Chicken coops or chickens anybody? (eggs) - Birds - City-Data Forum

family first · 01-08-2011, 06:56 PM

Getting ideas together for a backyard coop for the family. Probably looking at 4-8 hens. Anybody have chickens or built chicken coops? If so, I would love to see pictures of them. I am looking for ideas to build my own coop. Also, how many hens do you have, how many eggs are you getting per day? What type of chickens are they? Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

foxywench · 01-08-2011, 10:16 PM

we have hens...

firstly, make sure they are allowed in your area, youd be amazed at what silly laws are out there concerning livestock...we got our girls when hens were legal in our area, now they changed the law with no grandfather that if you odnt have at least 1 acre you cant have any chickens...we have just under an acre. our neighbors love them though and noone complains, we also dont have any roosters.

we have 11 girls, and right now are getting 4-6 eggs a day, not bad considering were in the midst of new england winter (hens slow down for the winter because daylight hours are shorter, you can supliment with additional light, but i dont mind them taking a little break lol.
this is their first winter...during their first season (this past fall) we were getting on average 8-10 eggs a day out of 11 hens, VERY good for any age, but excelent for first years.

we have a mixed flock of standard sized hens...lets see if i can remember all the breeds:

theres 3 Easter Eggers, that give us blue and green eggs, they are out "light" layers usually giving us 4-5 eggs a week.
1 silver laced wyandotte
1 barred rock
1 partridge rock
1 columbian rock
1 black australorp
1 dark brahma (shes our biggest girl and definatly queen of the hen house)
1 speckled sussex (my favorite)
and 1 buff orphington.

our girls live in a converted 8 x 8 shed...its just a simple shed with a full door, 2 communal next boxes (we tried multiple boxes but they just used the 2 same boxes) our nest boxes are conveted upper cabinates out of the kitchen...the girls arnt fussy about nesting, just make sure theres plenty of straw.
we also included a large 3ft wide by 4 ft tall usable window on one side for ventilation and light. and they also have an 8 ft long 2x4 for a roost. (whihc belive it or not is ample room for all 11 girls lol.)

we use the deep litter method and its been awesome.
we have no insulation or heat in there and currently feet of snow in many places and the girls do fine...some people like to heat/insulate but the cold doesnt seem to bother them, we got mostly cold hardy hens specifically because were in connecticut.

attatched to the shed is a converted dog run, it was origionally 5 x 15, but because of there we have the coop situated we got to use the back end of another existing shed as part of the run making the run closer to 5 x 30

general rule of thumb is a minimum of 4sqft per bird in the coop and 10 sqft per bird in the run.

our girls also get free run of the garden every afternoon usually (right now the snow is too deep, but there more interested in staying in anyway)

we love them, they each have their own personalities, great at eating bugs (though they will shred flower garens if given acess, by accident from all their digging) they are insatiably curious, when there out its not unusual to hear tap tap on the glass of my door as they peck at the reflecting light lol.
and the brhama could be classified as an attack chicken...if theres something not right in her yard she heards up the ladies first then puts on this show and shes a BIG she stands taller than my parents cocker.

i will suggest in terms fo feeding, avoid antibiotics...in a little back yard flock there overkill and i dont like the idea of the antibiotics in the eggs...
and avoid strong smelling foods, they can eat almost any kitchen scrap, but onion and garlic tends to make the eggs a little off tasting.

cabbage is a favotie with our girls and we make a cabbage pinata (cabbage hung from a string in their run just about head height) its hilarious to watch and they realy get into it. corn, tomatoes ect...
be warned, they can easily clear 4 1/2 ft fence so if your planning on growing veggies plan for at least ft fencing to protect them as the chickens will help themselves to veggie patches.

the chicken manure however is WONDERFULL in the gardens!

some from when the girls were babies (we got our girls from healthychicksandmore.com and would order from them again anytime!)

(1 day old)

(sam, my sisters favorite at a few days old, shes the black australorp)

(prudence, the speckled sussex at a few days old...my favorite)

(sam, all growd up)

(prudence all growd up)

(ronnie the barred rock, and second in command)

(phylis fluffy feet, the dark brahma, queen bee! (and yes she has fluffy feet))

(dotty and gretta in front, easter eggers, prudence in the back)

some of the girls in the run.

mrs1885 · 01-09-2011, 03:03 AM

We used to have chickens. We initially bought them for egg laying. Well, in all honesty we bought them because I adore chickens and was able to convince hubby we'd save money and eat healthier if we had chickens laying fresh eggs!!!

I can't tell you what breeds we had. We found an ad on line and told them we just wanted 20 chicks. We let the kids pick out four each. One of the kids managed to fall in love with a fifth, so we brought home 21.

We only had them 6 months or so? Loved them but they were free range and made a horrible mess. We also live on a pretty busy road and were afraid they'd get hit by a car. I hated the idea of cooping them up where they couldn't run free and be happy so we ultimate gave them to our daughter's future in laws. They've got a big farm with a bunch of other free range chickens and roosters. They keep them as pets, just like we did, but they are laying eggs and they do get to enjoy the benefits of that.

Photos of them as chicks and when they got older and went to live in the backyard with our tortoises. They loved the torts and would stand on their backs while they grazed the yard!

Ours were extremely social and followed us around the yard. If you sat in one of the chair out back they'd cover you, landing on arms, legs, shoulders, head, etc., just to be with you. So sweet!

IceCat · 02-07-2011, 04:45 PM

Awesome photos ... we moved to the outskirts of Sedona and have 2 acres and 2 horses ... we can have 8 chickens ... would like to have them but want to be sure we can raise them ok ...

Does anyone let them run loose ... we have perimeter fenced yard ... but coyotes, mountain lion, owls, in our area ... is having a coop enough or do they need to have a fence with ceiling fencing to keep other critters out?

foxywench · 02-07-2011, 07:34 PM

our girls free range during the spring/summer and fall during the afternoons (when were home as were suburban) they are penned in the winter though, the coop is attatched to the pen and the pen has a roof for snow/rain protection and proitection from hawks.

coyotes, moutain lions and owls are typically night time problems so you will need a good secure coop...
but during the day your biggest risk are stray dogs hawks, eagles ect.
if your going to let them wander on your acerage make sure to provide plenty of random cover, the odd table low shrubs ect around the property, that way if a hawk is spotted and alarm sounded the chickens will all scatter and run for cover than they wont have 2 acres of open pasture to cross to get to a safe place.

in terms of the perimeter fence, our girls can easily clear a 5 ft fence (then forget how to get back in) so while its a deterant for stray dogs getting in..unless its 6+ ft (and some can get over that too) it wont nessicarily keep the chickens in.
most chickens will stay neer the food...

side note, they will get into everything, they dig and scratch and peck and will ravish flower beds...just as a warning if you have any "pretty" spots youll want to keep them away from...

id also look for breeds not known for flight so stay away from game birds and old english verieties...
any of the good big ole heavy laying hens would work nicely

also, avoid WHITE birds if your going to be freeranging, browns/reds/speckled birds are naturally camoflaged...
white birds however stand out against a lawn like a sore thumb and are typically the first to get picked off by hawks.

IceCat · 02-07-2011, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxywench

our girls free range during the spring/summer and fall during the afternoons (when were home as were suburban) they are penned in the winter though, the coop is attatched to the pen and the pen has a roof for snow/rain protection and proitection from hawks.

coyotes, moutain lions and owls are typically night time problems so you will need a good secure coop...
but during the day your biggest risk are stray dogs hawks, eagles ect.
if your going to let them wander on your acerage make sure to provide plenty of random cover, the odd table low shrubs ect around the property, that way if a hawk is spotted and alarm sounded the chickens will all scatter and run for cover than they wont have 2 acres of open pasture to cross to get to a safe place.

in terms of the perimeter fence, our girls can easily clear a 5 ft fence (then forget how to get back in) so while its a deterant for stray dogs getting in..unless its 6+ ft (and some can get over that too) it wont nessicarily keep the chickens in.
most chickens will stay neer the food...

side note, they will get into everything, they dig and scratch and peck and will ravish flower beds...just as a warning if you have any "pretty" spots youll want to keep them away from...

id also look for breeds not known for flight so stay away from game birds and old english verieties...
any of the good big ole heavy laying hens would work nicely

also, avoid WHITE birds if your going to be freeranging, browns/reds/speckled birds are naturally camoflaged...
white birds however stand out against a lawn like a sore thumb and are typically the first to get picked off by hawks.

Very very helpful ... the ground here is red. I was looking at breeds that are both cold and heat hardy -- and the Rhode Island Reds came out pretty good, along with a couple of others.

Good thing you told me that as White Leghorns were on my list too.

Awesome post. Thanks again !!!!!!

foxywench · 02-07-2011, 08:33 PM

check out the golden comets and red stars, they arnt as high strung as the RIR's but still amazing layers and typically do well hot or cold (and are a little meatier than the RIR's if you ever decide to butcher a none layer)
any of the "rocks" are good layers, very adaptable and good temperments, the partridge rock might be a good idea if your looking for red birds
i ABSOLULT suggest the sussex, the speckled are stunning but they come in other colors, great egg layers, nice temperments and good all around for climate
the golden laced wyandotte might be another good choice, again ive had good luck with their personalities, good layers and do well in all climates.

the comets and the stars will produce like leghorns and rhode islands, they are a heavy duty production birds, but the comets and stars seem to have the better temperments.

the other breeds wont produce like the production birds (reds, comets and stars) but they will produce well and definatly add some personality and color to the flock.

we have our 13 girls, they hit maturity this past fall and we were getting about 10 eggs per day from our group
now its winter theyve slowed down but were still gettign 6 eggs a day form our girls with no suplimental light or heat here in connecticut.