Looking for ideas for coops, tractors, etc.

[SouthGALadyLee]

Hoping to gain some insight into raising chickens and things to help in maintaining them in this dreadful Southeast Georgia high heat index and mugginess. Looking for lightweight yet secure chicken tractor ideas, best coops, fencing, nutrition, etc.

 

[dennisma1]

Are you rural? I have a coop in rural Fl, the coop itself is airy with windows of doubled hardware cloth. The coop is inside a run of chain link. I used to have hardware cloth run with bird netting but it looked crappy . Standing up right is a plus ( In old coop I had a market umbrella with bird netting over it.) An electrified fence would be good too.
As for feed I use layer pellet but also feed any and all leftovers that dogs won't eat. My birds free range, they eat frogs, lizards, baby mice, grass, bugs, so yeah, I doubt my scraps will kill them Don't sweat it. Chickens have been domesticated for longer than dogs. They are adaptable and hardy. Chickens that get to forage will be healthier, though not safer. It is a toss up. My dogs protect Chickens.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC!

As a fellow resident of the Steamy Southeast, I suggest that you create an Open Air coop -- essentially a roofed run with a 3-sided shelter at the windward end. VENTILATION is your best friend.

This is my current build:

The shelter will be on the uphill side.

Locate the coop in natural shade if possible and, if not possible, provide artificial shade.

How many chickens did you want to have?

The Usual Guidelines say that for each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop,
• 10 square feet in the run,
• 1 linear foot of roost,
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

The red coop above is designed to meet all the minimums for 4 hens and survived Hurricane Florence bone-dry due to the roof overhangs.

The brooder shown in the second picture is sized to hold 8 adults. It has 16 square feet of permanent ventilation and 10 more square feet of supplemental ventilation -- but still needed additional shade to keep the temperatures inside from exceeding 100F.

I'm currently feeding all-flock crumble with oystershell on the side because I have a mix of layers and juveniles. I give electrolytes once a week in hot weather.