To coop or not to coop?

[Folly's place]

You likely have many more critters who love chicken than you realize! Think about two 100 lb. dogs, for example! Just have your birds safer, and don't waste money on chicken wire. Mary

 

[DaviJones]

That is true, I have two dogs myself and one shows interest in the chickens. Any way to deter that or simply preventative measures? It is raised a few feet off the ground too.

Glad I got the chicken wire for free, main reason I used it. Coop has cost less than $10 so far.( I hope that doesn't sound disrespectful, I always love to hear advice, just wanted to explain my situation )

 

[black_dove2]

I have my run with a secondary surrounding it because Iknow my cocker spaniels. They have a very strong prey drive. The other two big dogs show interest but not anything like smaller dogs. In my case much better safe than sorry.

 

[AllynTal]

....Glad I got the chicken wire for free, main reason I used it. Coop has cost less than $10 so far.( I hope that doesn't sound disrespectful, I always love to hear advice, just wanted to explain my situation )

There's nothing wrong with chicken wire as long as you realize it only keeps chickens in (or out). Anything and everything can get through it, so as far as protecting the chickens, it's about as useful as tissue paper. I use it inside the coop to partition off areas (like in that pic I posted of the day-olds in the coop). It's useful to separate chickens and it's a lot less expensive than hardware cloth, so using hardware cloth in that application would be a huge waste of money. Use it without guilt as long as you use it wisely.

 

[Allie Grace Sanders]

I moved my 10 ISA Brown chooks out at three weeks old without heat. It was about lower 50's or upper 40's that night. They all survived!

 

[lazy gardener]

It depends, does it snow where you live? They should be at least 8 weeks and should still have a heat lamp or heat pad until they are at least 3 months old. Chicks can't regulate their temperatures that young of age. I live in a colder part of the US and had to keep my chicks in my house until they were about 3 months old. If you live in year round heat, they should be fine. But if you are in a cold part of the world, you should have a heat lamp with them until they are three months old. during those 3 months you should lower the temperature 5 degrees every other week. Sometimes even fully matured chickens still need a heat pad or roost at times. I wouldn't recommend a heat lamp for the adults tho, it keeps them up at night and then they get stressed and won't lay eggs. Also your coop should be well insulated if you live somewhere where it snows.

If you live in a warmer part of the world, they will be just fine. There coop should be thinner so the flock doesn't get heat stroke or get sick. They should also be fine in temperatures between 90 degrees to 60 degrees year round with a couple of storms. They will all be fine to be put in at 8 weeks. I would finish up the coop first and buy a heat roost for them in the winter. Also I would like to see your coop. I hope it goes all as weel with you and your chicks.

While some folks brood their chicks in the house, and keep heat on them for many weeks past the age when it's recommended to do so, this is not the norm, and is in no way recommended. Many of us brood our chicks outside in a coop. I am at 44.5 lat, and start my newly hatched chicks in my coop brooder, using a heating pad cave. (mid April) By the time my chicks are 3 weeks old they are coming and going between the loft coop and the run of their hoop coop. They totally wean themselves from supplemental heat by the time they are 4 - 5 weeks old. By this age, the night time temps in my area often dip into the 30's. No heat lamp. No heating pad required at this age.

Many of us in very cold areas DO NOT insulate our coops. Nor do we use heat lamps or provide heated perches.

Oh, what's wrong with chicken wire, I heard its hard on their feet and doesn't keep some predators out, but I not using it on the floor and the only predators we have are hawks and the occasional stray cat.

Chicken wire will keep chickens in, but it will not keep a determined predator out. Also, there are many predators wandering around in every state (except perhaps HI) that will readily kill your birds. Weasels can be found in all 48 states. A weasel will squeeze through any opening that you could push a quarter through. Make your coop predator proof by covering all openings with hardware cloth. Be sure to shut them in every single night to help ensure their safety. many of us have to make a choice between risk tolerance and affordability. I could not afford hdw. cloth to cover my 500 s.f. run, so... chicken wire it is, with a buried skirt all the way around, and a bird netting over it during non snow months. During snow months, the netting comes off and their run is limited to a single bay of their run which is covered with green house tarp and 2 x 5 welded fencing. Prior to this arrangement, I had a hawk swooping into the run to get my birds in Nov. An other option for increasing safety is to electrify your run!

 

[DaviJones]

Just wanted to update:

I finished the coop Sunday and finally moved them into their "luxurious" new home. They seemed unphased by the cool 60 degrees night weather, they did huddle up in a ball to sleep but they always do. There is plenty of perch space should they desire to use it. I have to say its going pretty well except they gorged themselves on mulberry leaves I clipped to make space for the coop roof, so they worried me as always with full, hard crops(they emptied over night) and the possibility of toxicity(mulberry isn't poisonous I just freaked out a bit)

Thank you for all your advice!
Should they be using the perches yet, I've been pretty laze fair about it figuring instinct will kick in, but I wanted to check