Newbie excitement questions... I hope not to annoy!

[Lance P]

Hey all! This seems like a great hobby, but more than that, an excellent community of top notch folks! I'm still not sure I'm gonna take the chicken plunge, but I might just hang out here for the wholesome conversation. What a respectable group!

Part of the fun with this would be building the coop. I enjoy streamlining the cumbersome tasks. I enjoy thinking it through and building it right the first time. But, I'd want my chickens to be happy chickens. And some of these ideas my not sit well with chickens. With your best chicken voice, let me know what you think of:

1. A plastic or fiberglass liner on the inside surface for ease of cleaning...

2. A PVC plumbed flushing system funneling materials to a collection or straining system for composting...

3. A coop largely built into the side of a hill side for climate control...

Anyone ever seen an underground coop? Do chickens require heat?

I realize if these questions are answered in other threads, this can look like a lazy newbie. I definitely don't want to get myself labeled lazy! My wife and I have been looking at others' coops for ideas. She leans toward the ones that look like little play houses. With daughters and a wife, me and the neutered dog, the only masculine features of this coop are gonna be the creative features, so I'm all about the details!

I'm even contemplating installing solar panels...

Thanks ahead of time,

Lance

 

[Crabella]

First of all let me

You are going to be chatting with a lot of great folks on this site. If you do decide to take the plunge you will find that they will be here to support you all the way... Some times they might not be able to do more than offer a shoulder or an ear as you make your way through your first 'chicken tragedy', whether it be an illness or a predator. But one thing is for sure, you are going to get a lot of opinions.

To answer your questions...
1. Ease of cleaning is wonderful... even more so, being able to control the pests that could invade.. That cute little sparrow eating with your chickens can bring in a host of disease and unwanted 'guests'... It's easier to prevent and control than to eradicate.
2. Will be interesting to see how that works for you... I use pine shavings and a shovel..and a composting pile.
3. Don't see why that couldn't work as long as you address the ventilation issues and make sure it is easy to clean. If it's not easy to clean, fun quickly turns into 'work'.
4. heat depends on the breed and where you live. Check out the members who are in Alaska and are raising chickens. Heat has been harder on mine... and the freezing fog that we sometimes get causes frost bite despite everything I've tried.

oh, and watch out for "chicken math"