More dumb questions from the New Chicken Mother

[brijetterom]

Q: How do I know that I am keeping their coop clean enough? I clean it about one a week and the make a HUGE mess of it. I am afraid of them getting mites.

Q: They don't seem to like their nesting beds I made for them although they are only 3 1/2 months old…. Maybe that's why?

Q: I have no idea how much feed they are actually eating because they make a HUGE mess of it when I put it in their coop. Since they don't seem to like the bottom part of the coop they just stay upstairs making a huge mess all day. I don't want my babies to be hungry!

Thanks, and sorry I am so new to this!

 

[lazy gardener]

Can you post a pic of your coop? How big is it, how big is the lower level? How many birds? Can you move their feed and water down into the lower level? I never feed or water my flock in the upper level of my coop. They use it only for sleeping and laying. And, they are in the lower level or out ranging in their run or free ranging all the rest of the time, rain or shine. (except for the below zero days last winter when they did spend several days upstairs) You might also look into fermented feed. That eliminates wasted feed and cuts WAY down on the mess. Is their feed and water kept at their shoulder level???

The frequency of cleaning the coop shouldn't affect the likelihood of them getting mites. Either they will pick them up from their environment, or they won't. The important thing is to be sure that they have access to a dust bath on a daily basis. That will desicate any creepy crawlies before they are likely to bring them back to the coop. So, clean the coop when you think it needs to be cleaned.

Love your Bright Lights.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Clean the coop when it's dirty. I remove poop from under the roosts every morning.

Nesting beds? Do you mean nest boxes? At 3 1/2 months they aren't laying yet so they don't need nest boxes yet. They should be roosting on roosts at night. Do they have one available?

What kind of feeder are you using? An open pan or dish won't work well and will result in big messes and wasted feed. There are various poultry feeders with small openings for them to eat from that cut down on waste. They should have feed available in a feeder all the time.

Post a pic of your coop if you can.

 

[brijetterom]

Thank you for all your information!! The Coop is 2 levels, much larger than other coops I have seen and there are 3 birds.

I like your idea of feeing only on the bottom level. I think I will start that when they are closer to laying eggs. Its much more convent for me to feed them from the top for now.

I'll post photos and that will explain a lot!


I currently just use a homed feeder that basically a container with holes that they peck the food out of. I was just putting a bowl down and I realized that was a huge waste.

Water is just in a plant base. I plan on buying a better feeder/water or making on when I find a design concept I like
.this is the bottom level of the coop.

Here is the top.

 

[brijetterom]

With all this information in mind, are there any feeder/Water you all recommend?

 

[lazy gardener]

I use dog bowls for fermented feed. Other than the little chick feeders, I've never bought a feeder. But there are some nice designs in the "feeding and watering your flock" section. If I were giving pelleted feed, I'd use one of those designs and make one. I can't stand spending good money for "cheap made in china" products when I can make something that will probably meet my needs better.