Smoky Mountain Hen House - COMPLETE!!! (pg 5)

[Cara]

I am so jealous that you live in such a beautiful place! We've been to the Smokies a few times on vacation and I could happily get left behind there! Some people think NM is pretty, but I miss the greenery and trees like home (England)!

 

[tricia]

Oh yeah - I forgot about it being raised!

I'll have doors on the back that will allow me to use a squeegee? or broom to sweek it out the back into a bucket or something to take to the compost pile.

That is a great idea!

As far as the floor space.... There are many varying opinions on that. Some say they need 2 sq feet per bird, others say up to 4.5. For me, personally, when I have had just a few hens I have gone on the smaller end of that. Some like the floor, some like the roosting bar. They aren't usually all on the floor at once. It seems to me that when there are a lot of birds they need more space so as not to get too cranky with each other. If it's easy enough to make the boxes stick out I might go with that, but then you'll only need three of them at the most. I'm sure just two would be fine.

Cara - that would be so hard to go from England to NM!! I love greenery too - I would not do well in a desert area!​

 

[Dilly]

You mentioned having very cold winters. Whatever you build or size, you may want to insulate. Especially if you make your nest boxes on the outside. Which I highly recommend....

Insulate those boxes as well.

Dilly

 

[tricia]

Quote:
What are the winters like where you are Bodyflight? There are many of us in WI and MI that don't even insulate.

 

[DawnSuiter]

Thanks! I am learning to enjoy it here for sure. I've lived in a lot of places here in the states, and I really do miss the desert climate! No allergies, predictable weather conditions and the most amazing storms ever! But the smokies offer the same isolation possibilities as NM, NV, AZ or CA (all places I love to live) yet is considerably cheaper and because of the mountains I can be isolated from well developed cities yet they are only 1 hour away. It was the right place to settle down, even though I am constantly reminded that I don't "fit" in here, born in the big city with my modern & technologically advanced ways, tends to scare the locals.

In fact.. yesterday, when i went to our local "feed" store (farmers co-op) and asked about chicken feed & care, the good 'ol boys promptly told me while laughing at me that "you CAN read TOO much, and these ideas of insulation, DE & NOT keeping chickens in a coop full time is just plain old stupid". They also laughed at the idea of actually building a chicken coop, and informed me that after starter food, my chickens should live on SCRATCH until they become layers. At this point, I left. I just don't know who to believe, but I insisted I learned that Scratch was basically junk food/candy and again I was reminded that I "read too much". Apparently not a problem HE has ever had.

Such is life here in the smokies... so be careful what your jealous of... as a tourist, you've seen the good. As a resident I know exactly where the bad & the ugly live, and that's everywhere JUST off the parkway!

 

[fullhouse]

Good luck! I would plan a little bigger also.

 

[okiemommy]

Hi! Welcome!! I am new here also, but I wanted to help if I could....as far as the nesting boxes being on the outside, if I am understanding what you mean, It wouldnt be a good idea for the nesting boxes to be on the outside as I have seen them built on here, because the chickens need to be kept safe from predators....but maybe I'm just not correctly visualizing what you are going for. Since I am so new I am just curious why you dont want to go into the coop? And are you building small due to lack of funds or to meet other needs? If you are buliding small for a lack of funds, you can get most if not ALL of your building materials free, by watching craigslist and free cycle. And also going to any local building sites and asking the foreman if he has any lumber that he has to get rid of and doesnt want. You can also go to your local building supply store, and ask them if they have any discounted wood..this is usually wood that they cant resell and they will usually charge you very little for it...you may have to pull out some nails, or something, but it's better than paying full price for it. Anyway I don't know if this would make a difference in your situation, but I thought I would share. This is the route that we are going.

good luck

 

[DawnSuiter]

What are the winters like where you are Bodyflight? There are many of us in WI and MI that don't even insulate.

Compared to the northern US we have mild winters. While it snows here in the mountains we usually only see a dusting of snow at our elevation. We MAY have 2 solid weeks of 20-30 degrees and the occasional, I mean occasional nights in the teens or single digits. Other than that winter days average in the low 40s, nights in the upper 20s and that is only during Jan/Feb really. December & March you can find 50-60 during the day & 30-40s at night regularly.​

 

[fullhouse]

Quote:
My grandmother had chickens, and all they got was corn. They did get acres and acres of forage though, unlike the average hen today.

 

[tricia]

If I were you I would save the time/money and not worry about insulating. If it gets cold enough to freeze the water you can hang a heat lamp over the waterer and that will warm the coop a bit too.

Its hard to find a good balance between not taking care enough and going overboard with 'luxuries' for chickens.

Do what you feel is right.