... Whichever breed we go with, I must end up with hens... Even though we have over 5 acres, I don't think my neighbors would appreciate an early morning alarm clock lol
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I think the fear of an outdoor alarm clock is overhyped. I usually keep 5 or fewer roosters but right now I have more than 10. I'm on about an acre in the suburbs. I can't hear the roosters crow if I'm in the house. Until I let them out in the morning, they aren't even very loud when I'm standing outside. There are 2 other people on my street with roosters. We all live on the side of the road that is zoned for minimum 1 acre lots. The other side of the road are all subdivisions. There have been zero complaints.
My closest neighbor's house (an African American family) is less than 100 feet from my closest coop. I went to help them when they got their truck stuck in the mud at the edge of their driveway. I asked the son if he could hear the roosters. He said, "yes'. I asked if they bothered him. He said, "oh no". When his mother came out, I assumed they had discussed the roosters and I asked her if they bothered her. She asked, "You have chickens?" She didn't know I had them till I told her.
My next closest neighbor is an elderly couple across the street from my house. They didn't know I had them till I told them.
My theory is that if you have paper thin walls, single pane windows and no insulation, which may be the case in Florida, they may be a nuisance. They just aren't that loud.
Lawn mowers, weed eaters, boom boxes, barking dogs and train whistles are all louder than roosters.
When sitting at my computer right next to a window, I can't hear roosters, no matter how many are crowing. Sitting at the same computer at 4 AM, I can hear the train whistle 4 miles away.
I had to install baby monitors in the coops so I'd be alerted to problems.
Roosters do crow with first light and may be louder in an open sided coop but still not that loud if not right next to a house.
A couple of our richest suburban cities allow roosters. A friend of mine in Clayton, one of the richest cities in MO has had roosters for at least 5 years and they're right next to her neighbor's house. Granted most of us have old brick homes that shield a lot of noise.
Ok, food inside-
, Water inside-
, Electric net fencing for perimeter protection (soon to be
)
Thanks and appreciate everyone for the info and continue to look for suggestions!
Advantages of food inside is they can start eating when they awaken and the wild birds won't steal as much.
Water inside for the former reason.
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As for breeds, it sounds like you're looking for three things: heat tolerant, friendly, and pretty good egg layers. Some breeds to consider: Australorp, Orpington, Easter Egger, Sussex, Brahma, Welsummer...and, if you want a SUPER FRIENDLY yet not amazing egg layer, a Silkie. Easter Eggers (blue/green) and Welsummers (chocolate brown) will add color to your egg basket. Orpingtons are said to rival Silkies in their potential for being a lap chicken, and Australorps are excellent egg layers who are also friendly. I personally have a Brahma, Sussex, and Easter Egger, and my Brahma is extremely friendly (she jumps up on my lap), with my Sussex a close second. Speckled Sussex are BEAUTIFUL birds. ...
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Those are good friendly breeds with good qualities but it's a tough call. I usually recommend people start with a short list of breeds that can handle their climate before they start whittling the list further for birds that match their wants and needs. Having birds suited to one's climate can make chicken keeping so much less of a hassle.
For Florida, I wouldn't recommend the cold hardy breeds like Brahma and even Welsummer, Orpington and Aorps, can suffer in a long hot summer. I know others in Fla, have them but a welsummer was the only chicken I've ever lost to heat.
Brahmas are very heavy feathered and tend to go broody as do orps, aorps and silkies.
As a general rule, big combed breeds handle heat better. Most American, Continental. English and some Asiatic class breeds are bred for cold hardiness.
I realize that Mediterranean breeds tend to be less friendly but I'd rather have birds that can take the heat. Even skittish breeds can be tamed if handled often as they grow.
Mediterranean class birds tend to lay better, are better foragers and avoid predation better.
In that group are Anconas, Catalanas, Minorcas, White Face Black Spanish, Leghorns, Blue Andalusians. Most of those aren't common except Leghorns.
Emma Miriam, thanks for taking the time in your post!
I have a design setup for a DIY automatic door using a utility battery, solar panel and misc parts..... To start, I'm going to just open and close the door daily so that the new gals get used to us and this will give me some more time to work out the door design.
A dropping board I'm not familiar with but would love to have more info on this.
I'm at the point in the build that I don't think I can come up with more square footage than the 3x5ft foot-print.
This build, even though it may not be the ideal coop thus far, has a story behind it which I failed to explain earlier. I have not spent a single penny on the coop yet... pallets donated, misc wood salvaged, right down to reusing the rusty bent nails my boy and I painstakingly removed from pallets & hammered out straight to reuse. All this done to show my young boy that it's not how much money you have, not what we could just go out and buy but making due with what u have on hand & being proud of what you can do with your own bare hands
sounds good on the auto door and the excellent recycling.
Get more pallets and free stuff on craigslist to make a free larger coop.
