I am a newbie and have chicks in a brooder right now. I am trying to plan and make good decisions on housing the chickens. I am leaning toward using a smaller coop or hutch type of housing. I am wondering if the chickens are only confined in it at night and have an outdoor area for daytime use, do they need feed in the hutch or is water enough? And any input on types of coops etc would be greatly appreciated. I will have a flock of 15 if they all make it. I have a smallish yard and cannot build a huge coop. I have already built a tractor that I can use for 3-4 at a time and will have quite a large area fenced off for them. But because of the lay-out, I don't have room for more than a storage shed type of structure. I am also wondering how people feel about a wire floor in a hutch to allow poop to drop through. I live in the SW USA so it is temperate but it seems like it would be uncomfortable for the chicken's feet. I would also appreciate more info on using sand for the litter. Thanks in advance for all of your experienced advice!
They don't really need to have the food in the coop over night. That is great that you will have a good sized fenced area for them. When I think of a hutch, I think of one of those 3 ft by4 ft ones, which is small for 10-15 chickens. you can get some great ideas on the coop designs section of this site. Wire floors tend to catch poop rather than really let it fall through. I don't use sand litter, but do a search on this site; there are some good threads on it.
I also have 15 chickens, and when I shut them up in their coop at night, I give them a fresh pan of water, and a cup full of food. I sometimes don't get out to let them out till 8 - 8:30 am, so I at least know they have something in there to munch on till I can let them out. My problem now is, I let them free range after my hen lays her egg. But they want out right away, and give me the ol stink eye every time I go out to see how they are doing. They all line up by the fence or around the door to be let out & I have to explain to them that is just is not time yet. Lucky for me, I have a lot of areas in the yard for them to stay under cover from any hawks that may fly by. Right now they like to hang out near the back deck of the house, I think it is because they can see if I am bringing treats out to them sooner.
