Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Amy PT]

I just got an email yesterday from a teacher wanting 2 doz. hatching eggs. I'm getting so many eggs right now so yeah, absolutely, but don't give me the chicks back! LOL! Luckily this lady appears to keep at least some of them, owing to a comment about her barnyard mix. I wouldn't know what to do with that many chicks. Very small drumsticks.

If I got a few eggs from Lady, would anyone here want the chicks?

 

[Trefoil]

What I'm understanding so far is that chickens are tougher than most give them credit for.

Still delving through all the learning center articles, but one thing I am not finding (maybe it's just me) is a concise list of things/features all coops should have.

So far: Vents, Roosts, Next Boxes, food/water a door/pophole leading to a run or yard for them.

Am I missing anything crucial? I don't want to build it, and then find out after it's done that I am missing some crucial part!

Once I know everything I should have, I can draw up plans, and devise a list of supplies. After that point, the only roadblock is motivating the husband. Dr. Pepper is the preferred method.

I have located local grain suppliers to make sure I know where to get food and supplies for my birds. I will only be keeping 3 hens. There is a local TSC and a smaller, closer feed store, both are sure to charge top dollar for their feeds, but I intend on comparing prices.

I plan on getting a 55 gallon covered garbage style plastic container to store food in bulk. I can dust it with food grade DE to keep pests out.

With only 3 chickens,you won't want to buy more than 50 pounds (1 bag) at a time. As soon as grain is processed ( ground) it starts to lose nutritional value and from experience a 55 gallon drum will hold several hundreds of pounds. Your list of coop necessities looks pretty complete, the rest will be mostly refinements to make your life easier, such as a pan beneath the roost to catch most of the poop & keep your coop cleaner longer. The larger your coop is the easier it will be to keep clean and the easier it will be when the weather is so bad they stay in. Have fun

 

[RaZ]

I plan on getting a 55 gallon covered garbage style plastic container to store food in bulk. I can dust it with food grade DE to keep pests out.

Go with a metal container instead of plastic. Other critters can chew through plastic.

 

[jerabu]

Easy is good with me, lol. Been perusing the DIY threads, and gathering ideas from people who have got this chicken thing down.

Ideally, I would like to build my coop to be well-insulated so I do not need to provide additional heat with bulbs or heaters, etc. I am thinking of putting the coop on the east wall of my house, and adding south and east-facing windows to it to allow morning sunlight to warm it up a little, and admit natural light. that said, there would be no direct light after about noon.

I have heard of people making removable coop-liners, usually out of canvas or other sturdy materials. You make multiple, and when soiled, replace with a clean one, take the soiled one, and shake it out over the compost area, then hose it off, and hang it to dry. I think the ones i saw were fitted over 2 inch thick dowels, which were removable, and hung under the roost bars to catch the poop. The tutorial made it all seem very easy. a washable poop-hammock.

Also have done some reading about deep litter, which looks promising as well.

would one nest box be adequate for 3 hens? I'm leaning towards having 2 - better safe than sorry!

As to the pooping habits of chickens, how often does nest box hay/sawdust typically need to be changed? or do they not poop in their nest boxes?

Is there a standard format for where in a coop the nest boxes, roost bars, and food/water should be placed?

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

Easy is good with me, lol. Been perusing the DIY threads, and gathering ideas from people who have got this chicken thing down.


Ideally, I would like to build my coop to be well-insulated so I do not need to provide additional heat with bulbs or heaters, etc. I am thinking of putting the coop on the east wall of my house, and adding south and east-facing windows to it to allow morning sunlight to warm it up a little, and admit natural light. that said, there would be no direct light after about noon.


I have heard of people making removable coop-liners, usually out of canvas or other sturdy materials. You make multiple, and when soiled, replace with a clean one, take the soiled one, and shake it out over the compost area, then hose it off, and hang it to dry. I think the ones i saw were fitted over 2 inch thick dowels, which were removable, and hung under the roost bars to catch the poop. The tutorial made it all seem very easy. a washable poop-hammock.


Also have done some reading about deep litter, which looks promising as well.

would one nest box be adequate for 3 hens? I'm leaning towards having 2 - better safe than sorry!


As to the pooping habits of chickens, how often does nest box hay/sawdust typically need to be changed? or do they not poop in their nest boxes?


Is there a standard format for where in a coop the nest boxes, roost bars, and food/water should be placed?

I would think one box for 3 hens would be adequate. My girls seem to fight over the favorite 5 nest boxes even though there are 20 in the coop. I like to have my roosts farther away from the nest boxes, just because they poop the most while on their roost for bedtime it seems. I want to try to keep them from walking through poop on their way to the nest boxes. If your roost(s) are higher than the nest box, then they should instinctually use the roost for sleeping.

 

[jerabu]

Cool, now it seems the next step is plans!

 

[1muttsfan]

It is not necessary to provide additional heat for normal healthy chickens, and in some cases can make frostbite more likely by increasing the humidity in the still-freezing coop. Plenty of ventilation is more beneficial - I leave a window open all year round, and usually the pop door to (it exits into a secure run). Insulation, along with ventilation, can make a coop cooler in the summer.

If you are going to do deep litter, plan on your doors being about a foot off the floor.

X2 on the metal container.

1 box is probably enough, but 2 is fine too - a girl likes to have options.

 

[BattleFires]

Easy is good with me, lol. Been perusing the DIY threads, and gathering ideas from people who have got this chicken thing down.

Ideally, I would like to build my coop to be well-insulated so I do not need to provide additional heat with bulbs or heaters, etc. I am thinking of putting the coop on the east wall of my house, and adding south and east-facing windows to it to allow morning sunlight to warm it up a little, and admit natural light. that said, there would be no direct light after about noon.

I have heard of people making removable coop-liners, usually out of canvas or other sturdy materials. You make multiple, and when soiled, replace with a clean one, take the soiled one, and shake it out over the compost area, then hose it off, and hang it to dry. I think the ones i saw were fitted over 2 inch thick dowels, which were removable, and hung under the roost bars to catch the poop. The tutorial made it all seem very easy. a washable poop-hammock.

Also have done some reading about deep litter, which looks promising as well.

would one nest box be adequate for 3 hens? I'm leaning towards having 2 - better safe than sorry!

As to the pooping habits of chickens, how often does nest box hay/sawdust typically need to be changed? or do they not poop in their nest boxes?

Is there a standard format for where in a coop the nest boxes, roost bars, and food/water should be placed?

I don't know if this is happening with people's chickens, but my ducks will use the deep litter to bury their eggs in. I haven't had luck teaching them to use a nest box so maybe you won't have a problem with the chickens?

 

[uchytil]

I don't know if this is happening with people's chickens, but my ducks will use the deep litter to bury their eggs in. I haven't had luck teaching them to use a nest box so maybe you won't have a problem with the chickens?

My ducks live in separate quarters and the hens make a nest in the straw (like a bowl). Egg removal is as easy. The way duck poop is I rather like a layer of straw and clean out every week, or so. Never had a problem.

 

[BattleFires]

My ducks live in separate quarters and the hens make a nest in the straw (like a bowl). Egg removal is as easy. The way duck poop is I rather like a layer of straw and clean out every week, or so. Never had a problem.

Mine will make a nest but they pretty much laid where ever until the last few weeks. Most of the eggs are in a two foot radius and about 2-4 inches down into the litter. I'm hoping the burying will stop when I get them out of the barn and back into their coop.