post your chicken coop pictures here!

[lovechicks1293]

This is a pretty good example.

http://blog.mypetchicken.com/2014/07/25/chicken-math/

Thank you now i get it!

 

[Beekissed]

now, would you please explain what chicken math is exactly? i have heard the phrase but i don't understand it. thanks

Don't worry...you aren't alone!

"Chicken math" is a term to explain poor planning and impulse buys or hatches on chickens that folks try to explain away by saying they can't help but add to their flock. It's just uncontrollable compulsion and they can't stop doing it....supposedly.

So...there you have it...chicken math in a nutshell.

 

[lovechicks1293]

and i am almost completely sure we will get more chickens in the future....if my mom allows... lol

 

[TJordan]

now, would you please explain what chicken math is exactly? i have heard the phrase but i don't understand it. thanks

chicken math is..... start with 10 birds... go to store and awwww those are cute.... add 3-5 more. Few weeks later.... hummmm look at that breed. 5-8 more. And so on.

Before you know it your hatching chicks to add and then....

tenitive count.... 25 in adult/point of lay pin. 20 in young bird pin. At least.

 

[TJordan]

Don't worry...you aren't alone!     "Chicken math" is a term to explain poor planning and impulse buys or hatches on chickens that folks try to explain away by saying they can't help but add to their flock.  It's just uncontrollable compulsion and they can't stop doing it....supposedly.  Then they run into all kinds of problems with overcrowding, keeping separate pens for several different groups, trying to rehome roosters...drama, drama, drama.  

It's just a term that's sprung up in the last few years and it has no real meaning when it comes to good flock management.  Good flock management means you build a coop BEFORE you get the birds, you allow for extra space according to your goals for the flock...yes, that would mean you'd actually think ahead and form firm goals as to how many you plan to keep, hatch or otherwise house at any given time. 

If you are still practicing good flock management, those goals can change but usually they are a result of planning and aforethought and not impulse buys at a swap meet or the local Tractor Supply.  When they do change, then you might add onto the housing or fencing BEFORE you acquire the birds....doing it after tends to be a tension filled, problem filled saga that we usually see prefaced with this word in all caps at the beginning of a thread~"HELP!!!!".  

Now, any given time someone may want to gift you with birds in an emergency and it's good to plan for that eventuality too...having a spare, grow out, or broody pen is always wise when getting into chickens.  BEFORE you need it, not during. 

For instance, my sister intends to gift me with her whole flock of 26 birds this month...very little notice.  I don't have room for 26 birds and still maintain the good life my flock already has, nor do I even want 26 birds to keep on a permanent basis.  What I do want and need are extra chickens for canning up winter meat, so I will take those birds and keep them in my spare pen for a few days until I sort out what I will keep(no more than 5-6) and what will be butchered and then they will be butchered sooner rather than later.  My spare pen is not big enough for that many birds for long term comfort and health. 

The most important part of this so called chicken math that no one ever seems to apply is "subtraction".   One can add all they want if they have space for temporary habitation, but in order to not be overrun with impulse buys and hatches, one has to learn how to subtract if they want to keep a healthy balance in their chicken's environment and in their own lives. 

So...there you have it...chicken math in a nutshell.  

We planed ahead. Then we moved.... best laid plans fell apart and then the coop fire in April. Husband felt terrible that I lost so many chicks and he went to the feed store. The rest is chicken math history.

 

[HaugenRanch]

This is the first thing i have built aside from birdhouses, but I think it turned out really neat! It is insulated as winters here in Northern Norway gets nasty cold.

We have 3 leghorns living here, and I think they like their new home too. They were about a year old when we got them a couple of months ago from a egg farm, and they never stopped laying after we got them. First 10 days we got 29 eggs!

 

[lovechicks1293]

This is the first thing i have built aside from birdhouses, but I think it turned out really neat! It is insulated as winters here in Northern Norway gets nasty cold.

We have 3 leghorns living here, and I think they like their new home too. They were about a year old when we got them a couple of months ago from a egg farm, and they never stopped laying after we got them. First 10 days we got 29 eggs!

that is a really cool looking coop you have!

 

[MeepBeep]

I'm curious where you come up with needing that level of ventalation when using deep litter?

I've been using it in a rather open air coops for the past 12  yrs and had/have ventilation out the whazooty...I kept adding more ventilation until I got it right and could no longer see any condensation dripping from the roof or even any measure of darkened tips on the birds, no matter how cold it gets outside. 

I don't have anywhere near (not even close) to your proclaimed necessary 10sqft of ventilation per bird when using deep litter and even with my far less ventilation (just over 1sqft per bird) I also don't have humidity, smell or frostbite issues in my coop, that is why I asked where you came up with the number...

There is the catch that I generally heat my coop to 34°F during extreme weather to fully avoid any frostbite concerns, but the amount of days I use the furnace is minimal overall...

I'm also discussing deep litter as opposed to just having deep bedding...two different things and one generates a little more heat and humidity than the other. 

I'm well aware of the differences, I use deep litter myself, I have no where near (not even in the ballpark) of your proclaimed minimum ventilation needs for deep litter and have no humidity, smell or frostbite issues in my coop, thus the reason I fully question your minimum requirements...

No, there's no scientific formula that you love so well but I can visualize how much it takes and I live in the state next to hers....OH is about the same in general humidity and temps to where I live, right across the river. 

I'm on the IL/WI border so I also get basically the same type of winter weather, if not worse in some cases...

Here's the deal on free advice...it's free.  One can take it or leave it behind at will, so I'm not sure why folks get so defensive about advice....don't like it?  Forget it and go on with your life.  It's that easy, folks.   

Here is the deal, free advice or not I simply asked where you came up with that number as I personally find it to be extremely overkill as a 'minimum' requirement...

Open air design coops are great, but I'll argue any day that you don't need an open air coop with 10 sqft of ventilation per bird to use deep litter successfully...

 

[Beekissed]

Just got busy casting pearls....don't worry, it won't happen again any time soon.

 

[bruceha2000]

One idea for vent is what I'm doing in this new build. We will have it 6-10" off the ground allowing under vent and we have put a 3" gap between the 2 floor boards. This we covered with a sturdy hardware cloth and then took some wood striping and covered the edges of the HC to protect feet and stop anything from trying to push up through it. We will also add HC around the bottom and skirt it out and down. I want to get some cinder blocks to put over this in areas but leave the openings up. This way I can plant chicken friendly herbs and sprouts for treats without compromising the underside.

What are you using on the coop floor for bedding? I would expect the chickens to fill that gap with shavings in a fairly short time.

part three. any advice would be lovely, thanks!

First thought, there will be rain and melting snow coming off the shed roof onto the coop, make sure you plan the coop roof with that in mind.
Door into the run on the left side of the coop wall? People door into the coop on the right?

now, would you please explain what chicken math is exactly? i have heard the phrase but i don't understand it. thanks

Another version is - after you get your chickens and they lay like gangbusters their first winter you find out a lot of post "first adult moult" hens don't lay much (if at all) in the winter so you get more chicks in the spring so you will have eggs the following winter. And of course, you need MORE chicks the following spring and the following, etc. There will be some natural (or predator) deaths but you can end up with a LOT of chickens in a few years unless you are practicing flock management and only keeping the girls that lay well each year.

However, I think the prior examples are more common. People start with 'x' chickens, can't help buying more for reasons unrelated to egg production, and it gets out of control when they have not planned the space for them ahead of time.

I'm on the IL/WI border so I also get basically the same type of winter weather, if not worse in some cases...

Anywhere near Beloit? DD2 is a senior at Beloit College.