Re: So many questions...Starting with coops
From: Ann (annbal_at_newsguy.com)
Date: 03/16/05
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Date: Tue, 15 Mar 2005 21:12:08 -0500
"Selene" <selene_fNOSPAM@yahoo.com> expounded:
>"Ann" <annbal@newsguy.com> wrote
>> If anyone could answer a few questions that have been puzzling me I'd
>> appreciate it.
>>
>> 1) I've read of a 'dropping pit' below roosts. Is that open to below?
>> Wouldn't that be drafty for the birds in winter?
>
>Don't know what this is specifically, but you do want to avoid winter
>drafts. In big commercial operations, the birds are in wire cages that are
>enclosed in a big building that is climate controlled, so perhaps that's the
>usage?
>
I've seen a few ideas since writing the first post....now I think I
understand what they mean. What I'll do is put deep litter beneath
the roosts, that'll do the same thing as a dropping pit, from what
I've read. Or you can put a metal sheet beneath the roosts and clean
that weekly or somesuch. I like the deep litter idea better, because
I can add it to the compost pile.
>> 2) Is an 8x8' coop large enough for 10-12 chickens?
>
>You mean for sleeping/laying in, right? (Because you mention 'run' below).
>Height is an issue - chickens like to roost up on stuff. How tall would
>this structure be? And they like variety - some like boards, some like
>branches, some like high nesting spots, some low (at least, IME). I think
>the recommended number is 2 square feet per bird, so this should be large
>enough, but you want to consider your access (for cleaning/egg gathering),
>their access, and their entertainment.
Yes, I meant within a run. I'll make it tall enough to walk in, at
least 6', that way I can get a high roost in place, too, in case
someone is feeling unsafe :o)
>> 3) What I'd like to do is build my coop on 4x4 timbers, sort of like
>> rails, on cinder blocks with a solid floor (predator proof). Is this
>> a good plan?
>
>I can't quite picture where the cinder blocks go in relation to the rails,
>but predator-proof is good. The best coops I've seen are like tall, airy
>sheds (if that helps) - best as in easiest to access and clean.
The cinderblocks will hold the whole thing up above the ground so the
wood won't rot (I won't use pressure treated wood). I'm planning on
insulating things, too, because it gets quite cold around here in the
winter (we had several weeks of hovering around zero and below this
past winter, that isn't abnormal).
>> 4) The run....I want the chicks to be safe outdoors. It sounds like I
>> should put up a wire fence, burying the wire around the base, with a
>> flare to the outside. I'm planning on the run being 14x20'.
>
>Depends on your predators. My main local concerns are racoons and rats. I
>buried wire around the base, but the racoons don't dig and the rats go
>anywhere they want. My point being, burying wire may or may not be
>necessary. In my case, it was a ton of work for little return. (Those rats
>are pernicious!)
>
>Realize that 10-12 birds in this area will reduce it to BARE dirt in no time
>flat. You'll want to prepare for that situation, because they'll be grumpy
>birds when it rains and turns into bare mud. Jill I think puts a heavy bark
>down. I keep a thick layer of hay in my pen (that I have to 'muck out'
>regularly).
>
>Also remember that chickens like to take dirt baths. All they really need
>is some sunny dirt, but you need to make sure their pen gets enough sun for
>this AND it has enough shade to keep them from baking in the summer. My run
>is a little too shady for chicken preferences, so when I'm home, I let them
>into the yard as often as I can. Keeps the slug & snail population to nill,
>does damage some plants, but I'm not a gourmet gardener, and I do have to
>wash up the patio after they've been out, but they love to get out and
>scratch in a new area (and the south wall planter is their _favorite_
>bathing spot).
>
Actually my ground is already bare. I had to put in a septic system
last year, that is what opened up my whole yard to new possibilities.
I still have to put in the lawn, the system was finished too late to
start grass. Now I'm thinking about the chickens, their placement,
and the big garden I want out there, too. It's kind of fun having new
possibilities after having lived in this house for so many years (I
bought it in 1978). If anyone wants I can post pictures on the
picture website to show the yard work that went on last fall, it's
quite extensive. Then I could post my finished results (once I get
the coop built).
snip
>
>A few more thoughts (as if I haven't put enough already).
>
Oh, my goodness, your thoughts have been wonderful! Thanx so much!
>
>Don't know how early it gets dark where you are, but where I am, it's dark
>at 4:30 in the winter, and the girls go to bed before dark (even though I
>have an automatic outdoor light in their pen - it never seemed to improve
>laying, but it makes it handier for me to clean up their food and tend to
>them in the evening.) My point is, no one may be home early enough for when
>they want to go to bed. This is the appeal of the coop-pen together - they
>can bed themselves down when they want. Otherwise they'll sleep on some
>other roost, and then not learn to use the coop.
That might be a problem during the dead of winter, it gets dark around
4:15 and I don't get home til 5:30. Hubby might be, though, or my
sister said she'd stop by (she lives close, and she's as excited about
my chickens as I am). Or my nextdoor neighbor. We'll work it out.
>
>> Is this doable? Is it safe for me to get chickens? I'm feeling a
>> bit unsure. I'm sure I'll have more questions once I start to build,
>> thank you all for any advice you can offer.
>
>This is totally do-able. Just be thinking as you build about manure,
>warmth, ventilation, shade and sun, sanitation, egg collecting (nest boxes),
>roosts (my girls love the sawhorses best) and other entertainment (confined
>birds will pick less when they are more entertained), protection from
>predators, and chicken poop.
>
>The thing I like best about chickens is being so close to non-mammals. Dogs
>and cats are loving, but they have similar habits and needs as humans. When
>I watch chickens strolling about the yard, I see dinosaurs in miniature.
>Dinosaurs who eat rocks to aid their digestion. :-)
>
>Selene
>full of cents today
>
That is a great thought, about them being so close to dinosaurs,
that's how I think of all birds. Again, thank you so much for your
advice. I'm feeling a bit more confident now,
-- Ann e-mail address is not checked
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