New to backyard chickens! I need help!

[townchicks]

Welcome to the flock! I personally use deep litter in my run, IMO, that is the most low maintenance way to go. Sand will need regular scooping of the poop to keep it odor free (ish). You will want some more boards along the bottom to hold litter in as you add more. Mix in pine shavings, leaves, bark mulch, etc. The chickens turn it over and mix in the poop, as it breaks down, it composts. For a small run like that, I would just cover it with hardware cloth, and throw a tarp over it, for shade. Since you can't free range, I think at some point you will want to enlarge it, but it's fine for now, for young pullets. You will figure that out as you go, and gain experience, to know what works and what won't, for your.own circumstances. You want to feed a chick food, or all flock ( flock raiser) feed, until they start laying.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

The nipples will freeze unless you have a submersible water heater for the bucket. I use 3 gallon rubber water bowls and in the winter I use a heated base to put under them.

HI and welcome! I think you could put a heated base like this under your water bucket as well, to keep your nipple waterers from freezing, not sure. Ask at your feed store, they might know.

 

[Ted Brown]

I live near Ottawa so our climates are very similar.

My 1st advice is to cover your run with a solid roof. There is no single other thing that will simplify your life and your chickens, especially during the winter. Make sure your entry door opens into the run so door can be opened with snow on the ground.

Next use deep litter in the run. Mine is in it's 6th year, other than adding leaves & needles in the fall ZERO maintenance. Sand works in a hot year round climate, other than that is a nightmare.

Yes use deep bedding in the coop along with drop boards under the roosts. Clean the drop boards often (daily is easiest) to a compost box. Other than that I change the bedding once per year because the dropping break down and dust increases. Use PDZ on the drop boards, unfortunately you will have to go to a Tractor Supply outlet in the US to get it but worth the drive; buy 10 bags it will last you way more than a year.

Hopefully you will have electricity in the coop or run. A heated waterer will make your life much easier in the winter. I have used manufactured plastic ones, as well as a bucket with horizontal nipples and heater inside. I have had both freeze and break the plastic (country living, you may be more fortunate in Montreal).

You want high protein (20%) feed, if you plan to keep a rooster calcium should be low (1% or lower) and use oyster shells in a container on the side. A grower feed is normal but high protein is best for the winter.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

By drop boards assume you mean poop trays? Like little litter boxes under the roosts, partially filled with sand and PDZ? Use kitty litter scoops to remove droppings daily, yes.

 

[Jesse Lee Turner]

You're off to a great start. With a little up-front setup, this can be a low-fuss, high-fun backyard flock. Let me know if you want help building a feeding station or weatherproofing the run. Happy to help anytime. Sounds like you're setting up a nice little home for your girls. Let’s break this down so you can get it running smooth with as little daily mess as possible. This is just JT style, you can differ and that'd be ok.

*** Coop Bedding – Go Deep Litter ***​

*Deep litter is perfect for your setup. Start with pine shavings (not cedar, that’s too harsh on their lungs).

*Layer 3–6 inches to start. Add more every few weeks.

*Toss in a little dried leaf litter, straw, or hay to balance it out and keep it from matting down.

*Let the chickens scratch and mix it=nature’s compost crew. Stir it every week with a rake or garden fork.

*Keep it dry and well-ventilated = no roof leaks, no standing water.

*You’ll only need to clean it out once or twice a year if done right.

*** Run Roofing – Yes, Cover It ***​

1. Definitely put a roof over the run—even just a sloped tarp, corrugated roofing panels, or clear polycarbonate.

2. Keeps out rain, snow, and predator stress.

3. Wire roof alone = wet bedding + muddy hens + potential hawk trouble.

*** Run Ground – Forget Sand, Use Deep Litter Here Too ***​

• Sand turns nasty in wet climates. Gets stinky, clumpy, and cold.
• Do deep litter in the run too:
  • Mix of wood chips, dry leaves, straw, grass clippings, whatever organic matter you can get cheap or free.
  • It drains better than sand, gives ‘em stuff to scratch in, and composts down over time.
• Add more material as needed, rake once a week. Hose it in hot weather to keep dust down.

*** Feeding at 12 Weeks ***​

* At 12 weeks, they’re about past chick starter and of course not laying yet.
*Use a "grower feed" or an "all flock" with 16–18% protein, NO calcium added (yet).
*Don’t give layer feed till they’re about to lay (around 18 weeks or so).
*Offer oyster shell separately once they hit laying age—don’t mix it in before then or it can mess up kidneys.

*** Water Bucket w/ Nipples – Yeppers, Good Idea ***

**Yes, nipple waterers are clean and easy. Just make sure they learn how to use them (tap the nipple so they see water drip).

**Hang the bucket or place it on cinder blocks to keep it level.

**In winter, swap to a heated base or bring it inside at night so it doesn’t freeze solid.

*** Bonus Tips From JT ***

• Add a small dust bath area (dry dirt, ash, and sand mix in a tub or corner) for lice and mite control.
• Toss in some branches or stumps in the run for enrichment.
• Keep ventilation high in the coop (near the roof) and no drafts low near their perch.

~Jesse from up north Arkansas

 

[Ted Brown]

By drop boards assume you mean poop trays? Like little litter boxes under the roosts, partially filled with sand and PDZ? Use kitty litter scoops to remove droppings daily, yes.

Yes.

Mine are actually 10' long and 30" wide, boards because 10' long plywood is spendy. Anything can be used, depends on how many chickens one has (allow 1' per chicken for roost length).

I do not use sand with Sweet PDZ but sift often enough that consumption is low. $15US per bag. I have 26 hens in the coop, I use a bag every two months. PDZ is ground lava or Zeolite. It is porous and because of this absorbs moisture; chicken waste with no moisture is dust (ie no smell!).

 

[OrahSmiles]

Echoing some opinions already on here...initially we did a split roof on our run-1/2 solid (clear corrugated fiberglass to not obstruct sun) and 1/2 open wire. We live in the Pacific Northwest, and pretty quickly realized the rainy, soggy weather up here called for the entire roof to be solidly covered to give the hens the biggest/driest area to hang out in as possible (added bonus is they have plenty of room to dust bathe). Personally, I do deep litter method in the coop itself, but the run I just leave the natural dirt floor. I rake it and maybe sprinkle a little bedding here and there when it's needed.
From the pictures, it looks like you've got wire currently as your floor. Are you planning on putting something solid on that? Or putting the deep bedding on top of the wire?
I am a newer chicken caretaker (a little over a year now) but if I've learned one thing, it's to give ourselves some grace and room to continue learning and changing set ups as we figure out what works--everyone's situation is different. So far we've changed most things in our set up as we've trialed and errored our way through this first year. The chickens will generally be fine, and you will inevitably be making improvements as you make discoveries about what it means to take care of these loveable beings. Good luck with your new flock...your set up looks like it's coming along great, everything will turn out fine eventually!

 

[rural mouse]

@Ponypoor advice for your neck of the woods?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Hi, welcome to the forum! Glad you joined!

My coop is 20 sq feet and the run is 50 sq ft. We can't have more than 5 hens in our town and they cannot free range.

That should be sufficient size for four hens.

The roof of the run was going to be just the metal wire (heavy duty) but now I'm wondering if I should put a roof?

Whichever you do, design it for snow load. As you probably know, snow can get pretty heavy. A wet snow can stick to a wire roof and build up. You do not want your roof collapsing.

Even with a solid roof snow or rain can blow in from the side. Having a solid roof helps, but you can still have issues. Your run can still get wet. More on that later. Snow can blow in and cover your run. Especially when they first see snow chickens can avoid it. After a few days they may get used to it but it is a real common problem on here that your chickens are confined to the coop only when it snows. They will not use the run. Your coop should be big enough that four hens can handle being in there for extended periods of time but that causes problems for some people.

A coop or run that stays wet for several days can become unhealthy and can stink. If the poop is fairly dry when it breaks down, the microbes breaking it down are aerobic, oxygen breathers. That is good, not a bad smell. But if the poop stays wet for a few days anaerobic bacteria can take over. The poop can become slimy and can stink really badly. You don't want that. Some diseases and parasites can thrive in the wet also. Dry is much better.

People are talking about deep litter. It is basically turning your coop or run into a compost pile. That works great if you can pull it off. The microbes that turn the waste into dirt need some water to thrive and multiply. You want the aerobic ones. That means you don't want it so wet the anaerobic microbes take over. What you are aiming for is like soak a sponge in water and squeeze it dry. You can manage a few days wetter than that before it starts to stink.

My coop stays so dry no microbes can thrive. Mine spend all day every day outside so most of the poop in the coop is from the roosts at night. That builds up and can stay wet from building up so I remove that to my compost pile outside (not in my run). I get by with cleaning the bedding out of my coop once a year in the fall. Not because I have to but because I want that stuff on my garden. My coop is a lot bigger than yours. Many people with smaller coops clean it out weekly or monthly.

I don't do anything in my run. It is on a high spot so water drains away. About 2/3 of it is roofed but rain still blows in. It can get muddy if the rain sets in for a few days but it doesn't stay wet enough long enough to stink.

Your coop wilk probably stay dry enough that it is not a big problem, just watch for poop build-up. In your run, if water drains away from it you can use different things in there. If water drains to it and stands, you could well have issues. It comes down to drainage.

For feeding, the hens will be 12 weeks old when we get them. The farmer said to give them a feed for growth. Do you agree with that?

Sort of. If you look at the label on a bag of feed you will see an ingredients list (that I pretty much ignore) and an analysis. The analysis shows percent for several different nutrients. The two I pay most attention to are calcium and protein. Some people like to manage it tighter but mine get treats and forage for a lot of their food so I don't have the ability to micromanage it anyway.

Calcium will fall into two different categories. It is either around 1% or 4%. All chickens need calcium for bone growth and general body maintenance. That's what the 1% is for. The 4% included calcium for eggshell formation for pullets and hens that are laying. The ones that are not laying do not need the extra calcium and can be harmed by it if fed long term. So only feed the higher calcium when they are laying or offer oyster shell on the side with a low calcium feed. The ones needing the extra calcium for eggshells should eat enough and the ones that don't need it for eggshells should not eat enough calcium to harm themselves.

Some people seem to feel that I abuse my chickens because I don't feed them a high protein feed, around 20%. I'm quite happy to feed mine a 16% protein feed. My chickens lay a lot of eggs, grow big enough to eat, can fly up to and down from the roost, and are quite healthy. I just do not find the need to spend more money for a higher protein feed to be worth it, but many people do.

Mainly avoid the high calcium feeds unless they are laying. Most of us agree on that.

 

[BlueDawnRising]

Ohhh that's really good advice. Thanks. Now with the run, is this considered deep litter? Do you just need to keep adding more and clean it out 2x a year?

Others will be better at answering this since I have only had my chicks/pullets since December but I will continue to add to the run, as others have said, from my yard and out of the coop when I take out the shavings (hoping only once or twice a year but I have a concrete floor so I’m not really sure yet…whenever it gets gross is my plan). I THINK it is considered deep litter in my run but not my coop since it doesn’t have ground contact and won’t really decompose efficiently without it. Not enough moisture and/or microorganisms to break things down so I think it is just deep bedding. I may be totally wrong about that though! I hope to only “clean out” my run when I need soil for my garden or flowers. My run is 12x36 feet for (currently) 19, mixed breed birds and they free range when I am home so it doesn’t really get dirty.

I second poop boards! I clean mine every day, for the most part. There have been occasions when I didn’t get them done and the girls are already roosting so I just do double duty the next day. It is so much easier to do daily though. I also use PDZ, just a light layer. At first, I had it about 1/4 inch thick and ended up scooping it into the bucket when I cleaned. I actually left an opening at one end of my board, not adding a 2x2 to about 6 inches, so I could just take the boards and scoot it off into a bucket.

I didn’t do a nipple waterer, although I have questioned if it would be better than what I have. I used the cups that fill themselves as they empty that you fit into a bucket. I have to clean them out every day as they accumulate dust and debris. It isn’t hard, I use a turkey baster and remove the yucky water, give it a quick swipe if needed and go, but I think the nipple waterer looks easier.

Of the 19 we have, 8 have started laying. They are all still on starter crumbles but I give them oyster shell as a free choice option, along with grit.

Again, I’m no expert, but always happy to give my 2 cents worth and help if I can!