Some Newcomer Advice Please

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powerw

In the Brooder
Feb 19, 2025
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Hello All, Bill here. New to raising chickens, have 20 2-day old chicks in early stage feeding.

I have a few questions I wanted to posit here:
1) I live in Ft Worth TX. Some extreme cold in the winter, lots of significant hot in the summer. Really only interested in egg production. Any recommendations regarding best breeds to buy? Presently starting out with Production Reds and Barred Rock...mainly because that was all that was available.

2) Any advice on training intelligent dogs about leaving the chickens alone? Success stories? Disasters? Would really like to have chickens roaming in 3 acre backyard with the dogs. And eat all the scorpions they can find... :^)

3) Have been told that having a guinea as a flock companion is a good thing, as they are more alert/wary than chickens, and make a lot of noise. We do have lots barn owls and hawks in the area, and occasional coyotes (night only).

4) Does anyone have a good plans for a home-built coop? Or a list of sites that have some designs? Best height for roost bars, best shape or enclosure for large chicken laying. How many nests per egg laying hen? No intent to hatch chickens presently, but that may change in time.

Any ideas for having a power-washable floor in a coop? Was thinking of using rigid core vinyl flooring on a forkliftable pad so as to be able to reposition coop using my Bobcat.

5.At what age can I transition above described chicks into an outdoor coop/run?

6. Are there any breeds that are better at avoiding predation? More wary? Fight back? What about the value of a Rooster to that end? Really don't want fertile eggs, but might support it if a big nasty Brahma rooster would actually protect his hens. Can a rooster be sterilized?

7. Also a beekeeper. Do chickens like to munch bees? Historical problems of having them around hives? If they are a danger, any idea of level of impact chickens can have on nearby hives?
 
:welcome
  1. I have a barred Rock and she’s great! Sounds like a good start for eggs! How cold/hot does it usually get?
  2. My dogs cannot be kept with my chickens, I have no experience with this.
  3. I have heard of guineas being called “watch dogs” but they can’t protect your flock from these predators.
  4. We have a whole section full of coop designs right here on BYC! https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/chicken-coops.12/
  5. Whenever they are fully feathered.
  6. I don’t know about breeds that are more wary. A good rooster will fight for his hens, but a good rooster is not guaranteed. I don’t think you can or should sterilize a rooster.
  7. I have bees and chickens. The chickens are in a coop and run so the only time they interact is when the bees come and drink from the chickens’ water bucket. I don’t very often (if at all) see the chickens try to eat the bees, but I may have misremembered.
Hope this helps!
 
:welcome

Hello, if you haven't already, check out the articles in the Learning Center, they will answer a lot of your questions:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/learning-center.11/

There are a ton of coop/run/tractor articles written by members that can help you get ideas for what you want:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/chicken-coops.12/

If you have questions, just find the appropriate forum and post. There are a lot of experienced members here to help out.

Best of luck!
 
Hello Bill, and welcome to BYC! :frow Glad you joined.

powerw said:
Any recommendations regarding best breeds to buy
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You truly do NOT have extreme cold there. You may have some cold spells. You need to focus on keeping chickens cool. Breeds with large single combs can keep cool easier.
powerw said:
Any advice on training intelligent dogs about leaving the chickens alone?
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It all depends on the dogs prey drive and trainability. Its very dependent on the individual dog. I keep my flock behind electrified poultry netting so my dogs steer clear.
powerw said:
And eat all the scorpions they can find
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🤮
powerw said:
3)
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A rooster will stay on alert as well as guinea fowl and would likely be less noisy. The flock should be secured in a predator proof coop at night so that should keep them safe from owls. Offering overhead cover from hawks or keeping them in a run with a roof on it is the only way to completely protect from aerial predation.
powerw said:
4) Does anyone have a good plans for a home-built coop?
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You can modify a shed into a coop. In your area, I would have large roof overhangs and remove entire walls and cover them with 1/2" hardware cloth over the studs. The studs would need some kind of weather proofing. Or remove the top half of the walls and cover with 1/2" HC. You can cover some/most of the open areas with tarps to winterize.
powerw said:
Best height for roost bars, best shape or enclosure for large chicken laying. How many nests per egg laying hen?
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You should offer 1 linear foot of roost per bird and the roosts should be anywhere from 1 to 4' off the floor. You need one nest box per 4-5 hens. You need 4 sq ft of floor area per bird. Nest boxes need to be positioned lower than the roosts.
powerw said:
Any ideas for having a power-washable floor in a coop?
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Not necessary. I prefer the use of poop boards that get scooped daily. I clean the coop floor bedding out annually.
Coop ventilation.png

powerw said:
5.At what age can I transition above described chicks into an outdoor coop/run?
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From the moment they push the shell off themselves. You can brood directly in the coop with a mama heating pad or brooder plate.
powerw said:
6. Are there any breeds that are better at avoiding predation?
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Mediterranean breeds. Flighty.
powerw said:
Fight back?
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They can't. They can only run to cover.
powerw said:
What about the value of a Rooster to that end?
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He can alert the hens to predators giving them a chance to get to cover. They can and will attempt to protect their hens by fighting a predator but will lose. They were designed to fight off rival roosters, not coyotes.
 

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