Thinking about getting chickens...

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Taiga

Taiga

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My friend and I are seriously looking into getting a few chickens for her backyard that we'd "share custody" over. We can provide for them financially no problem between the two of them, we found a nice coop for cheap that was handmade by a local guy and it would fit two chickens comfortably, as well as have them roam around her backyard which provides a lot of stuff them for them to scratch around in and explore and nibble on.

I have a few questions:

- for bedding, can we use saw dust? My neighbors are woodworkers and have a TON of sawdust.
- If we decide to use a light, will it increase the electric bill too much?

Thank you! I'm looking forward to our first hens!
 
I use sawdust in my coops. BUT you have to be very careful to NEVER use cedar chips, the fumes can cause damage to a chickens respiratory system. But pine or fir chips would be good too, I have heard of people using construction sand and then one a year change the sand. I haven't tried that yet, but I plan to.

I couldn't say about the light, I'm sure somebody else will help.

Good luck on getting your first hens! Be forewarned once you get chickens there it is near impossible to not get more. LOL
 
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Sawdust would probably work. They would love to dust bathe in it, I'm sure. As far as the light, mine stays on all day and no one has complained about the electric bill...yet anyway. Congrats. The world of poultry is amazing and great loads of fun. However, just as Mickey Lou 04 said, it's addictive. You know what they say: "Chickens are like potato chips...you can't just have one....or two......or twelve!"
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Hello and welcome! if your birds are feathered out you won't need a light if they go out in the yard. and any widow you can have in the coop will help as well.I have a light and I don't use it until winter when I can't see inside my coop. some people do leave a light on for laying purposes but I like to let my girls have down time in winter.
 
Taiga said:
My friend and I are seriously looking into getting a few chickens for her backyard that we'd "share custody" over. We can provide for them financially no problem between the two of them, we found a nice coop for cheap that was handmade by a local guy and it would fit two chickens comfortably, as well as have them roam around her backyard which provides a lot of stuff them for them to scratch around in and explore and nibble on.

I have a few questions:

- for bedding, can we use saw dust? My neighbors are woodworkers and have a TON of sawdust.
- If we decide to use a light, will it increase the electric bill too much?

Thank you! I'm looking forward to our first hens!
Click to expand...

As you can see in this thread, there are plenty of chicken owners who use sawdust and there doesn't seem to be any problems with adult chickens. However, I would not use it with chicks as the chicks may eat the fine material which could cause bulbous crops and in some cases result in death by starvation. Pine wood shavings would probably be better and safer.
 
Michael OShay said:
As you can see in this thread, there are plenty of chicken owners who use sawdust and there doesn't seem to be any problems with adult chickens.  However, I would not use it with chicks as the chicks may eat the fine material which could cause bulbous crops and in some cases result in death by starvation. Pine wood shavings would probably be better and safer.
Click to expand...
very astute contribution.
 
The impact on your electric bill will depend on the type of lighting you use - different bulbs will consume different amounts of electricity. Are you looking at a single CFL bulb, fluorescent strip lights or are you referring to the heat lamps commonly used to brood young chicks?
 
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Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! X4, some people use sawdust, the main complaint seems to be it is often really dusty, besides ceders, if they do black walnut you probably want to avoid that also.
The light in the coop is usually just added in the winter months to give the birds around 14 hours of daylight to keep them laying eggs, how much that would add to your electric bill depends on the wattage and what electric is costing you ....
 

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