Now is the time: measure your coop, count your chickens!

[Mrs. K]

The thing is, in the summer, one can cheat on the numbers, the days are long, the nights are short, the chicks are small. But as the fall comes on, chicks in the spring become full size, while the coop remains the same size. And as the fall comes on in the northern hemisphere, the days begin to get short. By the first of November, mine will be roosting by 4:30-5:00 and not coming off the roost until 6:30 - 7:00 and as we get to the end of December they will be up there before 4:00 and not coming off until 7 :30.

The long nights of winter are not affected by a bit of free ranging in the daylight hours. Space is critical for peace in the flock. Measure it. Full size birds take a lot more space than chicks. They need enough space for the whole night.

So that brings us to the unpopular part of chicken math - the subtraction. And yet, subtraction give a lot of positives to the overall health of the flock!

• reduces the feed bill
• increases the health of the flock
  • removing old bird - that tend to start picking of diseases and parasites
  • gives the remaining birds more room
  • reduces squabble and ugly behaviors such as:
    • feather picking
    • harassing a victim bird
• reduces the manure build up in the coop
• reduces the moisture build up in the coop
  • keeps birds drier and therefor warmer.

I have two young cockerels, and an old hen. By culling them, my flock will have more than enough room for winter. I will have prevented rooster fights, and dying by disease or old age. A good life, a quick end, and a happy flock.

Mrs K

 

[BoundlessLove]

Great reminder, Mrs. K!
With winter coming, having a good look at coop and flock size and flock health is much needed.
My husband and I did this three weeks ago.
Downsized our older flock and tore down an old coop that may not have lasted another winter.
Thank you for posting.

 

[Rangergord]

Great Post. I just finished raising my second flock of ready to lay pullets. I am required to order a minimum of 25 sex link pullets. As chicks this many is not a problem but at about 12 weeks I begin to notice that my coop and run are approaching full capacity. At 16 weeks I start selling off my surplus ready to lay pullets. This has worked out well for me. I sold hens to four other families. I paid for all the costs of raising the pullets. The four families were not forced to raise 25 birds and purchased just the right number for their small coops.

There was an immediate change in the remaining eight hens. I was less stressed and they were too. My coop and run was designed to winter 8 laying hens at 16 square feet per bird. They have lots of room in the summer but in the winter they definitely need every square foot as snow, cold and wind confine them to coop and covered run. They lay well, the coop is cleaner, better smelling, and behaviour issues are fewer when they have enough space. I have three levels in the coop, floor, a mid level platform and a high level roost. Surplus room for extra birds in the spring, summer, and fall but just enough for comfort in the long winters.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Not looking forward to doing this but your post reminds me it's time. I ordered 15 chicks in July and got 15 21. I have 16 older hens that will be 2 yo in April, at peak of lay. My coop ideally holds 20. I'll do well to sell my older birds now. I don't wanna ... but I gotta. Thanks for the reminder, and the motivation.

 

[Altairsky]

I fit 26 birds in 2.1x1.7 meters coop
It still baffles me that they all get along and don't kill each other in the morning while the auto door is still closed!
5 cockerels I already culled a week ago.
Next week is Craigslist time! Hope pullets will sell now as good as they sell in spring. My spring batches are always gone in 24 hours.

 

[StarOnFire59]

I only have 3 & the coop & run are plenty big enough, but I have one hen that is a bully. One of them just stayed a safe distance & never crossed her. The blonde was just silly & kept getting in her way. The bully beat her up. Now the blonde one just cowers in the corner. The bully won't allow her to eat out of the feeder or at the same time. We had to remove the bully from "gen pop". She's in "solitary confinement". I think she likes it. She acts like she's getting special treatment. She's the only one still laying. She may end up staying there by herself. Would that be a bad thing?

 

[Mrs. K]

Well I would not like this, I would try pin less peepers on the bully. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pinless+...122223&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_4agg0hddla_e

But I would also, take a piece of cardboard and tape up a mini wall. Hang it from the ceiling or something, so that birds can go around it on both sides, then I would put a feeder on one side, and another on the other side. Set up so that while eating at one bowl, a bird can''t see who is eating at another feed station.

Adding a roost - a saw horse, or a ladder or a table can also help. I call it clutter, and while it makes it seem cluttered to people, it allows birds to get away from each other, and out of sight. It will look crowded, but actually uses the vertical space better, multiplying the area. So many runs are just a flat rectangle where a bird can see all of the other birds 100% of the time.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140

 

[StarOnFire59]

Well I would not like this, I would try pin less peepers on the bully. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pinless+...122223&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_4agg0hddla_e

But I would also, take a piece of cardboard and tape up a mini wall. Hang it from the ceiling or something, so that birds can go around it on both sides, then I would put a feeder on one side, and another on the other side. Set up so that while eating at one bowl, a bird can''t see who is eating at another feed station.

Adding a roost - a saw horse, or a ladder or a table can also help. I call it clutter, and while it makes it seem cluttered to people, it allows birds to get away from each other, and out of sight. It will look crowded, but actually uses the vertical space better, multiplying the area. So many runs are just a flat rectangle where a bird can see all of the other birds 100% of the time.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140

How would you get Pinless Peepers on pretty much wild chickens? They were 10-11 mo old hens when I bought them, with no human touch. Still working on the taming them, or as one lady put it "loving them into submission". We can't get into the run. It's only 2 ft tall. I use rakes & hoes to clean it out.