New and need advice

[Chicken.Lytle]

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Welcome to BYC! I started with chickens over the summer and the people of BYC have been great. Please visit my BYC Page for my blog links that you may find informative or amusing.

You do not need a rooster for protection. I got mine to defend the flock or serve as hawk fodder. He saved the flock once and left the girls to die once. So a rooster is little helpful, but not a substitute for poultry netting. Suggest you use a tractor to keep predators away from your foraging birds.

Remember that letting chickens out to roam is an implicit decision to risk losing some to predators. I thought I was OK with the risk until it happened.

 

[dsqard]

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Um SLC is not really all that warm. I live about 45 minutes southwest of there and it is pretty cold.
To the OP, you won't have to insulate, but learn about proper ventilation and humidity in the coop when it is cold. You will have to be concerned about that.

 

[secuono]

I would, at least bare minimum, put a tarp on the roof.

 

[newchicken22]

So I have an idea. My shed is on the West Side of my house. I could easily make a fence that would keep them boxed in over there, but should I cover it with chicken wire? I see all these runs that are covered with chicken wire, I assume that is because of predators, but i am not sure. So I could still let them roam the yard when I am back there but keep them in the run when I am not there. Let me know what you all think. and where is the best place to get supplies for building a 8 ft long fence/gate. Thanks.

 

[ChickenWisperer]

If you in the suburbs, then a rooster may be problematic, but they don't crow at night. Early, early in the mornings - yes.

If you choose not to get a rooster, it's safe to say you will lose more than you would having one. You're going to lose some anyway, but I wouldn't freerange birds without some sort of warning system now (rooster, guineas, etc). If you do get a rooster, the fewer hens you have the more those hens will suffer (more hens = each hen being mated less often).

Predators is a HUGE thing to think about when you get chickens - one of the first things to think about. If the run/house isn't secure, you will lose birds to foxes, possums, owls, etc and if you let them freerange you will lose them to hawks, dogs, cyotes, etc if they are unsupervised (this includes being inside the house with the windows open. I missed a hawk attack by only a few minutes, and it was much too late. I never even heard the girls screaming, and they were within 20 feet of the house with a window cracked).

Yes. The run of the roof needs to be covered with wire, or secure netting if the fence is tall enough. If you do decide to make a secure run/"ranging pen" then I would pass on getting a roo. My hens are much happier without one.

 

[newchicken22]

2 more questions:
How high does my fence need to be to keep the chickens in?
The door on the shed slides close but doesn't shut tight. how big of hole can a chicken get through? and with it closed it is pitch dark will that be a problem?
Thanks

 

[ChickenWisperer]

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Assuming that you are putting wire/netting over it for real protection from hawks/owls, they will not get out. If you don't put a top on it, I'm not sure how high it would need to be. I, personally, don't see any point in making a run for them if you don't cover it with netting or wire.

I would fix the door or replace it. The chickens getting out isn't the problem - it's the predators that will get in. And it doesn't have to be a very large gap, or an unsecured (lockable, or something simular) door/window. I use latch locks on my really little coop made out of pallets, and the big coop has an "real" door.