Question about my rooster's hutch

[Tattoued]

Hi there! Just joined a few days ago. I have a rescued rooster that wandered into our yard about 6 months ago. We've been caring for it and I recently picked up a really nice rabbit hutch for it until we get hens next year. He'll have to be a loner til then. It's much better than where he came from apparently, since he had NO tail feathers and his comb was very frostbitten when he found us.

Anyway, I was wondering if it's better for me to cover the hutch at night or leave it open. I'm attaching a pic of it here. It's solid wood on the left side, but open wire on the right. I didn't know if he'd sleep better when it's covered or not. I'm sure there are other critters that roam the back yard, but he's safe in there. We were keeping him on the back porch the last several months, and we're still trying to transition him to the new "condo". It's much quieter in the mornings now Our bedroom isn't far from the porch! Any tips on getting him to put himself away at night would be appreciated! Right now he still comes to the back porch and I just scoop him up and take him over to the new place, which I really don't mind - I just thought it would be better to "train" him to go to the new place on his own. I always put down a treat in the hay for him when I take him there, too.

(We've added a ramp since this pic was taken)

Thanks!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

You can put a little light in there for him temporarily (you can try a flashlight) when it gets close to dark and see if he will go in by himself. They are attracted to the coop by light.

I would not cover the hutch since he needs quite a bit of air- chickens need a lot of ventilation. So in essence he would need at least half of that wire mesh open so he can breathe comfortably and get all the moisture and ammonia out from his droppings. If you are going to put his hens in there with him, they will need all that ventilation.

What I would do (and have done in the past with rabbit hutches for chickens) is to buy a piece of plexiglass from Home Depot for $5 and cut it with scissors to fit the lower half to 1/3 of the wire mesh window so that the chickens while lying down in the hutch are not going to have a breeze on them. If you want to make the chickens feel happier and more secure you can paint the plexiglass on the outside before installing it (or use plywood) so that they don't see the predators watching them in the mornings and evenings when it is light enough to see but they haven't been let out yet. So it would also give them a feeling of security.

But I would do this only if you live in a place that has winters. If you live in a tropical place I'd not worry about it since the hot summers are more of a concern and you don't want them overheating in the summer.

What I used to do was take off the plexiglass when the weather was good and put it back on for winter on some of my hutches. I also used plywood to do this but plywood isn't as pretty. The way I did this without wrecking the wood of the hutch was to drill a hole in the plywood and use a bolt with a large washer and nut, and insert it straight through the wire screen holes and thus the plywood piece would be held up by the screen itself and the large washer/bolt.

So you don't want breezes blowing right on the chickens when they sleep. I hope this helps!

 

[Tattoued]

We have no hens. It's just him. Next year, when we get hens, we'll have an actual coop that will be attached to our barn. I would put him in the barn, but it's not secure against predators like raccoons and such at the moment. The only open area on the hutch is half the front and half the bottom. We are in Connecticut, so winters are severe. Our plan is to move the hutch to our screened in porch that will be boarded up for winter, and he'll be protected from the wind and weather. We are also planning on reinforcing the coop to make it more insulated as well. Right now, he only stays there at night and I let him out first thing in the morning. He's free range right now. We live in town, and it actually isn't the best place for a rooster with all the crowing and such, and I actually have my ears open for a nice farm that might want a rooster. I didn't plan on having a rooster at all, but I do want to take care of him while I keep on the lookout for a better place for him!

I'll have to try the light in the hutch thing! Thanks!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

We have no hens. It's just him. Next year, when we get hens, we'll have an actual coop that will be attached to our barn. I would put him in the barn, but it's not secure against predators like raccoons and such at the moment. The only open area on the hutch is half the front and half the bottom. We are in Connecticut, so winters are severe. Our plan is to move the hutch to our screened in porch that will be boarded up for winter, and he'll be protected from the wind and weather. We are also planning on reinforcing the coop to make it more insulated as well. Right now, he only stays there at night and I let him out first thing in the morning. He's free range right now. We live in town, and it actually isn't the best place for a rooster with all the crowing and such, and I actually have my ears open for a nice farm that might want a rooster. I didn't plan on having a rooster at all, but I do want to take care of him while I keep on the lookout for a better place for him!

I'll have to try the light in the hutch thing! Thanks!

You are welcome! It sounds like he has a lovely home and he will be just peachy in there just the way it is for summer then.