Nesting boxes outside NO COOP??? PICS ON PG2

[onthespot]

if they don't think predators will be a problem, tell them to buy a steak and leave it on top of the fence, see how many days it stays up there.

 

[cajunlizz]

Quote:
scroll back and see her picture of the nesting boxes attached to the fence

 

[purr]

i did but i can't find my glasses and its hard to see. that's why i asked if there was a roof.
I'm blind without the reading glasses , sorry

 

[pattee]

I really think she should get a coop and then the nesting boxes (mute point now)... I think the coop came before the nesting box!

If you've read any of the "horror" stories of predators on this forum you'd inform her that something will get them! And I'd hate for new owners to loose their flock.

 

[chicamama]

<------ NOT a chicken expert.

Maybe a small rabbit hutch to lock in at night? X large dog crate? let them out during the day? I did not know a cat could kill a full grown chicken?

 

[tiki244]

Have them go dumpster diving at manufacturing places. I got a cool wooden box about 4 feet high, 5 feet long and 3 feet or more wide, with a cover and am using for a chicken house. By the time I got it home it was in pieces but we got it back together. I got another "complete" box with cover a little smaller I am thinking of putting my Seramas in. I got that on trash day on someones boulevard. These boxes are all over the place, it is amazing, Cant beat the price.

 

[Jolyn]

Granted i haven't been doing this for long and i have a fortress for my hens but "Aren't you guys being a bit harsh on the husband?" Building a coop is hard work and if they just found out they were getting the hens then I don't see how that warrants insulting him.

As for my opinion on what to do....what about a large dog kennel with wire across the top and some dog houses inside. It looks like they are in town.....not too many dogs would get into that fenced yard and if they are full grown i'm not sure a cat could take them down. There are easy coops that can be constructed until a nicer one can be made.

Also i had a neighbor once who had these fencing things that kept her cats in and other cats out of her yard. They would probably work with other animals too. Just an idea.

 

[Half-a-dozen]

You can use large rubbermaid storage bins turned upside down for shelter. A hole cut in for a doorway. I would put the nest boxes lower and put up some wire fencing with reebar, (if you have access to this or anything that would hold it up at this point.
I would be leary tho, in thinking there are NO preditors in your midst. They do pop up once there is something to prey on....

 

[burquechick]

I'm new at this too, but I don't think that looks like it's going to work.

Are they planning on enclosing them entirely in those boxes? That's definitely not enough room and it will get dirty very quickly.

They need a real chicken coop.

 

[blurose]

OK, I've just gotta say this. Chickens can FLY! With the nestin boxes being so high up on that wooden fence, just what makes you think the chickens won't just fly over that fence to someplace else? If you clip a wing, they won't be able to get to the nest box. If you don't cover the tops, or even if you do, it is just a short hop to clear the top of that wooden fence. I have my henhouse on stilts 3+ feet off the ground and I have a ramp for them to walk up into the henhouse. I still have one or two hens flying up on top of the henhouse, easily 8-9 feet off the ground. I have my chicken yard enclosed by a 6ft chainlink fence and have even seen a chicken walking along the roof of the house (MY house). So, I clip one wing of each bird but it still doesn't keep them from trying to get the highest spot around, which is naturally what a chicken wants to do. I'm just trying to point out that if something isn't done, those chickens could soon be wandering the neighborhood. Chickens are pretty self-sufficient and it doesn't take much for them to go "wild" on ya. This is all in addition to the already-pointed-out dangers of predators, and don't forget neighborhood stray dogs either. It wouldn't take much effort for a nice-sized dog to push its head through that wooden fence.