incident? Do you buy from really good breeders? Are they protected or do they free range?

We have had chickens 11 years. They free-range during the day.