New coop build for new chicks

[Alaskan]

As to upping the protein and fat levels. Yes i been thinking i do need to do so. Any recommedations on how to do so ? The last bag of feed i got from town did

You should be able to get regular commercial poultry feed at 20 or 22%

When temps stay below zero F for extended periods I find adding more fat and protein is helpful. Freezer burnt salmon, and left over fats from cooking that I then mix up into their feed works well.

I have never been into feeding wet mash... by the time you get it walked out to the coop, it will just be a cold to frozen ice block. Fat mixed into the feed doesn't freeze as solid/hard as water.

My older sis adds cat food in the winter.



If you don't want to increase fat or protein, you could probably get by with just keeping their daylight at 12 to 10 hours. Chickens will not eat in the dark.

 

[NatJ]

As far as lighting up the coop for extra time i have no plans on doing so as i do not want them to start laying until maybe the end of Feb. They hatched August 1st. So we will just play that by ear.

Chickens are sensitive to how many hours of daylight, but they are even more sensitive to whether the days are getting longer or shorter.

So if you set the lights on a timer to provide 10 hours or 12 hours of daytime (as @Alaskan suggested), and keep the amount constant, they should not begin laying until the days get longer than that in the spring. But if you let the days get really short and then increase the day length, it might trigger laying. So the trick is to add the extra light before the days get that short.

If your short winter days are naturally longer than 10 hours, it may not be worth trying to length the days. They will probably have enough hours to eat in that case. The further north you go, the more extreme the day length gets (short in winter and long in summer), and I'm not sure what it is where you live.

People who want winter laying will often provide 14 to 16 hours of light each day, which is not what we're suggesting here.

 

[Nodakj]

Work still in progress

 

[Ted Brown]

I guess this coop will never really be done View attachment 3370667

Is that not the nature of coops/runs?

 

[Nodakj]

progress

 

[Nodakj]

A little more progress. Also blocked off the nesting boxes with a piece of plywood that i didn't even have to cut !

 

[Nodakj]

Got the chicken door put in. My daughter cut it out with the jig saw. Kind of wavy but it works just fine . Son wanted the sign so thats put on. The ramp i have had for many years and it is falling apart but good enough to hold the chicks. So painted it tonight and will figure how to attach it later. Waiting on more hardware cloth to get delivered.

 

[Nodakj]

Thank you for the useful information. I appreciate it. Yes i seen the average for Fargo. And that is the Average low. We typically are 10 degrees colder than Fargo. February 2022 was the second month in a row with below normal temperatures. The preliminary average statewide temperature was 9.0 degrees or 6.8 degrees below normal.
I do worry more about bears than mice. Mice i can do something about, bears i hope i can. We have 5 big dogs but i have seen bears within a block of my house a couple times a year. Wolves don't typically venture into peoples yards around here. Although they have been sighted a mile or two away. And i have heard them howling a few times.
I have not built my run yet that is my next project.
As to upping the protein and fat levels. Yes i been thinking i do need to do so. Any recommedations on how to do so ? The last bag of feed i got from town didn't have a very high protein content.

 

[Kiki]

Thank you for the useful information. I appreciate it. Yes i seen the average for Fargo. And that is the Average low. We typically are 10 degrees colder than Fargo. February 2022 was the second month in a row with below normal temperatures. The preliminary average statewide temperature was 9.0 degrees or 6.8 degrees below normal.
I do worry more about bears than mice. Mice i can do something about, bears i hope i can. We have 5 big dogs but i have seen bears within a block of my house a couple times a year. Wolves don't typically venture into peoples yards around here. Although they have been sighted a mile or two away. And i have heard them howling a few times.
I have not built my run yet that is my next project.
As to upping the protein and fat levels. Yes i been thinking i do need to do so. Any recommedations on how to do so ? The last bag of feed i got from town didn't have a very high protein content.

Can you take a picture of the nutritional analysis tag on the feed bag you buy?

 

[NatJ]

I have my new metal waterer with a base thats heated to try this winter. I have had limited luck with heated dog bowls. Pretty much went over to rubber bowls.

Sounds good

As for a wet mash i am kind of thinking i might try it at some point. I am probably going to try the fermenting feed thing too at some point.

Wet mash is like the first step of fermented feed. You just don't let it sit and ferment, so it saves a few steps and still gives about half the benefits. (Of the benefits people claim from fermented feed, some come from getting it wet, rather than from the actual fermenting.)

It's fine to give it sometimes and not others, so you don't have to make a long-term decision and stick with it.

But this week i just got a hanging 8 lb feeder and i am kind of liking not have to fill their feeders 3 times a day.

That definitely sounds more convenient!