Progress into coop

[AprilsZoo]

First, the egg has to be fertile.

Then a hen actually has to become broody and sit on the nest to incubate it.

To be super clear— eggs will only be fertile if you have a rooster doing the deed with the hens.

 

[LaceNewb]

My nests open this way:

View attachment 2613905

That opens things up nicely! Remember that you will have to run a strip of wood along the front of the nest boxes, 4" tall or so, to make a lip. Otherwise the hens will kick all the bedding out of the boxes and the eggs might even roll out.

You probably want to access the nest box from outside the coop, for collecting eggs. I like a drop down access door because it is easier to make weatherproof than a flip up roof. Like DobieLover has below, only this one is accessed from the storage part of a walk in coop. You'd need a lip of wood on the back too, if you do it this way.
View attachment 2613734

Where are you planning to put the clean out doors? The coop doesn't look tall enough for a human to stand up inside it, so you probably want to make one whole long side open up. It would still be a long reach across the 4 or 5 feet of width.

Thank you all for the knowledge on egg hatching. For the door to my nests, I want to do double cupboard doors that will open from the middle out. I purchases a horse stall rubber mat that is perfect for the floor so when I clean, I just pull that out, dump in the trash, put it back in, and put down the wood chip shaving stuff. The door to clean from is going to be the large wall.

 

[LaceNewb]

To be super clear— eggs will only be fertile if you have a rooster doing the deed with the hens.

We have all together 5 non pullets so there is a possibility that we have some roosters. How and when will I be able to tell if it is a rooster?

 

[3KillerBs]

We have all together 5 non pullets so there is a possibility that we have some roosters. How and when will I be able to tell if it is a rooster?

Cockerels usually make themselves known anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months (some experienced people can spot them earlier).

 

[Sally PB]

Post pictures when they are around 6-8 weeks old (in another thread so people see it) and someone can give you a opinion.

 

[Auntiejessi3]

So the chickens really just lay in the nest, lay their egg, and then leave it? The 6 boxes that I do have is actually more then need still lol

Yep, they get cozy, lay an egg, sing a song, walk away and go about their business

 

[LaceNewb]

So here is the end results to all and pictures of my girls and have found 2 boys so far I was told that the males get the red crown things lol I am not sure how to tell with the 2 Polish but I have posted some of the one that is more adventurous and also the bohemian or whatnot (chicks with hairy legs). We have 26 all together and so far from what I can tell 24 are female. I left 8 nesting boxes and put perches in the open space. I still have the heat lamps in there bc the little hairy legged ones are still a little small. Which leads to my next question, how long do I keep those heat lamps in there and on at nights? Do I run them at night year round? When should I be opening up the nesting boxes? I let them out into their run about 6:30-6:45am every morning and then they are back in the coop when the sun goes down. Let me know what your thoughts are, what I should be doing, can be doing, etc. Oh and I still have them on the beginning feed but have started giving them the oat mix stuff that have dried corn, seeds, and mill worms. I toss that on the ground for them every morning. Turtle (the biggest white one stretching her leg in pic) is the queen hen haha I'm sorry that the pictures are attached as a zip. I have no clue what is going on with my computer and photos

 

[jgarner1327]

I have been reading up on what everyone has been asking and the responses being given. I have embarked on owning chickens now with my son's girlfriend. We together have 18 chicks. They are in a huge trampoline box with food, water, and a heat lamp while I am building their coop. I want to make sure where I do not have it finished yet that I make any adjustments now before the roof goes on. I have build 18 nesting boxes which I was under the impression this is where they sleep but now I have learned that this is ONLY for egg laying. I will be making adjustments to the coop so that I can block these off while they are still chicks once they get transferred to this. It is 8ft long and 4 ft wide. 12 nests (2 stories) on the main back wall and 6 (2 stories) on one small side wall. I will be putting perches inside the coop after learning this is where they actually sleep. I have 2 chicks now that are able to "fly" out of the box so I'm trying to make all the finishing touches to the coop. Where I live it is still not above 65 degrees so I'm guessing that the heat lamp will need to be put in the coop with them as they adjust to the coop for a couple weeks. I will keep the nesting boxes closed off till they are laying eggs and remove the heat lamp once either majority of feathers are grown in or the weather permits. If all of this sounds like I'm in the right direction please let me know and if I need to tweek some things please also let me know. I want happy healthy chickens. What do I need to put in the nesting boxes for them to lay eggs in/on and what time do I block and remove the blocks for them to lay eggs. How much space do the chickens like between them and another on the perch, how far away from walls do the perches need to be? I guess I am just looking for some guidance to where I am not in this process and to where I'm going and end up for these ladies to be happy.

I buy a half bale of straw at the feed store every few months and put lots of straw on a shelf that has a 2x4 along the front. I have one chicken, Pinky, that is a 3-year-old New Hampshire and lays about four eggs a week, and I have four chicks, 2 Buff Orpingtons and 2 black Australorps, that will start laying in a couple months. I keep the extra straw in cardboard boxes and store it under that shelf so I can freshen the straw on the shelf. They move the straw around with their beaks and make it into a nest shape. They like a clean nest to lay the egg. Make sure their nests are clean. After they lay an egg, they stand up and crow and leave the shelf. Several chickens will use the same nest. You don't need one nest for each chicken. I bought a remnant of linoleum at a carpet store for cheap and I nailed it down to the wood floor of the coop because it's easy to sweep up and it protects the wood. My coop is 8' x11' and the ceiling is 7' high. The run is 10' x 20', plenty big enough for 5 chickens.