The EE braggers thread!!!

[DURR]

Most likely the egg color would be some shade of olive. not sure about the color of the chicks though. You could use the chicken color calculator.

 

[bruceha2000]

I heard australorps layed a light brown "pinkish egg" as well, so maybe I will get offspring that lay the pink color!

Australorps lay brown. My smaller one lays a medium sized medium brown egg, sometimes with white flecks. The big one lays a large matte brown, lighter than the other but not close to pinkish.

the woman at the feed store said to build a coop with 2 square feet for each chicken. does that sound right to all of you? and only one nest per three hens. what do all of you prefer for the stuff you put on the floor and in the nests? sawdust or hay?

Others answered but I want to agree with them, 2 sq ft of floor space isn't enough unless they are confined to the coop ONLY at night when they are sleeping. My 12 are in 120 sq ft and there is NOTHING on the floor other than 2 legs for the roosts. And they have 27' of roost but they don't use even half of it when it is cold

Figure MINIMUM 1 foot of roost per bird. They'll squeeze closer in the winter but they should have space in the summer since they can't take their down coats off. Mine are out every day until they go to bed at sundown though the coop isn't usually opened until 8 or 9 AM. I would potentially go as far as a dozen more in the coop but not more than that and then only because they are never confined to the coop. I don't think I'd take much advice from the lady at the feed store.

I have a divided nest box with three 12x12 nests and a 4' community box. Again, as others said, they seem to have their personal favorite nests and that is a PITA. I have pine shavings in the nest boxes (very clean) and on the floor (deep litter). I wouldn't use sawdust, much to fine and, well, DUSTY.

Ok so I have a new layer in the flock and she laid a nice light olive egg. Is this possible with EE's? Or would she be called a OE?

Not sure what "defines" an olive egger. My EE that lays green ranges from mint to olive. I would guess that, at the least, an OE would have to lay olive ALL the time.

Is Easter Egger even a real chicken name since there's no actual breed specification?

Nope, not "official". I wonder if there may be an APA designation some day though since "Araucana/Ameraucana X whatever" mutts are so popular. They just won't be able to have a list of acceptable colors.


Bruce

 

[bellaleah]

Others answered but I want to agree with them, 2 sq ft of floor space isn't enough unless they are confined to the coop ONLY at night when they are sleeping. My 12 are in 120 sq ft and there is NOTHING on the floor other than 2 legs for the roosts. And they have 27' of roost but they don't use even half of it when it is cold

Figure MINIMUM 1 foot of roost per bird. They'll squeeze closer in the winter but they should have space in the summer since they can't take their down coats off. Mine are out every day until they go to bed at sundown though the coop isn't usually opened until 8 or 9 AM. I would potentially go as far as a dozen more in the coop but not more than that and then only because they are never confined to the coop. I don't think I'd take much advice from the lady at the feed store.

I have a divided nest box with three 12x12 nests and a 4' community box. Again, as others said, they seem to have their personal favorite nests and that is a PITA. I have pine shavings in the nest boxes (very clean) and on the floor (deep litter). I wouldn't use sawdust, much to fine and, well, DUSTY.


Not sure what "defines" an olive egger. My EE that lays green ranges from mint to olive. I would guess that, at the least, an OE would have to lay olive ALL the time.


Nope, not "official". I wonder if there may be an APA designation some day though since "Araucana/Ameraucana X whatever" mutts are so popular. They just won't be able to have a list of acceptable colors.


Bruce

hi bruce,
thankyou for responding. i am now thinking of getting 12 now also. do i need 120 sq. ft.? or can i go a bit smaller?
i notice that you live in vermont, i live in maine, so very similar weather,. when you say they are out all day, do you mean in the winter also? if so, only on the milder days, or every day?
what are your feelings about using sand in the coop? instead of shavings or hay?
thankyou do much, julie

 

[cheeka]

hi bruce,
thankyou for responding. i am now thinking of getting 12 now also. do i need 120 sq. ft.? or can i go a bit smaller?
i notice that you live in vermont, i live in maine, so very similar weather,. when you say they are out all day, do you mean in the winter also? if so, only on the milder days, or every day?
what are your feelings about using sand in the coop? instead of shavings or hay?
thankyou do much, julie

 

[Flowerbh]

I only use sand in a 4 x 4 ft area of my run....that is their bathing area. Sometimes we stir in some ashes from the fireplace, too. The rest of the run has shredded leaves that basically disintegrates quickly, but we have plenty of it! The coop gets wood shavings from TS. I also do the deep litter method there. My chickens don't really go in the coop anymore except to lay eggs. They prefer the 6' high roosts set in the back of the run. It is protected on 3 sides with walls and the whole run has a roof. In the summer, they switch to the roosts on the side of the run that only has the chicken wire for walls and affords cooling breezes.

 

[bruceha2000]

hi bruce,
thankyou for responding. i am now thinking of getting 12 now also. do i need 120 sq. ft.? or can i go a bit smaller?
i notice that you live in vermont, i live in maine, so very similar weather,. when you say they are out all day, do you mean in the winter also? if so, only on the milder days, or every day?
what are your feelings about using sand in the coop? instead of shavings or hay?
thankyou do much, julie

I agree with Cheeka, as big as you can go because of CHICKEN MATH! Get 12 now and want more later. I'm trying to hold off on that, too many other projects taking priority.

But my girls have PLENTY of space in their 120 sq ft and would likely be fine with less. If you can, think about designing in a modular fashion so you build what you think you need now but can easily add to it later. Sort of like a timber frame building, bays of equal size (like 8x8 because that is an easy thing to build with very little cutting). Instead of 2x4 stud walls, use 4x4s every 4'. Use 8' horizontal boards or vertical "board and batten" for siding (or plywood but you still need something over that). It is easy to put doors and windows where ever you want because there aren't any studs in the way. Make it 8x8 now, when you need more room, remove the end wall boards, add another 4x8 or 8x8 bay (actually called a "bent" in TF construction) and put the end wall siding on the new end. Just an example of course.

In my case, the coop is a converted horse stall in the lower part of a bank barn. It is probably 70x20' including the stall and storage room areas and the alley. There are no other animals so "out" means they have the run of most of it during the day. I had made an "indoor run" blocking off the part of the alley in front of the coop with 2x4 wire on one end and a gate on the other. There is a ramp to a chicken door (conveniently missing window pane) to an outside run (~18x18 with 4' chicken wire). But they just went over the 4' gate so it was an indoor run only when they decided to stay in it

. They stayed in the out door run when they wanted to as well. We used to close the gate at night (presumably EXTRA predator protection) but COLD winter set in and a bit of frost heaving made it hard to close the gate so we just leave it open now. If we are home, the chicken door from the alley to the outside world is open. If it isn't windy, the people door is open as well. Thus, they have tons of exploring and foraging space when we are home. No we aren't out with them, yes we are taking a chance on some predator getting one

When it is really cold or snowy or rainy, they hang in the barn. They were out some yesterday, it was sunny with a high of 22 F. It is 10 F and cloudy with some wind today. Not many chicken prints out in the snow.

Assuming you can't let them run free all day (and most people can't) make the BIGGEST daytime predator safe outdoor run you can. You've probably seen pictures of what the ground in a "too small" run full of chickens looks like - a desert. They'll scratch and peck all day long until nothing is left alive - unless they have lots of space then they will "self modulate" by looking for more "good stuff" elsewhere. You might be better off with no plants in the run and let them out to forage when someone is home after work.

With regard to sand, I've not used anything but pine shavings so I can't give an opinion. I do know that once wet, sand will stay wet unless you have a serious drainage design in place. I'm doing the deep litter method. We had a big rain last summer and due to things the prior owner had done wrong and things he SHOULD have done right that weren't, the coop got drenched with water running down from the upper part of the barn. I had to pull all the shavings out (lots harder when they are WET!). I spread them in the alley to dry and they are still there, helps with the poop because chickens poop a lot and they don't care where they do it

. I'll need to do a full change over in the spring, taking the litter to the compost area. Anyone got a spare wagon I can pull behind the garden tractor?

Bruce

 

[Gifa]

I would say:

2 sq ft per bird in the coop if they are not to be confined at all (true free-ranging)
3 sq ft per bird in the coop + 10 sq ft each in an outdoor run + pastured in chicken tractors 3-4 days a week.
3 sq ft per bird in the coop + 20 sq ft each in an outdoor run if they are to be mostly confined.
4 sq ft per bird in the coop + 20 sq ft each in an outdoor run if they are to be totally confined.


I keep 7 birds in a 6X6 coop with 30 sq ft interior space (4.25 sq ft per bird). Nest boxes are added to the side as to not take up the main floor space, and I hang a small feeder as high as their backs so as to not take up floor space. They have access to an outdoor run that provides 145 sq ft. of space... 36 sq ft of which is under the coop, which is raised 16 inches above ground level. Even in the winter they spend all day in the run. I do let them roam in the yard... weather permitting, but really only the last 15-30 minutes of the day, so for the most part, they are totally confined.


Keep in mind that the more space they have to poop in, the less work it is for you to keep clean. A cleaner environment is not only better for them health wise, it tends to be less of an odor nuisance.


Re: Sand...
As with all bedding types... there are pros and cons. You'll have to do a little bit of research to figure out what works for you. For me, I read that it is cleaner in the short run, as it can be scooped easily, but over time moisture from the poop and the humidity eventually saturates the sand and you can get a urine smell that you have to rinse out of the sand with some labor intensive process. Sand is heavy too... so any maintenance that involves removing the sand and hauling it somewhere else just didn't sound fun to me. My husband will help me build the coop, my husband will help me play with the chickens, my husband will help me eat the eggs... but my husband will not help me feed, water, or clean the coop and run 95% of the time... For the most part it's my idea, my project, my responsibility... so... that was a major influence on my decision to not use sand.

In my coop, I use wood pellets (pine or hardwood is available... you do the research to decide which is best for you) that I break down into sawdust, which can then be scooped as easily as sand. After 5-6 months, there are enough finer particles of poop in the bedding that it needs to be changed out, but because sawdust absorbs, and then dries out there is no urine smell or ammonia buildup. Since my coop is raised, the floor is nearly 2 feet up, which makes it less of a back breaking chore. Saw dust, compared to sand is really light, So... a dustpan, a broom and a few buckets and a wheelbarrow are all I need to remove the old bedding and replace it with fresh clean bedding. Sawdust also composts better than both sand and shavings... so when it is taken out of the coop, it goes straight into the compost bin. I will be doing this literally twice a year, beginning of April and the end of October. So even my discarded bedding does not go to waste.

In my run, it's bare ground with an inch of straw down in the summer, and about a 4-6 inch layer of straw down in the winter... this is just enough to give them something to kick around and nestle into in the winter months since they spend all day out in their run and it helps keep their feet dry in the summer. I like to keep it fluffy so as to shuffle their poo to the dirt where it can continue to desiccate and break down. I will be moving the majority of the straw to the compost bin or using it in the garden as mulch for the walking paths, and then use a small tiller to turn the floor of their run... This turns all of the poo into the ground where it can break down more thoroughly, brings up any bugs to the surface, and makes it nice and soft and loose... which is like christmas morning to the girls... This is the only chore my husband takes on... because he loves running the tiller.

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

A question for the Experts! I hatched 5 EE/OE chicks on the 2nd. Three are feathering in super fast (Wing, tail and shoulder feathers are evident), one moderatly fast (Wings and tail, maybe the beginning of shoulder feathers) and one is taking it slow ( Has wing feathers but is barely starting to get tail feathers). Is speed of feathering a good indication of gender with EEs? They are such a mixed genetic bunch that it isn't something I'm sure of. I know feathering speed works on brahmas but I have never used it on other breeds.


If it does work with them I seriously lucked out... If not I will be waiting a while to figure it out.

 

[CGinJCMO]

A question for the Experts! I hatched 5 EE/OE chicks on the 2nd. Three are feathering in super fast (Wing, tail and shoulder feathers are evident), one moderatly fast (Wings and tail, maybe the beginning of shoulder feathers) and one is taking it slow ( Has wing feathers but is barely starting to get tail feathers). Is speed of feathering a good indication of gender with EEs? They are such a mixed genetic bunch that it isn't something I'm sure of. I know feathering speed works on brahmas but I have never used it on other breeds.


If it does work with them I seriously lucked out... If not I will be waiting a while to figure it out.

Feather sexing only works if the parents are linked that way.
It's like coloring sexing chicks. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/261208/sex-linked-information

CG

 

[jendodd79]

Right now I have 8 hens in an 8ftx4ft coop - with 2 different 7ft roosts and 3 nesting boxes sitting to the outside of the coop. They all use the higher roost though. They roost themselves about 5:30pm now and I let them out 7:30-8 am. Our run is 25ftx4.5ft which they stay in, except for 10-15 at the end of the day when I let them roam. I'm looking to put some roosts in the run and I'm going to build a better dust bath for them when it dries up out there