Looking for advice and ideas

[Deblett]

Hi all, I am new to BYC and although not new to chickens, had about 10 in my back garden in the UK for a few years long time ago, I now live in Northern Portugal and am about to build a large coop as I want to raise layers and broilers for myself. I love chickens and still regard them as pets and can't help pampering them but I also want the eggs and meat! The piece of land I will build my coop on is an old grape vine terrace that was neglected for about 2 decades so, was overgrown with home oaks and assorted shrubs. We have now cleared as below

So the whole of this lower terrace up to the bush in front of that green house will be free range chicken run. You can just see the tops of the grape vines of the lowest terrace on the left. I will fence it all off so my chooks are safe from predators - here it is the occasional fox or bird of prey. At the moment I have 3 12 week old Wyandottes that I rescued from a lousy local breeder, they were all caged up (about 12 in a 3ft x 3ft wooden box with mesh on the front), so they were pretty scrappy when I got them 2 weeks ago, missing a lot of feathers and very skittish

As you can see their tail feathers are growing back but one is still quite bald on it's back, but seems to be growing back slowly, they are getting tamer, they will take food from my hand but won't let me handle them yet. I had a good look at them when I first got them and they seemed clean and otherwise healthy, no mites or lice. But I don't know what sex they are, they are all pretty much the same size but one has a slightly more pronounced flattish comb but has wattles and the other two don't?

Not sure if you can tell from those picks but the other 2 don't have the wattles and their comb is much flatter than this ones. I have them in "temporary accommodation" at the moment, so don't be alarmed by the coop, I know its small and flimsy, but other than having one built, there is not a lot of choice here! So this is their temporary set up near the house so I can keep an eye on them.

So this leads on to my question. The climate here is very mixed: Very wet but not too cold (rarely freezes) from November to March, then dry, almost drought like in the summer but not too hot (anywhere from 75 to 90) with a good breeze coming up the valley from the coast from April to Sept/Oct. So I am not too sure what kind of covered run to build outside the new Chicken House when it is built. Because the land is a stepped terrace, drainage should be good, so should I go with Deep litter or dirt and sand? They will free range most of the day but I want to have the covered run for bad weather and for when I am away so my neighbour can keep and eye on them when I am not here. ( I go back to the UK on a regular basis to visit family). I plan on keeping around 20 chickens total. Any advice would be gratefully received, also sexing if you can tell? Thanks

 

[Valhalla Acres]

Welcome to BYC! The chickens look like hens to me, though I could be wrong. On my chicken coop we covered the run with a strong bird net and then we hung up Christmas garlin to keep our pheasants from flying into the netting. I think dirt and sand would work well for the coop. Good luck!

 

[aart]

But I don't know what sex they are, they are all pretty much the same size but one has a slightly more pronounced flattish comb but has wattles and the other two don't?

That would likely be a male, but wyandottes can be bit harder to tell.

 

[jthornton]

To gain their trust sit on the ground and let them come and explore you. Some treats may help.

If your building a run with a roof make big overhangs to help keep everything inside dry.

Looks like the "temporary accommodation" is 100 times better than that box. My hat's off to you for rescuing them.

JT

 

[blackdog043]

I would use deep litter in the run. The poop will mix in as everything decomposes, you will not have smelly run and you will end up with some nice compost for fertilizer. With dirt and sand you will have to scoop the poop out or you will end up with a smelly messy run. Also if the dirt, sand and poop mixture gets wet and you aren't scooping, it will become a hard solid run.
Since your neighbor will be taking care of your chickens while your away, you might want to look into making a horizontal nipple waterer and a no waste feeder. This will make it easier on them. The water will stay clean and will only need to be filled every 4 - 6 days if you use a five gallon bucket. A five gallon no waste feeder would only need to be filled once a week, most likely.

 

[Deblett]

Thank you Blackdog, the water and feeder is a good idea, I don't want to be too much of a bother to my neighbour, but fortunately she is very keen to help, she has lived and been self sufficient here her whole life, I don't think she has ever stepped foot into a supermarket! She is amused by my over pampering of chickens as she see's them purely as a food source but she always means well.

And JT, yes they were a sorry state but they are gradually warming to me, I have been giving them scrambled egg a couple of times a week, which they go nuts for, so they have just today started to climb over my boots and jump up when they see egg in my hands. I usually sit with them a few times a day, so they no longer run and hide. I haven't yet picked one up as I don't want to frighten them yet and have to start trust all over again.

On a different note, I have just hand picked about 200 Colorado Beetle of my potato plants GRRRRR, can I feed them to the chickens?