Switching to deep litter

[Hensatpadden]

Hi,
Last spring I adopted five laying hens from a friend.
Three Plymouth Barred Rocks and two Auracana or ? Americana.?
I had only distant memories as a young child of my family raising chickens for eggs and meat.
I am thoroughly enjoying the experience. But since I am new at this I welcome any advice.
I acquired two free coops which I fixed up. The second one was a bonus so I purchased two Australorps an three Golden Sexlink chicks. They started out separate from the older hens.
Then they spent the long summer days all 10 hens together when the young ones grew to the size of the older ones. And would spend the nights in their separate coops.
Last night we had 5 inches of snow so I put them all together in the larger coop 3’ by 7’ floor space. Thinking they would be warmer. The coop is up on stilts and used to be a Rabbit hutch (wood floor)
So they spent their first night together locked up tight until sunrise. When I let them out they all seemed happy.
I am raising the roost higher because the two Auracanas sleep and poop in the two nest boxes. I think they are cold and also look like one is molting.
We live in the wet Pacific Northwest. It is wet and rainy here and some occasional snow and freezing temps.
This may be a too small coop for 10 hens. I don’t know.....? I open the pop door at sunrise and close it after they go in at dusk
I am switching to deep litter method today and adding more vent holes in the gable ends under the peaks on each end.
The coop is inside of a 12’ by 6’ chain link dog kennel completely covered with 1/4 inch hardware cloth. The hardware cloth is buried all around. Then covered with greenhouse plastic ( the kennel used to be my makeshift greenhouse)
We have many predators in our area, including weasels.
Then there are extended daytime runs all around. Kind of junky looking but the chickens love it I think.
My question is can I have 10 hens in a 3’ by 7’ insulated coop.?
The coop is maybe 4 feet high at the peak.
They spend the day out in the 6’ by 12’ foot kennel area plus the other fenced and netted ‘rooms’
Maybe I can attach a photo.
Thank you so much! All you chicken lovers!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Welcome, I wouldn't worry so much about them being warm, chickens keep themselves warm. I would worry more about locking too many birds in a small coop. You could end up with pecking because of the crowding and pneumonia from the moisture build up. Chickens require good ventilation year round to remain healthy.

Pictures of your set ups can help people see what you are describing. I think you need a bigger coop or to let them go in separate coops. As your young ones mature more there could be more aggression, especially under the boredom of winter confinement.

 

[Smuvers Farm]

Coop is 3 foot by 7 foot? Multiply that = 21 sq feet. you wanna give each chicken 4 sq feet of room in the coop, so this coop is big enough for 5-6 chickens... unless they are bantams... which are smaller and could fit 10 comfortably possibly.

 

[drumstick diva]

Actually rule of thumb is 4-5 square feet per bird in the coop, excluding nest boxes and roosts. In the outdoor run 10 square feet per bird. Bantams would be somewhat less.
In areas with lots of rain, extreme temps etc., birds may spend alot of time in the coop, and could use more space if they start pecking and attacking each other. Chickens hate being crowded.

 

[rjohns39]

Hi and welcome to BYC We're so thrilled you've decided to join us

 

[Smuvers Farm]

i'm presuming those numbers are for chickens that aren't free ranged or let out ...hell i'd give them a lot more space then! ps bear in mind ... my coops door is never closed ...

You are presuming incorrectly.... chickens need 10 sq ft per chicken in a run, 4 sq ft per chicken in a coop, whether coop leads into a run or to a 10 acre field. It's SOP.

 

[DIGGIN CHICKEN]

kinda have to disagree with those numbers mate...currently i got 32 in that coop ... so you saying i should have 128 sq ft of floor space .. 10 feet by 12.8 feet ..(or 3 meters by 4 meters ...that's the size of a bedroom) ... in the current coop ...they don't even use half of the loft space which is only about 15 sqft... i been out there many of nights checking on them ... sunset the go in and perch (fall asleep) as they open their eyes (at about 5) they up and out of there sitting below my bedroom window crowing their little lungs out !

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Oh darn I put all my photos in the Gallery section.
You can see both hen houses and the make do system I have for the time being.
Sorry it may take me awhile to get the hang of this.

They look like they have lots of protection from the elements. I wouldn't lock them up. They will choose to sleep where it's most comfortable. My chickens are in a 40x40 shed. They are definitely not keeping each other warm except for sitting close and they do fine here in our harsh winters.

Just make sure you have good air exchange in your coop area and that moisture isn't building up on the plastic. Things need to be dry, not necessarily warm.

 

[DIGGIN CHICKEN]

hi ..welcome.. my one coop is a 2 by 3 meter but has a second story/loft area which only measures 1 by 1.5 meters ...in total a lot of space in there... but at night i've had up to 72 chickens get into the loft comfortably ...(loft area in feet = 3 feet by about 4.5 feet) ... they got room down stairs if they needed the space !

as for deep litter approach ... i notice that if i don't clean out the coops on a regular basis ..they refuse to lay in there ...then i have to go search the property for eggs ... but read an article recently about storing all the poop outside the coop ( kinda compost heap) and running copper piping with a small pump internally to keep the heat ( with out the smells etc) ...one benefit i see to this idea is that you can toss any waste you have in there too including garden waste .... comes spring you'll have some fantastic fertiliser!

 

[DIGGIN CHICKEN]

Coop is 3 foot by 7 foot? Multiply that = 21 sq feet. you wanna give each chicken 4 sq feet of room in the coop, so this coop is big enough for 5-6 chickens... unless they are bantams... which are smaller and could fit 10 comfortably possibly.

i'm presuming those numbers are for chickens that aren't free ranged or let out ...hell i'd give them a lot more space then! ps bear in mind ... my coops door is never closed ...