Topic of the Week - Kitting out the Coop

[rlvellenga]

My coop is open all day while girls free range so any toys I've tried have been greatly enjoyed by squirrels. I did think my girls needed some culture though so I hung artwork. They didn't care but coop visitors think its funny Here is the chicken version of sistene chapel.

 

[kiraboo]

I have a mixed flock of 15 in southeast Texas, where winters are pretty mild with occasional freezes. The raised coop is 6'x8' and enclosed covered run is 10'x 20'.

- What bedding/material works best for the coop floor and the nest boxes?
Our coop is 6x8 and raised up and deep litter never worked well for me like it did over a dirt floor. The plywood floor is painted with a thick coat of roof sealant (Blackjack Rubr-coat #54) to keep it waterproof and durable. There's 2-3" of coarse sand mixed with sweet PDZ on the floor, which gets raked and scooped every morning. Dry as a bone and absolutely no smells, plus their feet and thus eggs are cleaner because of the sand. They don't hang out in the coop at all, only to sleep and lay so I don't worry about it being too cold on their feet. I have 2 communnal next boxes (size of 4 singles) and have a roll out floor covered in plastic nest pads. I added straw at first to to cozy it up... they no longer need it. Those stiff gray pads don't seem comfy to me but they all use it just fine and the eggs are super clean and never broken.

-How do you keep the coop dry?
The coop is raised up and windows are well covered by eaves. There are plexi windows I can put in when wet/cold. I only have a small container of water in the coop with a horizontal mount nipple (they never leak!) in case they get locked in the coop by accident. The pop door is always open since the run is predator proof. The run is covered and I use deep litter method with straw and leaves. During our frequent torrential rains, I add more straw to cover any muddy spots. In hindsight, the entire run should have been up higher a couple inches, so I had to put a drain in the lowest corner to help water out of the coop.

- Roosts and nest boxes - How many do you provide, how much space on the roosts, what do you use as nest boxes and how do you make them attractive for the hens, etc?
I have two 8' long 2x4s for roosts and two 12x24" communal style nest boxes for 15 hens. The boxes are painted a dark color and have privacy curtains with plastic nest pads in the bottom. They liked the hay but it keeps the eggs from rolling out so I only give them hay occasionally or when it's cold. I had to make the boxes "handicap accessible" and added a step for my silkie since she can't jump as high.

- What "boredom busters" can you provide to amuse and distract bored, cooped up birds when the weather is really bad?
Pulled weeds, hang up heads of cabbage/romaine, ears of corn, old fruit, squash/pumpkins, scratch in the run, new flakes of hay or straw- don't spread it, they LOVE that part. I try to let them out to forage for a couple hours a day. They have a natural branch jungle gym and swing, perches at all heights, dust bath, and get occasional empty boxes to poop and perch in/on.

- What else do you provide/do to make sure the flock is happy and comfortable in there?
I have huge coop windows for much needed ventilation over the summer. In the winter, We put in plexiglass windows to keep the drafts out. My kids and I go in the coop daily to dole out treats and love. My Easter egger and Banty cochin actually love to be held and pet. Half of them jump up to be in our laps. They're all going to be freeloaders in a few years, but I'm ok with that. They're my babies.

 

[MultipleAnimals]

I'm Following This.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

I'm Following This.

Me too

 

[Teila]

What do I put in the coop for the flock this time of year?

Esky full of ice blocks and cold drinks and air conditioning for the extreme heat.

Floaties and an inflatable lifeboat for the torrential rain.

Sorry, that was my attempt at humour while actually posting to subscribe to the thread. While some of the Topics of the Week are not relevant for me I still like to subscribe as there are usually some good tips to be found like some of the boredom busters.

Will give myself a

 

[crealbilly]

I leave holding to my granddaughter

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Bedding? Pine shavings, medium chip, works super well in the coop in my wet Oregon. I clean at least every other week, every week on really nasty weeks. I cut up my used feed bags for coop floor liners. That works really, really well to keep the coop itself dry and clean. I toss the used bedding into the run as deep litter. Seasonally I let my friends clean my runs for their gardens. That works really well too.

How do I keep the coop dry? Are you kidding? I live in Oregon. And it's winter. Even in summer, it rains. But it rains constantly from October until mid-June. Nothing is "dry" here. But LOTS of pine shavings really help here again. The coop is getting older, so sometimes I have to tarp it when we have especially heavy downpours (opposed to just the constant drizzle).

Roosts and nests? I'd have to measure again....I have 3 roosts in my main coop that crisscross my coop since it is fairly tall. It comfortably holds 10 birds for roosting, and there is a nice covered closed run with another smaller coop that comfortably holds 6 on the other end.. But the 13 hens I have now all cram in the one larger coop since all the hens want to follow the rooster. I have 3 built in nest boxes, a bit on the larger size. They only use 1 on their own volition.

Boredom busters? My rooster is a super good flock manager. I don't have hen squabbles like I used to with a hen only flock. I had to lock them up when a major wind and ice storm came through last week for a couple of days. I wondered if I would have some issues, but good ol Bernard kept everyone in line. I made sure they had lots of feed and water, and they stood around and stared in awe of the snow and ice. (It rarely snows here, so none of my birds will venture out into it when it happens...so I just keep them locked up.)

Most of the times, rain or shine, which here is mostly rain, they free range on the better half of my 1/3 acre. I have a lot of hawk netting up, which is strung from tree to tree. The leaves and summer fruit and nuts collect in the netting, which of course bends it low so I have to clean it out...but I will leave some of it there as it makes for great exercise for the girls. They will hop and bob at the tidbits stuck in the hawk netting. They also love to fly over my chicken coop into the family yard (which they aren't supposed to do). They chase the rats. They crawl over the wood pile. They dig into my bark beds. They run back into cover when hawks fly by. I don't think they are bored. Pretty sure. If someone is standing around looking bored, it means it's a sick bird.

I will feed them bird seed with BOSS as treats (they love the millet and BOSS), so they run to me when they see me out the back door. I don't give them treats inside the fenced run or coop as that generally will start squabbles and pecking order. That is a free range event only, and I scatter it so that all groups can have equal access.

LofMc

 

[Evan W]

My coop is 5x5 and is still a work in progress.

No bedding! I used cage wire and 2x6 metal studs.Only requires occasional scraping. I didn't like shoveling piles of poo growing up and now I don't have time.

I have one roost unless you count the rafters (only used if they're picked on) because I have nest boxes on the back wall. I added the temporary roost you see in the picture because I am babysitting my dad's chickens. I do plan on attaching a nest box to the outside of the coop. Then I'll add another roost.

Using shredded packaging paper for the nesting material.

For boredom I want to make a cake out of their pellet food and hang it in a suet feeder.

 

[Evan W]

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More pictures if the floor. I also don't have a run but it's in the works.

 

[RezChamp]

My raised coop gets a skirt for winter. Under there it's heated with a 60watt light bulb in a tin 5 gallon pail(laying down).
The coop also has an interior car heater pushing heated dry fresh air into the coop when it gets real cold.
I haul water to the birds 2X/day. Outside.
I use straw on the 3/4 plywood floor and "Coop White" and DE. Straw is readily renewable unlike shavings or worst case scenario "peat". The peat companies are really messing up my environment where I live next to 1 of the largest lakes(recently deemed 'largest cesspool in North America').
Another plus... straw makes nice compost....but again as opposed to using something not as enviro/eco friendly.

Up until yesterday I had 34 chickens 5 ducks, 3 turkeys and 5 geese. A weasel found 'meal time' and now I have 21 chickens, 3 ducks, 3 turkeys and 5 geese.
Right now it's -30*C. It's lunch time here.
Hopefully not for the weasel.