Raising Chickens to Hens for the first time! (Maryland)

[WILIFORD]

Are you suppose to close the door to the coop at night thats connected to the closed in run?

I do not shut my hen door at night, but again as previous post stated, it depends if there are predators in your area. When I first move new hens from the brooder to the coop, I keep them locked in for the first 3 days. This will help them accept the new coops as home, rather than finding a tree to roost in.

Are you suppose to close the door to the coop at night thats connected to the closed in run?

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Good God. This coop is no joke with layers and layers. I got a lot of research to do. Thanks!

Hi Mike!

Lol. I feel bad here. Your article got put on the carousel home page— you’re getting lots of good folks commenting though albeit all differing ideas and philosophies.

Maryland near Pennsylvania. You maybe will get those colder winters so get birds with Cushion or pea combs. Research those. Here you’ll be preventing comb/wattle frost bite. Popular breeds are single comb unfortunately. Lower roosts 2x4 flat sid up prevent broken toes/feet and coverage for frost bite.

April 15th or so Grandma would get her chicks and brood. I like that time of year too. . At the 5-6 week mark temps are regulating warm pretty well and young birds growing still but fully feathered flourish in late May early June weather. You can put them in the coop at 5 weeks. Keep them in for a week so they know this is their home. You might find them in a feather pile at night still at this age. Apple cider vinegar . A capful to gallon of water 2-3 times per week helps set up a healthy gut and makes more efficient protein uptake and might make them feather faster. I’ve also seen it resolve Chick pasty butt. Lots to learn about chicks in the learning center so read there first.

Your coop should be built before the chicks come. The 5 weeks will speed by.

Considerations:

1: how many birds x 4 sq feet. Coop ; x 10 for the run.
2: poop removal. Make it easy on yourself. Poop trays with sand or sweet pdz or hammocks. Coop tall enough to stand in so you don’t break your back cleaning or a poop door to push it out into a wheel barrel.
3: nest boxes lower than roosts so they don’t sleep in them and poop in the nesting materials. Makes for messy eggs.
4: ventilation. It’s good for winter and good for ammonia release. Chickens have simple but sensitive respiratory systems that require cleanliness. Consider looking at a sauna diagram for lower and higher ventilation strategies drawing and pushing air. I think folks have an easier time with simple slant roofs vs. peaked roofs for venting out air and moisture imho.
5. Definitely make it matchy matchy with the house. I personally think a coop can add value to your property . We’re doing a pretty cool hobby here. Chicken coop may seal a real estate deal!
6. Predation on your birds and eggs! Know your critters in the area. I think you folks also have rat snakes down there and nothing more interesting finding a large black coil of reptilian fun in your nest boxes while your blindly reaching into get eggs. They help with other problems like rats and mice attracted to your coop but they also like eggs.
Hardware cloth is going to save you here. But it’s a expensive part of the coop build. You can trench in wire fencing about 10-12 inches out from the base of the run to prevent diggers.

There are lots of layers on the coop building. As blooie said just think it through one part at a time.

My coop is also linked in under my chicken fluff and dainty ankles there. Don’t get overwhelmed. Enjoy the evenings of immersing yourself in coop images and chicken paraphernalia. It’s truly a fun hobby.

 

[Living_Legend]

When we ordered our coop from Chicken Condos, we opted to get two slide-in floor trays -- one solid floor tray and one dog/kennel wire floor (no sagging). We use the solid floor in winter when it's windy and cold, and use the wire floor during our humid very hot SoCalif summer heatwaves sometimes running in the 100 degrees for months at a time. The wire floor gives more air circulation during the heatwaves and the wire floor is made of the same sturdy kennel wire as the coop's pen walls. We have not experienced any conditions like Bumblefoot or leg injuries like so many warn about -- maybe because we cover some of the wire floor with disposable solid cardboard which also capture poops from the perch above. Anyway, the hard sturdy wire floor has been a blessing during our heatwave summers. I definitely do not recommend poultry hex wire for anything -- it is flimsy, bends out of shape and unravels very easily, does not hold its shape whatsoever, keeps chickens inside but does not keep predators outside! Stray dogs broke down our yard gate to get to our first little chicken coop years ago and completely mangled the hex chicken wire beyond repair -- a Good Samaritan neighbor chased off the strays before the strays got to my birds! With this second coop we opted for heavy duty kennel wire for everything. Our 5 birds use the inside coop during the day only to lay eggs or when roosting for the night. Otherwise, they are free-ranging the backyard all day which may be another factor why our kennel wire floor poses no leg problems for them.

View attachment 1230800


We sprayed all the coop's black metal frames and dog kennel wire with Rust-O-Leum paint to fortify against rusting. We also have the coop under a patio roof to protect from our harsh summer sun and occasional rain downpours.
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Solid floor tray -- disposable cardboard used to catch perch poops from above. This Ameraucana chicken was the only chicken we ever had that preferred to spend her daily snooze time alone inside the coop -- she was a strange one!
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Curious Breda chicken inspecting the slide-in kennel wire floor.
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The cement slab under the coop is easy to hose off chicken droppings once a week.
View attachment 1230797

I just checked these guess out. Interesting.... Thanks for the info. If this coupe was out in the hard rain would it leak. I would need something in the outdoor all year round.

 

[Living_Legend]

I believe it is about 6 weeks. When they lose their fuzzy baby down then you can try letting them out for a bit. I wouldn't give them all day given the weather but they will eventually grow the extra feathers necessary to stay warm. Best wishes!

I know there is no exact sience but I love when I get a awnser to my question. Awesome. About 6 weeks.

 

[Living_Legend]

You can always make a wire skirt around the run so no predators can dig under. We cover our skirt with dirt but it isn't necessary. Or you can put it on a concrete foundation. We do this too (Our coop was originally built on an old shack foundation but Chicken Math had us expanding it off the concrete, hence the skirts.)
Our coop is a mini fort knox... We have never had a predator get inside the coop.

Deffinitly planing on the skirt. I am located next to 50 acres of woods. Its going to be like having a daycare inside of a prision here.

 

[Feathers4Fun2]

Welcome to BYC! I have found raising chickens very rewarding. I have raised chickens from an incubator and natural hatch. however, originally I started with 6 straight run day-old chicks from tractor supply. Three Plymouth Rock & three Rhode Island Red. The disadvantage to straight run is you are not guaranteed they will be hens - That was ok for me though. It turned out I had four roosters and two hens, not a good ratio. I used a 50 gallon fish aquarium as a brooder - after 6 weeks I was needing a bit larger container so I re-purposed a couple of cardboard boxes - The chickens enjoyed their new brooder for another 4 weeks. At ten weeks they were ready to graduate to the hen house. The most important thing to keep in mind is a secure predator safe hen house. In my case I open the door to the hen house each morning letting the chickens access their run. A secure run from predators is crucial as well. These teenage chickens can get carried off by a hawk, possum, raccoon, or dogs to mention a few. Predators are very innovative and love chicken. When the birds reached 20 weeks - I allowed them to leave the run to free range. While they are free-ranging if they need to lay an egg they return to the nesting boxes in the hen house - and as the sun goes down they come back to the hen house to roost. Just after sunset I close the door to the hen house until the next morning. Not closing the hen house door is just inviting trouble. I'm sure you will do fine - there are many variables and chickens are very forgiving of our mistakes. The best thing you can do for your chickens is provide security.

 

[Living_Legend]

Hi Mike!

Lol. I feel bad here. Your article got put on the carousel home page— you’re getting lots of good folks commenting though albeit all differing ideas and philosophies.

Maryland near Pennsylvania. You maybe will get those colder winters so get birds with rose or cushion combs. Research those. Here you’ll be preventing comb/wattle frost bite. Lower roosts 2x4 flat sid up prevent broken toes/feet and coverage for frost bite.

April 15th or so Grandma would get her chicks and brood. I like that time of year too. . At the 5-6 week mark temps are regulating warm pretty well and young birds growing still albeit fully feathered flourish in late May early June weather. Apple cider vinegar every 2-3 times per week helps set up a healthy gut and makes more efficient protein uptake and might make them feather faster. I’ve also seen it resolve Chick pasty butt. Lots to learn about chicks in the learning center so read there first.

Your coop should be built before the chicks come. The 5 weeks will speed by.

Considerations:

1: how many birds x 4 sq feet. Coop ; x 10 for the run.
2: poop removal. Make it easy on yourself. Poop trays with sand or sweet pdz or hammocks. Coop tall enough to stand in so you don’t break your back cleaning or a poop door to push it out into a wheel barrel.
3: nest boxes lower than roosts so they don’t sleep in them and poop in the nesting materials. Makes for messy eggs.
4: ventilation. It’s good for winter and good for ammonia release. Chickens have simple but sensitive respiratory systems that require cleanliness. Consider looking at a sauna diagram for lower and higher ventilation strategies drawing and pushing air. I think folks have an easier time with simple slant roofs vs. peaked roofs for venting out air and moisture imho.
5. Definitely make it matchy matchy with the house. I personally think a coop can add value to your property . We’re doing a pretty cool hobby here.
6. Predation on your birds and eggs! Know your critters in the area. I think you folks also have rat snakes down there and nothing more interesting finding a large black coil of reptilian fun in your nest boxes while your blindly reaching into get eggs. They help with other problems like rats and mice attracted to your coop but they also like eggs.
Hardware cloth is going to save you here. But it’s a expensive part of the coop build. You can trench in wire fencing about 10-12 inches out from the base of the run to prevent diggers.

There are lots of layers on the coop building. As blooie said just think it through one part at a time.

My coop is also linked in under my chicken fluff and dainty ankles there. Don’t get overwhelmed. Enjoy the evenings of immersing yourself in coop images and chicken paraphernalia. It’s truly a fun hobby.

Hey the more knowledge the better! What is "the carousel home page" lol? Thanks for all the good info. I am using the 4sq 10sq feet per chick math going through this. My desire for chicks may not be so much as others. Save money, provide food for fam. I am more into it for the experience for the kids, a hobby, and the free eggs. I will be spending more money than saving doing this cause I want the coop to match the house and how it looks is important to me. Plus I will go hardware cloth because where i live next to 50 acres of woods will be like putting a daycare in a prison. I will check your coop out after i hit Post Reply....

 

[Living_Legend]

Welcome to BYC! I have found raising chickens very rewarding. I have raised chickens from an incubator and natural hatch. however, originally I started with 6 straight run day-old chicks from tractor supply. Three Plymouth Rock & three Rhode Island Red. The disadvantage to straight run is you are not guaranteed they will be hens - That was ok for me though. It turned out I had four roosters and two hens, not a good ratio. I used a 50 gallon fish aquarium as a brooder - after 6 weeks I was needing a bit larger container so I re-purposed a couple of cardboard boxes - The chickens enjoyed their new brooder for another 4 weeks. At ten weeks they were ready to graduate to the hen house. The most important thing to keep in mind is a secure predator safe hen house. In my case I open the door to the hen house each morning letting the chickens access their run. A secure run from predators is crucial as well. These teenage chickens can get carried off by a hawk, possum, raccoon, or dogs to mention a few. Predators are very innovative and love chicken. When the birds reached 20 weeks - I allowed them to leave the run to free range. While they are free-ranging if they need to lay an egg they return to the nesting boxes in the hen house - and as the sun goes down they come back to the hen house to roost. Just after sunset I close the door to the hen house until the next morning. Not closing the hen house door is just inviting trouble. I'm sure you will do fine - there are many variables and chickens are very forgiving of our mistakes. The best thing you can do for your chickens is provide security.

CLOSE THAT DOOR! I got it Security Security Security. Thanks for the deatailed info! 10 weeks and then to the hen house... the more experiences i hear the better.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Hahaha. You will be like the rest of us with our nice expensive eggs. Just remember they should get cheaper as you go.

Hey. That’s right you’ve got some child labor there. Give them some fun tools. They will gladly work for free on payment promises of Chick fuzz! That’s what I did and got out of guinea pig requests too!

 

[Feathers4Fun2]

Based on the information you provided, I would think you could purchase your chicks anytime after January 28th.