New chicken logistics

[LynneP]

With an engineer hubby (nice catch) you could build the kind of coop everyone dreams of. Comfortable for you and the chickens and as secure as Fort Knox. If you build it right you'll all be motivated to do the chores in comfort and you'll know the birds are safe. Then if you don't like chickens it's ready for alpacas!

 

[suburbanhomesteader]

My backyard is laid out very similarly to yours, with the exception that I have a tree line to the south of where you are going to put the chickens. I also have a space for garden, and a space for people/dogs.

I agree that even with just 3 chickens, that area will probably become dirt in a little less than a month.

However, I disagree about the poopy, muddy, cement.

I collect leaves in the fall and use them generously in the bottom of the Chunnel (the run part of my chicken domicile) The hens scratch and dig in the leaves, which breaks down the leaves into leaf litter, which (for some reason; maybe because it has naturally-occurring beneficial bacteria?) is virtually odorless most of the time (there is only a small odor on hot rainy days). I have completely stopped using wood shavings, even inside the coop, because they do not have the same look or effect.

To prevent loss from predators, my hens are in their Chunnel unless I am watching them (even then, I lost one to a hawk who struck 5 feet from me! He couldn't lift her over the trees, but he dropped her about 20' when he realized it, and his talon had punctured her lung). Even with that threat, I enjoy letting them out in the evening for about an hour, and during that time, I put the dogs in the house and let the chickens in the people/dog (ie, lawn) part of the yard. It is really a hoot to have them follow me around and watch them play and poke around. I also think it helps provide them with a more well-rounded diet than they can find in their chunnel.

My own dog killed one of my hens because I accidentally left the coop door unlatched, and the hens pushed it open when they saw me come outside. Hens in/dogs out or hens out/dogs in is the only way I can handle it with any certainty; good luck with your efforts.

And one more thing; this is going to sound gross, but if you let the hens free-range in the yard for just an hour a day, the dogs will take care of the chicken poop problem. I know, ewwww, but it's true.

 

[Xtina]

Thanks for the advice. I completely understand what you mean about letting the dogs handle it. I don't call my girl-dog "poo-breath" for nothing. She is a big fan of the kitty granola. Eeewww. But that's a dog for you.

 

[Anny]

Quote:
Great advise. I to own a dog with very high pray drive. She was due to be put to sleep at the animal shelter I work at because she was cat, small animal, and dog agressive. She is a Husky/Akita/Elkhound/German shepard mixing bowl of breeds, but almost all of them are hunting dogs. With HIGH pray drives. At the shelter we normally will not adopt out akitas to homes with other animals, and huskys are never allowed in homes with cats.



At the animal shelter that I work at we also do alot of rescue work with Pit Bulls, a wonderful breed of dog, that is just horrible misunderstood. (They to have a very high pray drive that can get them into alot of trouble)

She nows lives happily in a home with 2 cats, no issues. She's even allowed me to foster dogs from work with out trouble. She still acts like a brat at times when she sees a cat on the street but is much easier to control. The key is distraction, and never letting your gaurd down.

Here is Lola with my foster puppy. No more dog aggression here.


I've been starting to get her used to the idea of chickens before I even bring them home.

Alot of times it's simply out of sight out of mind with her. And I plan on making my coop, Lola proof.


I think the best advise she gave you is, never ever leave the dog alone in the yard with chicken unsupervised. NEVER EVER, even if the dogs are showing no interest in the chickens. Who knows many the chicken will get excited and run by really fast, and the dog will thing "oh something to chase" even if the dog is just playing the chicken could get more frightened and excited and over excite the dog and things could get bad fast.


Ok...now on to the chickens.

Chickens don't need to much space. For 3 chickens you'd need about 6 square feet inside the coop 30 square feet out side the coop.

The rule of the thumb is 2 square feet per chicken inside
10 square feet per chicken outside.

I think you could house them in the garden if you really wanted to, and this would help keep the dogs away from the chickens. You could even high the run with tall plant in the garden or with climbing plants around the run. so the dogs couldn't even see the chickens. Out of sight out of mind.

Good luck!

 

[Davaroo]

Chickens don't need to much space. For 3 chickens you'd need about 6 square feet inside the coop 30 square feet out side the coop.

The rule of the thumb is 2 square feet per chicken inside
10 square feet per chicken outside.

Heres the problem with Rules of Thumb - everybody has different sized thumbs. These are stated space allowances right out of the commercial business and require intensive management.

Allow me one more shot at beating my drum.

You can keep them in this space, but the results will be a funky chicken pen. If that is your aim, go for it. You had better lay in a big supply of sand, mulch and lime, as youll need it. Most people that do this have been taught that is how it should be done; they dont often know any better. By the way, ensure you know the city ordinances, or you may get a surprise when the neighbors complain.

This says nothing of whether you have good drainage on that plot or keeping them on 2 sq ft during the winter. Fortunately you're in Portland - it only rains there and gets cold in winter, not a lot of freezing temps. At least youll only have a wet, cold and mucky chicken pen, and not a frozen one.

Seriously to keep them out of their own filth and thus minimie disease, they require more space than that. Confinement in minimal conditions is really not advisable when it isn't needed. Many people consider the chicken as an afterthought, shoehorning them into the smallest of spaces as you initially intended. Hey, the bird doesnt complain, so it must be okay, right?

You are planning an ordered and well thought out arrangement for your yard. I hope you've gotten that you should include the bird in the considerations and open up as much of the space to them as you can. They can use it. The choice is yours.

Now I'll get my coat and leave this alone.​

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Heres the problem with Rules of Thumb - everybody has different sized thumbs. These are stated space allowances right out of the commercial business and require intensive management.<snip>
You can keep them in this space, but the results will be a funky chicken pen.<snip>Confinement in minimal conditions is really not advisable when it isn't needed. Many people consider the chicken as an afterthought, shoehorning them into the smallest of spaces as you initially intended. Hey, the bird doesnt complain, so it must be okay, right?

Have to strongly agree here.

Firstly, in a rainy climate like Portland's they will need to spend a lot of extra time in the coop some weeks (unless you create a larger roofed area of the run - but if you're doing that then why not just make a slightly bigger coop as well

). They are going to want ROOM. It is not really much harder to build a larger coop - this is only 3 chickens we're talking about after all

and everybody will be MUCH happier with it.

Crowding them in like a factory-farm is also just askin' for trouble with pecking etcetera. Those problems get much likelier and more common the more you squish the chickens together. They can be pretty hard to cure once they start up. So it also depends how much you want to play 'cannibalism roulette'.

Conclusion: give them as much space as you can manage. The more elbow room they have, the better off everyone will be.

Pat

 

[TeaLady]

Welcome to the world of chickens!

With your yard layout, I'd be tempted to divide your veggie and proposed run area into two equal spaces, with the coop positioned to access either one. Something like this: http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/silveira44a.html.

The idea is to let the chickens weed, de-bug, and fertilize one yard while you grow veggies in the other yard, switching off every year.

You might want the coop to be handy to your house -- at least the outside egg access part of the coop.

And I keep wondering, are you SURE you'll just have 3? They are pretty endearing. Unless you have strict legal limits and fussy neighbors, I'd build for more just to keep my options open.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Eggsellent ideas. The coop on the other side (yard side) of the veg garden with a dividing line down the center is a great idea. Basically you create two garden paddocks.
And you CAN let the chickens in you growing garden, you just have to create barriers of net or wire to keep them out of the succulent goodies. Many tall growing plants can be their shade, and so on.

 

[dskinla]

I found an interesting solution for blending chooks with gardens on an Australian poultry site. Here's the link; scroll down to see lots of photos of the raised bed with the portable coop.

http://forum.backyardpoultry.com/viewtopic.php?=&p=20418

 

[Davaroo]

Heres what I use:

What you cant see are the wheels which dismount on pivoting arms. This is a poultrr shelter which moves from place to place and creates a growing bed as the birds live in it.

Once youve gotten the floor of it covered in mulch, compost, clippings and manure, you lever on the wheels, move it and use the space it once occupied to plant in. Do that in an orderly, row fashion and you create a series of growing beds with a new one always "in the works."
Cycle back to the first one after a year and you will have an entire series of garden beds in different states of cultivation.

Same idea, less work to move. You could do this in your garden readily. And you can stand up and work in mine. Did I mention it also doubles as a chick brooder, cold frame or greenhouse?