Needing some help! Ok, LOTS of help!

[Egrant97]

Ok, so we acquired two chickens with our new rental place in Italy, and I want to build them a coupe. I am thinking they really were not taken care of in the past so my wife and I will be spoiling them!! Some basic questions as I have been reading through these posts.

Should each chk have her own nesting box? Do the nesting boxes that hang of the side of the coop each have its own door and walls or is it just an open area?

I am assuming the chickens will be sleeping in the coop, and only laying eggs in the nesting box. If I am right, I am also assuming the will just be sleeping and therefore pooping in main cabin of the coop? Any suggestions for cleaning ease?

I am going to take some picture tomorrow of the set up they have now so you can all see what I am working with and give me suggestions. Right now it seems they sleep outside on a suspended frame made from 1"x2" slats.

I hope these make sense. I am looking forward to the project.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Several years back we moved into a home that had chickens from the previous owner. They roosted in the rafters of an open horse shelter. I think if we had built a coop for them at first they would have looked at it... and cackled at us... and then run away. I bring this up because I wonder how easy it is for you to handle the chickens. Have you thought about how you will get them to use the coop? Chickens are such creatures of habit. You will probably need to pick the chickens off their current roost at night and put them on the roost in the coop. You might need to keep doing that for a while to get them used to the coop. That said, I'm sure they would be safer in a coop, and you could eventually get them used to it.

I have 10 chickens in one coop, and they share 2 favorite nest boxes out the 6 available. There are so many ways to design a coop. Think about what kind of floor you want: a raised floor with bedding like straw, a ground floor with sand, etc?

You have probably already looked at the coop pages on this site for ideas: . https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops
Too bad more people don't go back and post after using them for several months and say what worked best and what they wish they had done differently.

 

[Egrant97]

Thank you for the great information. They might not know what to do with a coop, but as of right now they sleep outside in the weather. I will post some pics tomorrow. I am sure everyone here will be upset at the current living conditions, but I am working on making it better. As for handling the chickens, I have not tried but the red sex link (I think) loves seeing me in the morning when it is time to feed. She follows me into the shed as I get their food and then beats me to their feeding spot. I am not sure if chickens like to be pet or not, but I have reached down, she squats a little bit as I rub between her shoulders. As for the white one with furry feet (maybe a Columbian Wyandotte), she stays away from me.

As for the coop I have seen some really nice designs but cannot figure out what they are suppose to look like inside. I think I figured out they are on a "roost" outside and this needs to be inside the coop, above the nesting box. Should the floor be solid and then just use shavings, if so how often should I change out shavings? Or should the floor be more like wire or open so the dropping fall out the bottom?

They didn’t have a nest box till a couple of days ago. I used a plastic crate and put some shavings in it, they are both using it, I am assuming they take turns cause there are usually two eggs in there!

LOL, I said I needed lots of help!!

 

[Egrant97]

So as I promised yesterday, here are some pics of the current situation for my coop. I guess this would just be considered a run, as there really is no "coop" or anywhere for the ladies to get into out of the weather. As you can see from the pics the it gets pretty muddy when it rains, they dont seem to be bothered by it, so that will stay the same for a while. First project is to put in a raised coop about 4'x4' with exterior nesting boxes, (top right hand side of layout pic), replaceing the nesting box house thing that is there.

They have access to the entire area as the only gate I keep closed is the main gate that leads to the yeard (left hand side of layout pic). Since the compost really is only for weeds, lawn clippings and ashes form the fire place, is it ok that they are in it? They seem to scavenge and dig. I might start throwing scrap food in there as well. I just am worried about it stinking too bad. The last guy would just toss all his food scraps in for the chickens, and with only two, it piled up and smelled horrible!

So let the suggestions begin.....

 

[Egrant97]

Forgot to attach this one... it is a view from another angle.. From the half that has the compost.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

It sounds like the red hen is friendly and doesn't mind a pet if there is a promise of food. She probably won't freak out if you pick her up off her roost and put her in the new coop. Chickens are more docile after they roost once it gets dark because they have poor night vision. That feather footed chicken may be a Light Brahma, by the way.

I have a raised coop. 2 x 4 board is usually recommended for the roost. My coop has a large door for me to access the coop for cleaning etc, a pop door for the chickens and a door to the nest boxes.

I like having a removable 2 x 4 at the door to the coop that acts as a lip to keep the bedding in, but then I can take it out to more easily clean the coop. I use wood shavings, but others use straw or even sand as bedding.


Hopefully you will find a design in the coop pages on this site that is a helpful model.

as far as the compost pile, I think it is fine for them to have access, but you may just want to put in vegetable scraps from the kitchen.

 

[salt and pepper]

Well, I hope I can help. First, the floor does need to be solid, as they will be more likely to use it, and not hurt themselves then if it was wire. You can use shavings, straw, or hay, and clean it out twice a month. the roost is what the sleep on, and needs to be higher then the nest box, you only need one nest box for two hens. The coop needs to be raised at least 2 ft off the ground, and the walls need to be at least two feet tall. Question, why is there so much stuff in the chicken run? it's a nice sized run for only two chooks, but I would take out all the stuff that doesn't necessarily have a use.

I also agree with every thing scratch 'n peck has said

 

[Egrant97]

Thank you both for al your help. But ofcourse i have a few more questions.

I think i am giong to go with shavings, when you say clean it out at least twice a month does this mean a complete change of the shavings? I am not sure what i would do with all of the soiled shaveings....

Once I build the coop, I plan on removing everything else from the run. to give them more room to roam around. By the looks of it, will it be ok for 4 chickens to raom around that pen/run. I try to let them free range the yard a couple hours a day but want to be sure they are not being "abused" if i have to keep them in the run for a week or so at a time depending on certain situations...

The measurements i am thinking are a 4'x4', raised 3 feet off the ground with walls about 4' high.

 

[salt and pepper]

The run looks plenty large for 4 hens, and yes I meant all the shaving every two weeks, some people do it once a month, but by then it STINKS, and I like clean coops. The shavings compost really well, and if you have a garden, make great fertilizer.

 

[smccuen]

4x4 ft is enough room for 4 chickens. The roost needs to be away from the nest boxes as they will poop while using the roost and you don't want the poop falling on the nest boxes. The "deep litter" method is useful and with it you do NOT have to do a complete clean-out every two weeks. Look it up on this or other websites for details. The shavings or other bedding that you use in the coop can go straight into your compost pile and the chickens can help with the compost turnover if you allow them access to the pile. There are some excellent links on this website regarding chickens and compost. In fact, on this website you can find reliable information on just about everything you want to know about having chickens. Enjoy.