You should NOT need to take a brooding (as opposed to BROODY) hen off the nest to eat and drink. They will do it on their own. Chickens existed long before people "helped" them do so. TJordan's problem is the knucklehead (oops I mean hubby) is against having any chicks hatch. Otherwise she could just enclose the area under the nest box with chicken wire (with an opening) so the other hens don't mess with her or the nest. No need to clean the BROODING hen's nest.
Lucky you. I've found things take 5x the time when my chickens help!
OK, you asked for comments:
- Your chickens DO NOT NEED HEAT, especially not in Texas. My chickens get no heat, I live in Vermont, it gets down to -20F. Their coop is in a barn so there isn't direct wind to worry about. Is that glass or plexi in the door? For the winter I would cover the entire cattle panel area with clear plastic, replacing the glass/plexi in the door with 1/2" hardware cloth. Sort of like an inexpensive Wood's style coop, no wind blowing through the coop but plenty of fresh air available. The birds will be warm if there is no wind blowing their feathers open.
- Your chickens DO need protection from the sun, wind and rain. I wouldn't wait until fall to get a clear tarp to cover more of the top and I would cover it all the way to the ground for at least half the length of the coop starting at the nest end. Given the summer heat in Texas, you might instead want shade cloth over the entire thing staked out like a rain fly on a tent. The sun is overhead only a small part of the day. The birds WILL need shade. Mine have the option to go outside all day every day (though they choose not to in the winter) and spend their time in the barn, under the deck or lilac bushes during the warmer parts of the day in the summer. They are more likely to be out foraging before 10 and after 4 in the summer (I guess they listen to the people who say to stay out of the sun mid day
) unless it is cloudy.
- I don't know where you intend to put the roosts but I'm glad to read you have a plan. 2x4's on the flat or 3" round fence rails fit chicken feet well. 2x2s or 2x4s narrow side up DO NOT! Make sure they are at least 12" from the parallel wall.
- You don't need anywhere near 12 nest boxes. You could take out the top 4 (you don't need 8 either) and put the roosts above them. You should probably put access perches in front of the higher nest boxes, the birds could use those as intermediate "steps" to get to the roosts up top.
- That water pipe is WAY WAY more than needed. You could easily do with 4 or 5 nipples and that would still be overkill. I'd cut it off about 4' into the coop, add a drain so you can clean the pipe out if necessary and support the end against the side of the coop somehow.
