Lost first timer

[Jamie0215]

I am new to this and am learning as I go but am feeling a little lost so hopefully someone can help me out. I have 2 little chicks that are still in the brooder but am working on the coop design. I am so confused on the whole thing. I have limited space but want to make sure they have plenty of room to be happy. I am working on a tractor style coop but I don't understand if I need to make it two levels for them to come in at night. Should they come in the coop right to a roost or to a nest? Is it ok for them to share a 2'wide x 1' deep box as a nest or is that too small? Do you want the nest box to be tall enough they can stand or is the point to lay and move on? Can my roost for only 2 hens be 2 feet or should it be longer? Finally.....do you close off the coop during the day and open it at night or just let them come and go as they please?

Thanks for ANY help

 

[Weasleymum]

For the nest boxes, one 12" x 12" x 12" box (that's 1 foot wide, 1 foot deep, and 1 foot tall) will work just fine for two hens. If they're a very large breed, you can go slightly bigger, like 14"x14". The general rule of thumb is 1 nest box for every 3-4 hens, so for two girls, just one box would do it. You don't want to make it too over-sized because they like to lay in dark, cozy spaces.

Generally, chickens will sleep on the roost, and only use the nest for laying eggs. The rule I've read in several places, is one linear foot of roost per chicken, so I'd think that a 2-foot-long roost would work for two chickens. To encourage roosting on the roost and not in the nest box, make sure the roost is higher up than the nest; they generally like to sleep in the highest place they can reach.

I'm not sure what you mean by two levels, but I doubt it's necessary for the chickens... most people that elevate the coop part of a tractor do it to get more room for the run underneath, provide the chickens a shady/dry spot under the coop, and make it easier to clean out (so that you don't have to get down on the ground to clean, etc.) If you go to the 'coops' link from the main backyardchickens.com page, there are tons and tons of examples to look at, plus the 'coop and run construction' area of the forum. I've gotten so much good information there!

Good luck, and congratulations on your chicks!

 

[Jamie0215]

Thank you so much! This is such a help. I think I am getting chicken anxiety over this lol, I chick is a Production Red and the other is a Golden Laced Wyandotte. Do I close it off during the day or is it best to let them come and go?

 

[whitetail98]

Well it depends do you have a lot of predators by you? And if its just closed off by chicken wire then you probably will want to close them up at night.

 

[Mitchell Farm]

Congrats on your new family! There is really no right or wrong to the design of your tractor. My main concern would be to make it tight to prevent any predator from gettimg in. Leavs a foot of space for roosts per bird. 2 sq. Ft. Is best for inside the coop...4 even better. 10 sq ft per bird is the standard for outdoors to keep them from turning the run into a dirt pit, but u can get by on much, much less space if u move your tractor around the yard or pasture often. As far as nest boxes go, a foot by foot by 10-12 inches is pretty standard. Best of luck!

 

[Weasleymum]

Thank you so much! This is such a help. I think I am getting chicken anxiety over this lol, I chick is a Production Red and the other is a Golden Laced Wyandotte. Do I close it off during the day or is it best to let them come and go?

Do you mean close the whole thing off from the outside? It's generally a good idea, unless you're home to watch. Sadly, I've never been able to keep my birds "cooped up" very well-- I always end up thinking, 'but they'd be so much happier out in the yard!" Well, I've lost enough chickens now that we're building a permanent coop and run that will be nice enough for me to *leave them in there* except under supervision.

 

[hotrodflash]

Thank you so much! This is such a help. I think I am getting chicken anxiety over this lol, I chick is a Production Red and the other is a Golden Laced Wyandotte. Do I close it off during the day or is it best to let them come and go?

Let them come and go during the day, even though laying is a ways away, they will need to be able to go in to lay. And the coop is safety, if something scares them, they need a place to hide.

 

[newburt]

here is one of my 4x8 tractors

my tractors are 4x8 with the coop on top 4x4. The coop has a ladder that goes up to the top and when the chickens get ready to roost they simply climb the ladder and go inside the coop. I have seen several entries on here that say that you have to have 10 square feet per chicken, but I think thats more for the people who have stationary coops. My chickens are grass fed and the tractors get moved daily to keep them on fresh grass. When im home on the weekends I like to move the coop a couple or even three times daily if I can because I love to see the girls go crazy over the new fresh grass. I think you can get away with 3-5 square feet per chicken in the run if you move it daily and dont do a lot of backtracking before nature has time to clean up after your chickens. This method provides great fertilizer in the areas where the tractors have been also. The coop I still believe needs about 2-3 square feet per chicken so that they are not cramped. In my opinion you want to prevent huddling as much as possible. I dont close the coop at night and I live where predators are rampant especially coons and coyotes. Dogs seem to be a problem also but I have been told that if a tractor gets moved daily digging underneath is highly discouraged and I have not yet had any problems, but you can add 12 inches of wire all the way around your tractor extending 90 degrees away from your pen to further discourage predatory digging. I am currently beginning to build 8x8 tractors for 6-8 chickens with a 4x8 coop on top. I give 2 nest boxes ( dont really have a dimension for them) for 6 chickens. What I go by is 1 nest box per 4 chickens and I will tell you the tractors of mine that have 4 hens in them usually have all the eggs each day in the same box, they tend to want to share. I think seeing the eggs in the box makes them want to lay there. You can go to a local feed store or a tractor supply if you have one to see what a typical nest box looks like. I dont think you want to make them too big because not only do they take up coop space but the hens feel more cozy ( I believe ) in a smaller one, but this can largely depend on the breed of chickens that you have also. Smaller breeds may prefer smaller boxes but I have not yet had a problem getting a hen to lay in whatever I provided for her to lay in. I have seen several people use milk crates full of hay. Hope this helps and have a Blessed Day!!! Good Luck

 

[bugkiller]

I only keep 2 chickens my self and I built a 4x8 coop including the run. It works great and is plenty of room for even 2 more birds if I want to add them later on. PM me if you want details and or picks of my setup and I could email them to you

 

[newburt]

do you have problems uploading pics to this sited also? Im not very computer savvy and I cant seem to get pics uploaded. About 1 out of every 5 actually go