Topic of the Week - Kitting out the Coop

[chfriedmam]

It's the time of year when our flocks spent much of their time indoors, in their coops, so this week I want to talk about coops and what we put in there for our flocks. Specifically...

- What bedding/material works best for the coop floor and the nest boxes?
Pine shavings. I provide extra ventilation for the first few days while it airs out. After it gets "old," it's a low-dust solution for winter bedding. I use it in nesting boxes because the hens can't kick a while clump of it out like they could with hay.

- How can you keep the coop dry, especially now, over the winter months?
Don't put water in the coop. Scraping poop off poop boards helps as well.

- 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 just stuck four 8 ft long or so roost poles up there, and the hens seem to be happy with it. I have about 21 wooden nest boxes. I make sure the boxes are clean, and not much else.... They're naturally dark, so I don't bother with curtains.

- What "boredom busters" can you provide to amuse and distract bored, cooped up birds when the weather is really bad?
Hanging cabbage heads work great!

- What else do you provide/do to make sure the flock is happy and comfortable in there?

One thing my flock seems to enjoy is climbing on things, AKA playing "the shavings are lava".

Providing boxes or such for them to sit on is also good for reducing pecking order fights.... The big guys sit on top, little guys on the bottom. No disputes.

And, perhaps the biggest thing of all... Provide extra space!! IMO the 4ft minimum is just that, a minimum for birds to exist. I'd prefer to have 10 square feet per bird, and I did last winter, but as I've doubled flock size they're only getting about 5-6 square feet. Not happy about that.... (I've tried to sell a few, but no dice)

I've been wondering this. I can't even remember what I did last time I had chickens. Is it ok to lock them up overnight without water like that?

 

[The chicken nurd]

I've been wondering this. I can't even remember what I did last time I had chickens. Is it ok to lock them up overnight without water like that?

They’ll be fine without water over night because they tend to not drink at night
I’ve always kept the water in the run and just left the coop door open so they can come out on there own in the morning to get it

 

[K0k0shka]

I've been wondering this. I can't even remember what I did last time I had chickens. Is it ok to lock them up overnight without water like that?

I don’t keep water in the coop and my chickens do fine. They have an auto door, so they can go out and get water as soon as they wake up.

 

[K0k0shka]

I don’t do anything extra or different in the coop for winter. The run - yes, I winterize the run, but the coop stays the same. My chickens don’t spend extra time inside in the winter. Their run is partially covered on top, and protected on all sides. Whatever snow still manages to blow in, I clear out or cover with dry leaves (which I bag and collect in the fall) so the chickens go out and hang out in the run year round.

 

[Ascholten]

Typically in north florida, when we get a cold night, it's also a windier one too Ive noticed.
I will cover the coop windows etc with burlap bags or cover the entire thing with a blanket of sorts. This lets it breathe still, yet cuts down most of the direct blow through on the wind. Helps keep the heat inside. I don't put heaters inside since it very rarely gets past the upper 20's on even a bad night and it's only for one night anyways.

So far this has served me well.

Aaron

 

[PippinTheChicken]

The weather has never been so bad that they stay in the coop all day, their run is covered with plastic boards so it stays dry.

- What bedding/material works best for the coop floor and the nest boxes?
Hemp works everywhere (and doesn't need to be changed often) but straw is also good in the boxes.
- How can you keep the coop dry, especially now, over the winter months?
My coop is fully enclosed (venitilation is between the wood in the wall) so it stays dry
- 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?
my chickens don't really roost, so I have 1 roost ladder and a double box.
[pics below]
- What "boredom busters" can you provide to amuse and distract bored, cooped up birds when the weather is really bad?
My chickens never really liked boredom busters (??)
- What else do you provide/do to make sure the flock is happy and comfortable in there?
There are small feeders and waterers in the coop (but it's mainly for the new flock members so they can get enough food without going into the main bit of the run and getting pecked)

Note that the feeders and waterers aren't in these pictures (I added them after) and that the top nest box is used for a shelf

 

[Liz Birdlover]

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.

Wow, I Love it! ❤


I like to practice painting, even in odd places & I enjoy nature theme art, so my flock has an "indoor garden" decor coop, Lotta flowers, blue sky & clouds above, it's rather cheerful! Lol

 

[linguini]

Home made winter toys - but I control how long I leave the toys in the run or how much treats in the box, otherwise they'll eat them all!

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I'm in Delaware, USA, Mid Atlantic, east coast, humid area. We get 100+ degree days in July & lows in the single digits January, also very wet springs & drought in Aug, then an occasional hurricane or tornado to shake things up. For the most part it isn't that bad weatherwise, but when it is, it can be extreme...luckily not for very long.

That being said, my goal is to always provide dry, clean, ventilated shelter that also is safe from constant predators...& I do mean constant. This was their home before I moved here & I have come to appreciate the balance. Foxes, hawks & owls are fantastic rodent control & I witness them working. I'd rather have a yard full of foxes than a yard full of rats! My flock is safe, took some prep to dig down several feet then build rodent proof & predator proof pens, but it is well worth it. No one has even dug holes to attempt having chicken dinner.

In the coop, I use wood flake chips. I've tried other methods, but this stays clean & dry the longest. I do sprinkle some PDZ & some compressed wood pellets 1st & I do scoop poop under night perches, where 99% of the poop is anyway. 20 min of scooping wet poo into the bucket that gets dumped at the compost heap keeps the moisture content down.

Nest boxes...each section has 2 nest boxes with fluffy wood flakes. I tried straw before but they kicked it all out every time. I also had more boxes, but found they mostly use 1 or 2 boxes...the other boxes were ignored.
My Roosters go into the nest boxes sometimes & make the sweetest sounds. My oldest "Old Man" Roo sleeps in one while the hens perch, too funny.

I have sliding windows with screens on all 4 sides of the coop, so I can slide open alot or a little & I take notice of which way the wind blows & adapt. I was going to install more ventilation but so far, this has worked perfectly. 99% of the time weather blows in from the west. Unless we have a bad storm forecast, I can pretty much leave the windows cracked open as they are & not worry. I never get rain or snow blowing in.

The pens...well, I was doing sod & it worked great til July heat killed it, then Aug & Sept I had dirt pens, & would lay more sod in Oct or Nov. Muddy pens are bad, I don't want my flock getting bumblefoot & I don't like busting my butt slipping. This past October, I got bags of large natural pine bark chip mulch & so far so good. We've had rain & a foot of snow. I did need to add more bark where I have 20 chickens, but I expected that.

This spring I'm going to add a few raised beds with chickweed & other delicious things to peck at & cover with screen they can stand on & peck what grows through, but not tear up roots. I did this as an experiment on the ground & it did very well last year, so I will build larger ones in April.

Boredom busters...hanging cabbage, corn on cob & the seed mealworm cakes. They enjoy pecking at the mural flowers I painted inside & some enjoy making music on the xylophone.

Each section has a Roo & his hens. I know I have too many Roos, but they are all very sweet & lovable. I can hug each Roo! Even the grumpy Barred Rock...he gives me stink eye, but once on my lap he actually purrs in contentment & closes his eyes. So...yeah, my 1st coop...quickly became 1 of 2, & the #2 coop is a 12x20 with sections, so each Roo has his own "mini coop" for privacy. As I was still fairly new to the poultry world, even I was surprised how well my design has worked out. The only revision needed...don't provide even a few inches of a window sill...someone will undoubtedly be acrobatic enough to perch up there at night & proceed to poop! Note to self...no window sills inside chicken area Lol.

Heat...I thought I may need to heat the coop a bit when it dips down into the teens, or at least have their water heated so it won't freeze solid. I keep water inside the coop & I've used large jugs. I do add outside waterers, but they freeze in winter & I find they need daily bleach cleaning in summer. The main waterers inside the coop are elevated so they don't get dirty or get wood flakes. Even as cold as it gets in winter, I have found that the chickens put off heat. It is enough to actually heat the coop to the point that their water jugs have not frozen! If I lived further north or a higher elevation, I may need water heaters, but so far I haven't. I did buy a few, just in case...only set 1 up outside a few winters ago. Well, it's there if I need it.

So far so good, I really enjoy my flock. I have 40 egg layers, RIR, Barred Rock, Copper Maran, Wyandotte, EEs, Buff Orpington, ISA Brown & a few Mixed...love them ALL & no, I'll never eat them, they'll die of old age. They bring me very much joy & laughter, hatch adorable chicks, make me breakfast, nourish my garden soil, eat bad bugs & I sell their gorgeous eggs. Can't imagine life without them!

 

[3KillerBs]

- What bedding/material works best for the coop floor and the nest boxes?
- How can you keep the coop dry, especially now, over the winter months?
- 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?
- What "boredom busters" can you provide to amuse and distract bored, cooped up birds when the weather is really bad?
- What else do you provide/do to make sure the flock is happy and comfortable in there?

In Neuchickenstein, my 16x16 open air coop, I have a mix of coarse wood chips, pine straw, and a bale of straw that was *supposed* to be for the nests except that when I put it in out of the rain just overnight they tore it apart and mixed it into the floor.

As an Open Air coop there is ventilation galore, but I need to add gutters to the back because I'm getting water in off the roof when the ground is saturated. However, since it's an open air coop with a deep litter system an occasional soaking isn't entirely bad -- as long as I don't have babies in there on the floor. The adults have plenty of space to get up onto.

I have 6 nests for about a dozen current layers, a handful of hens coming out of molt, and another 8(?) pullets approaching POL. They're built of wood and have a mix of straw and shavings in them.

My main "boredom buster" is plenty of SPACE! Plus clutter. I make sure they can do chicken things happily.