I posted this on the newcomers board and thought I would post here as well:
After more than a year of lurking on BYC boards, buying and reading numerous books, and planning, planning, planning, I'm the happy steward of 7 chicks. I have two buff orpingtons, two barred rock, and three easter eggers. I chose the breeds for their cold-hardiness, docile nature, and colorful eggs. First, I want to thank everyone for their posts and pics - I have gotten many good ideas and I feel pretty comfortable with this new venture!
My plan was to raise 4-5 hens and after reading about the casualties involved when ordering from hatcheries in early spring I went "halves" on 15 chicks with a friend a few weeks ago, thinking a few would die either in transit or the first few days and perhaps a couple could be roosters. Well, they all arrived safe and sound and one had a little bout of pasty-butt but thanks to y'all I knew exactly what to do! My only hope is that one or two turn out to be 'roos because it will be hard to decide which ones I will have to re-home. Aack! My coop is only 4x4 and my run is 8x8!
My question is about deep bedding - can it work in a small coop like this? My coop is located in my garden shed and like I said it's 4x4 and 4 1/2 feet high. My hubs is very concerned about predators so the coop is 18" off the floor of our shed which is around a foot off the ground and is built into the corner. A roost runs 12" from the back wall, up about 30". The floor is lined with linoleum, and due to the small size I really don't know if a poop board will crowd it up too much. My nesting boxes (2) will be exterior but still inside the shed. I just want to give the girls as much floor space as possible. So, opinions on deep bedding in a small coop are welcome!
Here's a pic of the coop taken last week. Now the doors are on and it is painted. We hope to move the girls out next week (when they are a month old) and finish brooding there. Right now they're in my clawfoot tub in our second bathroom.
After more than a year of lurking on BYC boards, buying and reading numerous books, and planning, planning, planning, I'm the happy steward of 7 chicks. I have two buff orpingtons, two barred rock, and three easter eggers. I chose the breeds for their cold-hardiness, docile nature, and colorful eggs. First, I want to thank everyone for their posts and pics - I have gotten many good ideas and I feel pretty comfortable with this new venture!
My plan was to raise 4-5 hens and after reading about the casualties involved when ordering from hatcheries in early spring I went "halves" on 15 chicks with a friend a few weeks ago, thinking a few would die either in transit or the first few days and perhaps a couple could be roosters. Well, they all arrived safe and sound and one had a little bout of pasty-butt but thanks to y'all I knew exactly what to do! My only hope is that one or two turn out to be 'roos because it will be hard to decide which ones I will have to re-home. Aack! My coop is only 4x4 and my run is 8x8!
My question is about deep bedding - can it work in a small coop like this? My coop is located in my garden shed and like I said it's 4x4 and 4 1/2 feet high. My hubs is very concerned about predators so the coop is 18" off the floor of our shed which is around a foot off the ground and is built into the corner. A roost runs 12" from the back wall, up about 30". The floor is lined with linoleum, and due to the small size I really don't know if a poop board will crowd it up too much. My nesting boxes (2) will be exterior but still inside the shed. I just want to give the girls as much floor space as possible. So, opinions on deep bedding in a small coop are welcome!
Here's a pic of the coop taken last week. Now the doors are on and it is painted. We hope to move the girls out next week (when they are a month old) and finish brooding there. Right now they're in my clawfoot tub in our second bathroom.
