Looking for tips on keeping chickens naturally. Permaculture chickens.

[HeidiEmbrey]

i need to find out what kind of plants are really good for them so I can grow those in their two runs that it sounds like I'm going to have..I can see the coop and run design now..and I should make my chicken tractor as light weight as possible while still safe and secure should be my main design goal there.. still need to work out how big but getting a much better idea of how big!! Have known from the start the tractor needs to be as wide as my pathways which are all about 4 ft wide.. 4 by 10 tractor for 4 chickens would be perfect? 10 sq ft per w 4 birds? for the tractor? and 20 ft by 4 or 5 ft (bigger?) split into two fixed rotating runs with the coop in the middle would do for that? i could put their backs against the house for protection too.. could check on them right outside 2 windows

 

[HeidiEmbrey]

picturing something like this now but with the coop in the middle , split into two and one side healing while the other is being destroyed lol..why do a lot of people have two coops like in this photo here? see the two little houses? can anyone tell me do I need to do that for if one chicken is not feeling well or injured? or is that for hens with chicks?

 

[lazy gardener]

IMO, people have 2 coops like that b/c they made the mistake of buying a "doll house coop" and then found out that it is too small/poorly constructed to meet the flock needs. Better to have a single coop that can be divided if need be. Sidecar style nest boxes are great unless you live in the "winter wonderland"! For 4 birds, I suggest that you have a single nest box, but make it a double wide. They're all gonna wanna lay in the same nest anyways, so if it's wide enough for 2 tushies at a time, that'll be great.

If you're gonna do coop + 2 runs, I'd put the coop in the middle (of course) and have a pop door at either end. That way, all you have to do is choose which pop door to open. Make the runs "walk in". Birds like to hang out under the coop, but don't make that space any larger L x W than you can easily see into, and reach into "just in case". Also, make it high enough, if you choose to use that space for chicken habitat so that you could, if needed, get under there. My space is not that high, but I can reach all the way in with a long handled rake/hoe, and I regularly inspect under there. You will need to be vigilant with such spaces b/c of your snake issues.

I like deep litter in both coop and run. I use leaves, grass clippings, yard debris, wood chips, hay... See how that set up has no bare soil? Smart flock master. Granted, they will dig a dust bath, and that spot will be bare, but IMO, bare soil is not healthy soil.

 

[HeidiEmbrey]

IMO, people have 2 coops like that b/c they made the mistake of buying a "doll house coop" and then found out that it is too small/poorly constructed to meet the flock needs. Better to have a single coop that can be divided if need be. Sidecar style nest boxes are great unless you live in the "winter wonderland"! For 4 birds, I suggest that you have a single nest box, but make it a double wide. They're all gonna wanna lay in the same nest anyways, so if it's wide enough for 2 tushies at a time, that'll be great.

If you're gonna do coop + 2 runs, I'd put the coop in the middle (of course) and have a pop door at either end. That way, all you have to do is choose which pop door to open. Make the runs "walk in". Birds like to hang out under the coop, but don't make that space any larger L x W than you can easily see into, and reach into "just in case". Also, make it high enough, if you choose to use that space for chicken habitat so that you could, if needed, get under there. My space is not that high, but I can reach all the way in with a long handled rake/hoe, and I regularly inspect under there. You will need to be vigilant with such spaces b/c of your snake issues. I like deep litter in both coop and run. I use leaves, grass clippings, yard debris, wood chips, hay... See how that set up has no bare soil? Smart flock master. Granted, they will dig a dust bath, and that spot will be bare, but IMO, bare soil is not healthy soil.

Was just looking thinking I love this because the space under the coop is nice, not wasted! And I could just build out the other side the same way and block it off on either side of the coup with a screen or something..do you see any flaws in this design? Thanks so much or the tips!! I keep having to look up words you all are using which is great ..just curious..why shouldn't i just give them each their own nest box? Is that why you said they all will prefer to use the same one anyway? What if all 4 want to lay an egg at once?

 

[lazy gardener]

It's their nature to all want to lay in the same box. There's safety in numbers. Think of it this way... if each hen has her own box, she lays her egg, then that egg is left exposed until she returns the next day to lay her next egg. If you have 4 hens sharing the same box, that little clutch of eggs gets 4 times as much protection. Chickens will all climb into the same nest box, arguing and fussing, and standing on top of each other to lay their eggs, when there may be 1 or a dozen empty boxes available. I've seen as many as 4 birds crowded into a single nest box, with an other one standing on the "run way" screaming at them to leave so she can have her turn. I have 6 singles, as well as a community nest box.

 

[HeidiEmbrey]

It's their nature to all want to lay in the same box. There's safety in numbers. Think of it this way... if each hen has her own box, she lays her egg, then that egg is left exposed until she returns the next day to lay her next egg. If you have 4 hens sharing the same box, that little clutch of eggs gets 4 times as much protection. Chickens will all climb into the same nest box, arguing and fussing, and standing on top of each other to lay their eggs, when there may be 1 or a dozen empty boxes available. I've seen as many as 4 birds crowded into a single nest box, with an other one standing on the "run way" screaming at them to leave so she can have her turn. I have 6 singles, as well as a community nest box.

hehehe thanks so much for the info..priceless! double wide nest box it is!! Gonna have the happiest chickens thanks to ya'll

 

[Nardo]

I meant to copy the picture of the two hen houses, but my mouse slipped. So anyway, maybe the two house set up is for integrating younger chicks-there is a wire divider so they can look but not touch. Or maybe for keeping a hurt one separate.

 

[HeidiEmbrey]

My article on our coop/run/chicken keeping situation is still in the writing process. here's the quick version:
We built a hoop run, on wheels, to move the girls around the property. 4'wx10'h x 5.5' tall. We also put their original coop on wheels and designed both units to dock together. This allowed the pullets to get out and about and be on fresh ground as often as I was able/willing to move them.
Then it became obvious that the dogs were better with the chickens than anticipated and the girls got let out every morning. We built a permanent coop (new and improved roosts!) and in preparation for the cold season, moved the hoop run to dock to the permanent coop (took the wheels off).
It's all working well, except that the first two layers want to use the original coop for nesting. We'll get that shifted before Thanksgiving but right now all is well.
We are not doing the zero input thing you are talking about (because, Montana!) but the girls seem content, the eggs are fabulous, the grasshoppers non-existent since we started free ranging. We might even get topsoil sometime in the next several decades as a result of their work.
DLM, lock up at night, the dogs are great protectors... but we do not have neighbors, streets or stray dogs and cats. Local predators are kept at bay by the dogs and the fact that there is abundant easy prey. We do get very gusty winds, forest/range fires are a possibility, sub zero temps are guaranteed.

Found those videos of the guy with chickens in his greenhouse he heats with compost in Sweden if you're interested