Urban Downtown Living *six month update*

[Wanda]

I sometimes supplement my chickens feed with Lucerne condensed alfalfa hay. It is available chopped up in bags at feed stores. Mine love it. Also some people raise mealworms for their chickens. I haven't tried that yet but I don't think it is too hard and more economical then buying them. I love your setup.

 

[Kansaseq]

I bought mealworms for my very first birds, 10 years ago. They were not friendly birds, but they went apesh*t for those mealworms, and practically ripped them from my fingers.

 

[MissJenny]

Great use of space. Very very smart! And no question your hens are secure. They might enjoy a shallow pot or window box planted with grass or nasturtiums -- something to pick through. Beware of the neighbor's compost pile -- compost has a tendency to go moldy. Mold can be harmful to chickens.

Something else they might enjoy would be a large clay pot turned on it's side stuffed with hay to provide a cozy shady spot to snooze.

And your hens are darling.

Jenny

 

[ryanhodapp]

I love this post! I have the same type of outdoor run next to our garage. I bought a chicken hutch coop and elevated it in our garage next to a window. I pried out the 60 years of paint that had the window locked and presto, chicken coop and run.
I have 4, 8 week old EE's and the smell is starting to build up. I want to go get some DE for the flies too.

I dont know if there are racoons in the desert, but I added wood to a corner so that mine would be protected from what ever stuck their arms in to try and grab them. (another tip found on BYC).

Chicks are cute! The bantum idea is a good one and I would buy 2 that are from the same "flock".

I also have expanded past the point of what the coop will hold, so I am trying to figure out what to do next. Modify the hutch or start new. chickens are obsessive that's why I am up at 7 am on a Sunday, thinking about chickens.

 

[Heathercp]

Quote:
run is 20 ft by 3 ft, and "mini coop" in 7 feet by 3 feet with three shelf /"nesting boxes" and a ground floor.

thanks alot

From what I could gather by looking at the photos and the dimensions you listed - 7'x3'x3'6" - you've really only got 10.5 sq.ft. of floor area inside the coop. (The nesting boxes or shelves aren't typically included when calculating square footage for the coop.)

I think it's a fantastic use of space and very clever, but imho it's only big enough for 3 chickens - and it's tight at that. The general rule of thumb is 4sq.ft. per bird in the coop. That'd be 12 sq.ft. for the three that you have. Since your birds aren't likely to have to spend long periods cooped up, they're probably fine with the space they have. The volume of the coop isn't the determining factor when it comes to the number of chickens you can comfortably house. It's really just the square footage of the coop - in this case, what you call the "ground floor".

Those chickens are going to continue to grow and it's going to get harder for them to negotiate the relatively narrow "high rise" - especially once you've put in the horizontal 2"x4"s for the roosts. The bigger and heavier they get, the harder it gets for them to fly in small spaces. They've really got to have room enough to flap those wings without bumping into things so they don't injure themselves. That would really put a damper on your chicken keeping experience. I'm sure you'll start to see this for yourself as they get bigger. You can keep an eye on them as they grow and see if you need to re-arrange the roost/shelf setup.

I'm surprised nobody commented on the cedar shavings you put in with the pine "for smell". Although the cedar smells good to us, it's harmful to the chickens and there are other ways to help neutralize the odor in your coop that won't jeopardize their health. You could try adding some DE to the shavings or some Sweet PDZ. You can put the Sweet PDZ out in your run too.

It looks like you've got some deciduous trees and shrubs around. I've had good experiences putting leaf litter down for the chickens to scratch through. You might try raking it up in the fall and putting some in their run. They'll quickly break it down for you and it'll provide a nice home for a few more bugs. Scratching through leaf litter is one of my chickens absolute favorite things. I wouldn't expect you'd have too many problems with a smelly run since it's so dry in Reno. It's the moisture that usually gets the stink going.

Good luck.

 

[joebryant]

Oh, brother! Talk about spoiling chickens... GEESH!

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

In a well ventilated area up to 10% cedar bedding is fine, and it will help prevent mites. The smell is best handled by dolomite lime which might be hard for you to find in your area. We use it here for tipping the pH in the soil to prevent moss from overtaking our wet lawns in the rainforest areas. DE is great for a dust bath to prevent mites or added to the bedding to help keep it dry, but I suspect our never going to have a wet bedding issue in your location.

I agree, the treats in the run are the best for entertainment, the cabbage I generally use a large screw or eye hook turned into the core to hang it by. A milk jug that has a hole in it just barely big enough for grain to get out if it's jiggled is fun too, then fill it with whole grain from the feed store, like oats and hang it up. They love a change in their diet. Oats are easy to sprout too, use one of the trays that nursery stock come on, you do have to soak them in water first but it's not that much, then just keep them damp for a couple days. Sprouted oats or wheat are like candy.

Great use of small space. Your way ahead of the game in self sufficiency in the city! Good for you.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
run is 20 ft by 3 ft, and "mini coop" in 7 feet by 3 feet with three shelf /"nesting boxes" and a ground floor.

thanks alot

From what I could gather by looking at the photos and the dimensions you listed - 7'x3'x3'6" - you've really only got 10.5 sq.ft. of floor area inside the coop. (The nesting boxes or shelves aren't typically included when calculating square footage for the coop.)

I think it's a fantastic use of space and very clever, but imho it's only big enough for 3 chickens - and it's tight at that. The general rule of thumb is 4sq.ft. per bird in the coop. That'd be 12 sq.ft. for the three that you have. Since your birds aren't likely to have to spend long periods cooped up, they're probably fine with the space they have. The volume of the coop isn't the determining factor when it comes to the number of chickens you can comfortably house. It's really just the square footage of the coop - in this case, what you call the "ground floor".

Those chickens are going to continue to grow and it's going to get harder for them to negotiate the relatively narrow "high rise" - especially once you've put in the horizontal 2"x4"s for the roosts. The bigger and heavier they get, the harder it gets for them to fly in small spaces. They've really got to have room enough to flap those wings without bumping into things so they don't injure themselves. That would really put a damper on your chicken keeping experience. I'm sure you'll start to see this for yourself as they get bigger. You can keep an eye on them as they grow and see if you need to re-arrange the roost/shelf setup.

I'm surprised nobody commented on the cedar shavings you put in with the pine "for smell". Although the cedar smells good to us, it's harmful to the chickens and there are other ways to help neutralize the odor in your coop that won't jeopardize their health. You could try adding some DE to the shavings or some Sweet PDZ. You can put the Sweet PDZ out in your run too.

It looks like you've got some deciduous trees and shrubs around. I've had good experiences putting leaf litter down for the chickens to scratch through. You might try raking it up in the fall and putting some in their run. They'll quickly break it down for you and it'll provide a nice home for a few more bugs. Scratching through leaf litter is one of my chickens absolute favorite things. I wouldn't expect you'd have too many problems with a smelly run since it's so dry in Reno. It's the moisture that usually gets the stink going.

Good luck.

exactly what i needed to hear
thanks so much for the good advice,

thanks everyone for the good advice, especially on keeping the girls entertained

 

[Windrider]

Quote:
From what I could gather by looking at the photos and the dimensions you listed - 7'x3'x3'6" - you've really only got 10.5 sq.ft. of floor area inside the coop. (The nesting boxes or shelves aren't typically included when calculating square footage for the coop.).

exactly what i needed to hear
thanks so much for the good advice,

thanks everyone for the good advice, especially on keeping the girls entertained

Uh, except someone has forgotten their multiplication tables!

7' x 3' = 21 square feet. Like an earlier poster said, about right for 5 chickens using the typical 4 sq. ft. per chicken. But more room is always better!

This is such a great idea for a coop. I, too, am trying to figure out how to get an adequate coop in a small city lot.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Quote:
exactly what i needed to hear
thanks so much for the good advice,

thanks everyone for the good advice, especially on keeping the girls entertained

Uh, except someone has forgotten their multiplication tables!

7' x 3' = 21 square feet. Like an earlier poster said, about right for 5 chickens using the typical 4 sq. ft. per chicken. But more room is always better!

This is such a great idea for a coop. I, too, am trying to figure out how to get an adequate coop in a small city lot.

yeah but unfortunately the seven feet is the height and the length and width is only three by three making it actually much much much less.

...i mean

good luck with your city hens!