Ready to give up on my chooks, help please.

[JacinLarkwell]

I think the wet poop is the biggest problem honestly.

I think my birds are easy, but they're still a bit of work (if I had less than I do now, it would probably be far easier though). But I have coops and runs that don't move and just live with the fact that there will never be grass in the run. That takes out moving their home all the time and they know where to go at night when I let them out.

As for the poop, dry poop is happy poop. The only poop I get wet is the stuff on the concrete steps when I wash it off, and even then I scrape everything I can off first.

 

[Cara83]

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time getting your system established.

The first thing that struck me is that the tractor pictured is quite small. Crowding chickens causes both health and behavioral problems.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

That means that for 5 chickens you need:

• 20 square feet in the coop. That's 4x5, but in the US lumber comes in multiples of 4 feet so it's easier to build 4x6 with fewer cuts and less waste since you can buy 12-foot boards and cut them in half.
• 50 square feet in the run. The simplest way to provide this would be an 8' square dog kennel -- which is a little bigger than the minimums so the poop spreads over more area.
• 5 linear feet of roost.
• 2 nest boxes to give the hens a choice.
• And 5 square feet of ventilation, best located over their heads when they're sitting on the roost.

My Little Monitor Coop is designed to meet all the minimums for 4 hens. A competent handyman could easily expand it to 4x6 and shift the access door to the center of the long wall so that you'd be able to reach everywhere inside. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/

I find that the Deep Bedding system in such a dry, well-ventilated coop is almost completely odor-free: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

Likewise, Deep Litter in the run allows the poop and the bedding to compost together, neutralizing germs and preventing odor.



This stood out dramatically to me.

As a general rule, dry chickens are healthy chickens. Wet poop not only reeks but attracts flies and breeds bacteria.

I suggest that until you can work out alternate housing, you park your tractor in a corner with natural shade and put in several inches of some kind of dry, organic material for bedding. Wood shavings are very popular because they are readily available (in the US at least), and easy to handle. Chopped straw is superior to long straw because it's less prone to packing, matting, and developing anaerobic pockets. There are other options two, but shavings and straw are the baseline that most people begin with.

Then forgo all wet cleaning.

Some people scoop poop, others just cover it with more bedding. Both ways work and, as my article discusses, suit different people in different situations.

This won't keep them off your steps because the tractor is too small to confine them in, but you should find that the odor, fly, and disease issues improve.

Also, try a some kind of gate at the bottom of the steps. They *may* fly up anyway, but if the top of the gate is floppy rather than a firm rail -- netting rather than solid, perhaps -- they are less likely to go over it.

Thanks for all the advice.

These are sold to house 6 chooks I only have 5 and they free range.
I got the chook tractor as I dont want them fixed to one area of my yard as it's just been freshly turfed and I'm not allowed a permanent fixture being a rental.
I habe decided perhaps they are not for me and best I rehome them or get rid of 2 leaving me 3.
I have a gate at the top of my steps now and that's no longer a issue, but the flies is a big problem

 

[Cara83]

What country are u in? Australia? if they r to stressful for you to look after maybe get another animal to farm... like worms.

That's extremely rude and unwarranted

 

[Cara83]

Mites and coccidiosis are common problems with chicken keeping. Some people are lucky and rarely have to deal with them while for others it's a constant battle.
Some observations. They are not meant to be taken as criticism, more as a view from the chickens perspective.

I imagine myself as one of your pullets standing on the steps and looking over the fence at all that greenery with trees and shrubs for cover and interest. I would be thinkiing that there are probably some great patches of bare ground over there were I can dig a big hole and search for worms and grubs. I think I would make another patch for a dust bath and then go and doze under a large bush were I felt safe fromm predators.
What I am trying to say in the kindest way possible is if I was a chicken I wouldn't want to llive in your yard. It's far too tidy and bare of interesting things.
It is unfortunate the impression people get regarding the keeping of chickens.
They are not easy to keep if one is mindfull of the environment chickens would choose to live in.
If you are fussy about having your plants the right way up, a spotless lawn and patio chickens may not be the ideal creature for you to keep.
While still a bit on the tidy side the pitures below are a fair representation of the kind of landscape chickens view as a lovely garden.View attachment 2891665View attachment 2891666

That's not very helpful
I just hady whole block landscaped by the owners not something I did myself

Mites and coccidiosis are common problems with chicken keeping. Some people are lucky and rarely have to deal with them while for others it's a constant battle.
Some observations. They are not meant to be taken as criticism, more as a view from the chickens perspective.

I imagine myself as one of your pullets standing on the steps and looking over the fence at all that greenery with trees and shrubs for cover and interest. I would be thinkiing that there are probably some great patches of bare ground over there were I can dig a big hole and search for worms and grubs. I think I would make another patch for a dust bath and then go and doze under a large bush were I felt safe fromm predators.
What I am trying to say in the kindest way possible is if I was a chicken I wouldn't want to llive in your yard. It's far too tidy and bare of interesting things.
It is unfortunate the impression people get regarding the keeping of chickens.
They are not easy to keep if one is mindfull of the environment chickens would choose to live in.
If you are fussy about having your plants the right way up, a spotless lawn and patio chickens may not be the ideal creature for you to keep.
While still a bit on the tidy side the pitures below are a fair representation of the kind of landscape chickens view as a lovely garden.View attachment 2891665View attachment 2891666

That's ride and inconsiderate seeing you don't even know what the rest of my block looks like

 

[Cara83]

It sounds like you didn't do enough research, before you decided
to raise chickens. A lot of the problems you've encountered could
have been prevented. Maybe you should re home your chickens,
for their sake, and try something else. Take a break, and if you decide on a different animal, do the proper research, before you make the commitment. Sorry, if this sounds harsh, but reality is what is needed here.

Thanks but not warranted, they are well looked after and I did plenty of reaserch before going into chickens and grown up on farms my whole life and also volunteer for my local shelter and quite often have had multiple animals in my care.

 

[3KillerBs]

These are sold to house 6 chooks

Alas, the manufacturers of such prefab chicken housing take advantage of new chicken owners by misrepresenting the capacity of their products. They use the legal minimums for intensively-managed commercial chickens rather then appropriate numbers for backyard birds under typical backyard chicken management.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Problems like you're having are common among new chicken keepers who were fooled by those claims and it makes long-time chicken owners really angry that the manufacturers take advantage of people this way.

 

[K0k0shka]

it's just been freshly turfed and I'm not allowed a permanent fixture being a rental.
I habe decided perhaps they are not for me and best I rehome them or get rid of 2 leaving me 3.

In your case, I'd say it's best to rehome them all and focus on another hobby, and maybe try chickens again once you're out of the rental and have your own place, with more room for chickens (and a permanent, proper structure). Good luck!

 

[Cara83]

What country are u in? Australia? if they r to stressful for you to look after maybe get another animal to farm... like worms.

Youe nasty

 

[Cara83]

Alas, the manufacturers of such prefab chicken housing take advantage of new chicken owners by misrepresenting the capacity of their products. They use the legal minimums for intensively-managed commercial chickens rather then appropriate numbers for backyard birds under typical backyard chicken management.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Problems like you're having are common among new chicken keepers who were fooled by those claims and it makes long-time chicken owners really angry that the manufacturers take advantage of people this way.

I'm not sure what you don't get about them only going in here to sleep

 

[Cara83]

Alas, the manufacturers of such prefab chicken housing take advantage of new chicken owners by misrepresenting the capacity of their products. They use the legal minimums for intensively-managed commercial chickens rather then appropriate numbers for backyard birds under typical backyard chicken management.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Problems like you're having are common among new chicken keepers who were fooled by those claims and it makes long-time chicken owners really angry that the manufacturers take advantage of people this way.

This is only where they sleep they free range