Newbie from sunny Queensland Australia

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syropes

syropes

Hatching
8 Years
Jul 5, 2011
2
0
7
Hi guys and gals.

Thought I would join this group as a) the family and I are going to be getting more pets.. chickens.. b) I really have no idea what we are getting into!

we have a decent sized back yard and I have allocated a 10m by 10m area.. thats about 10yrd by 10yrd, for the chicken house and run.. we are only allowed a maximum of 16 chickens and no roosters according to the local council.. so hopefully that should be enough space for the chickens to run around in and not feel too confined.

I have been browsing the site and have been really impressed with the chicken houses people have built, and I have tried to take on the advice of people who are far more experienced in this.

from what I have learnt so far..(and please please correct me if I am wrong) in no particular order.

1) The perimeter fencing needs to be dug into the ground at least 20cm (8 inches approx) to prevent 'intruders..
2) Roof cover for the whole 10x10 area, this is a tough one for me.. we do have hawks about, but it's a big area to roof.. advice would be good.
3) From what I understand the actual chook house will only really need 3-4 nesting boxes.. which is fine but how long would I need to make to roost for 16 chooks? I also know that for certain chooks you need the roost about 4 foot high and above (height wise not directly above) the nesting boxes.
4) a south facing window ideally to allow maximum sunlight into the chook house.
5) Off the ground
6) ventilation.

the area we live in is sub tropic so it's coolish in the dry season (drops to 3C at night about 27c in the day) and in the wet season 18c at night and upto 37c and 90% humidty.. (nasty!)

so basically advice on what I need to think about when building the chook house would be great, the run area I might even divide into 2 areas so they can 'turn over' 1 area and then I can move them into the virgin area allowing the other to recover.

rereading this it's very disjointed but basically I would love to learn from people who have been where I have and not have to re invent the wheel..

Cheers

Sy
 
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from California
 
Hi! Welcome! (Actually I joined after you though...) Anyway, I thought your idea about being able to rotate your chickens to clean ground and back is a really good one. I've been thinking of dividing my yard up. I don't have to roof my yard because my predators are on the ground. My run has an uneven perimeter of 164 feet. the only reason I haven't done what you mention yet is that I have to get the fencing. It will be useful too, when for one reason or another one of them needs to be separated.
Good luck!
 
Hi syropes,

hey there--- welcome from Texas in the USA! (in part of 1958 thru part of 1960, I lived around Brisbane.)

Some thoughts about your covering for your 10x10 area. Here in the states there is something called 'shade cloth' that is sold in big sizes. It is for agricultural use. I would expect that they have it there too. You may also look into a large tarp. Some have Gromets in the hemmed edges so securing it would be easy. PVC pipe, or other pipe may help prevent any sags, that would catch water and really add to the weight of a tarp if rain collected, so you would want to engineer a run-off slant or a peak in the center. (maybe you could even catch/harvest the rain water.)

I remember when I was there, in the rainy season, there was some serious rain. So being able to keep part of your run dry would be advantageous. And your chickens would appreciate the shade when the weather is hot! (now how that will interfere with what you want to grow in the yard for chickens to eat.. grass etc. is also a consideration)

You certainly came to the right place to find answers to all the chicken questions that will arise as you develop your flock!
 
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you need to do some forum research just read and read, btw welcome to a wonderful forum for begginers like us.
 

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