New to backyard chickens! I need help!

[Rharrison7]

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

Wow amazing! This is so helpful. I have a question about the perch, maybe you'd be able to answer. As my coop is relatively small, i'm not sure how to build this? how many "levels" do they need? how much space in between the levels? does it need to go all the way to the floor of the coop? is it like a ladder, do they fly there or need to climb? sorry this is maybe obvious but i know nothing thank you again!

 

[Rharrison7]

Wow, this community is wonderful. Everyone is so encouraging and helpful. I wrote this post yesterday freaking out because i felt so lost and overwhelmed, but you guys were all so quick to offer fantastic advice I feel more confident now of my next steps! Seriously you guys are the best!!

 

[ChaosMom]

stall dry instead of PDZ?

Same product (zeolite), just different brands. Stall Dry is cheaper.

 

[RoyalChick]

You have got some good advice already.
I too prioritize no/low maintenance. I am in year 5 or 6 and keep thinking I should clean out the coop or run and keep not getting round to it. Mind you, I do have lots of space so that helps, but mainly I just do deep litter/bedding on bare earth.
My bedding is mainly a mixture of free stuff like leaves, sometimes shredded paper, pine straw at the right time of year. I use coarse pine shavings in the nest boxes and the chickens often tip them out onto the floor of the coop so that gets mixed in.
This winter we had one particularly brutally cold spell (I am in a slightly milder climate than you and with less snow - but similar) and I got a couple of bags of chopped straw and it made the coop so cozy I may repeat that next winter.
Like others I would cover the run so they have a bit of extra space even when it is raining or snowing.

I have two things to add:
- First, you don't have to get perfect the first time - I am always tinkering and adapting stuff based on learning of how my set up works
- Second, chickens will always be happy with more space. I hear you cannot free range, but I would plan on at some point creating a run extension. You could start with something like dog pen panels and just let them out in that area when you are around. They will be so happy and you and the kids will love sitting out with them while they enjoy fresh grass. I eventually settled on an electric fence. It doesn't protect them from aerial predators, but I have been planting shrubs and dumping old garden furniture in that area so they have some places to hide. They only go out in it when I am home, but they love it so much it warms my heart. On a day like today - cold, wet, miserable - I probably won't let them out in that area and they will be fine in their coop and covered run.

 

[ChaosMom]

Wow amazing! This is so helpful. I have a question about the perch, maybe you'd be able to answer. As my coop is relatively small, i'm not sure how to build this? how many "levels" do they need? how much space in between the levels? does it need to go all the way to the floor of the coop? is it like a ladder, do they fly there or need to climb? sorry this is maybe obvious but i know nothing thank you again!

I’d keep the roost bars at the same height, as chickens generally prefer to be as high as possible, and you don’t want turf wars over the high bar. They don’t need to be way up there, just enough to get them up and out of the bedding. An exception would be if you have a breed that can’t fly.

Set them 15” or so from the wall (it’s astonishing how far chicken poop can sometimes fly, although more often, you’ll find it lined up in two rows under the bar. And if the roosts face one another, allow enough space for them to fly down. Two feet off the floor needs around two feet (minimum) between the bars. If you have one dimension of your coop that’s longer/wider than the other, can you get away with one roost perch? This simplifies things a lot.

They usually fly up to their roost. If you have the roosts up high, you might need an intermediate step, like an upside-down bucket, but that takes up room. I’m no expert on roost heights - my girls are in a Nestera coop, and the bars are a whopping 11” above the floor!

 

[RoyalChick]

I’d keep the roost bars at the same height, as chickens generally prefer to be as high as possible, and you don’t want turf wars over the high bar. They don’t need to be way up there, just enough to get them up and out of the bedding. An exception would be if you have a breed that can’t fly.

Set them 15” or so from the wall (it’s astonishing how far chicken poop can sometimes fly, although more often, you’ll find it lined up in two rows under the bar. And if the roosts face one another, allow enough space for them to fly down. Two feet off the floor needs around two feet (minimum) between the bars. If you have one dimension of your coop that’s longer/wider than the other, can you get away with one roost perch? This simplifies things a lot.

They usually fly up to their roost. If you have the roosts up high, you might need an intermediate step, like an upside-down bucket, but that takes up room. I’m no expert on roost heights - my girls are in a Nestera coop, and the bars are a whopping 11” above the floor!

I put all my roosts at the same level to reduce fighting for the highest roost.
Of course they still have preferred spots on the roost so squabble over that instead.
My coop is on a steep hill so the main roost is about 30” from the ground at one end and over 4’ at the other. I have ladders but most of them fly up.
There is also an intermediary platform over some nest boxes and some use that which is about 18” down from the roost.
Before I got used to their little ways I worried a lot about this but they seem fine with the arrangement.

 

[Labsandchickens8]

I'm also a newbie - about 10 months of chicken tending. I strongly recommend covering the run because of mud. Home Depot and Lowes here in the US sell plastic corrugated panels you can use to cover the run with. I even zip tied one to the side of the run for the winter when we had nasty weather and snow. They come in clear and smoked gray, which gives more sun protection in our very hot summers here.
If you do get some mud you can dump a bag of horse pellets to soak it up. They're cheap at Tractor Supply. You can also dump some mulch in there for them to scratch through.
Inside the coop I haven't used deep litter. I have a poop shelf I covered in hemp for the winter. It is incredibly nice to work with but expensive. I scoop out the poop daily but you probably don't need to.
Now, in hot weather I'm experimenting with a thin layer of sand and some zeolite. It's also pretty easy to keep clean (I still scoop daily) and much much cheaper.
Can send pictures if you want, when I get home.

 

[Labsandchickens8]

Wow, this community is wonderful. Everyone is so encouraging and helpful. I wrote this post yesterday freaking out because i felt so lost and overwhelmed, but you guys were all so quick to offer fantastic advice I feel more confident now of my next steps! Seriously you guys are the best!!

I agree. This is an incredibly helpful and encouraging community.

 

[Ted Brown]

stall dry instead of PDZ?

Yes that is what was suggested. I checked, $65 and up per 25lb bag.

If one has easy access to a border town with a Tractor Supply store, easy to drive across once a year and spend $17CDN.

 

[Ridgerunner]

so as you mentioned my coop is on the smaller side. If I do deep litter, how often do I need to add more material (btw, which material for inside the coop?) and when i clean it monthly, do i need to remove everything and replace with fully new bedding?

My nose is my most important tool to use to tell when to clean or change anything. If it starts to stink you waited too long. By trial and error you will determine what schedule works for you.

My biggest issue in the coop is that they poop while on the roost at night so it can build up pretty deep. When it builds up to a certain extent it stays wet and starts to stink. I may have between 7 and 50 chickens at any one time so the build-up varies. Sometimes the weather is very humid and sometimes very dry. I use droppings boards under the roost. Sometimes I have to clean the droppings boards weekly, sometimes I can go as long as six weeks between cleanings. It took a while, but by now I can tell how long I can go without it stinking. That varies by number of chickens and humidity.

My coop floor is on dirt. I have the weather and room outside so my chickens spend practically all day every day outside so they are not pooping on the coop floor. I keep the coop so dry that it does not compost and no bugs or goodies live in it. I can go a year without cleaning that, many people cannot. We are all so different in our set-ups and management techniques that there is no one schedule that works for all of us.

Using the deep litter method where it stays damp enough to compost your chickens may find critters living in it. If your chickens spend much time in the coop looking for goodies they will scratch a lot. They can shred most bedding to sawdust sized particles. When do you add more bedding? When it looks like you need to.

What material can you use inside of the coop? You are turning it into a compost pile, what would you put in a compost pile? Organic material that will break down. Some people really like wood chips. They do not break down very fast but they can work. I use pine or aspen wood shavings, you should avoid cedar shavings. Others use straw, hay, dried leaves, shredded paper, or dried grass trimmings. Avid green grass trimmings as they can mold before they dry out, they usually work better in the run. Some people add kitchen or garden wastes but I'd not overdo that. You only want enough that the chickens will immediately eat it so it doesn't start to rot.

I don't know how your coop or run will respond in winter. Does your ground freeze in November and thaw in March or does it alternately freeze and thaw. That will affect your results.

To me there are no hard and fast rules that work everywhere for everyone. I encourage getting as much knowledge as you can, it certainly helps, but in the end you will probably need some trial and error to determine what works best for you.

Good luck!