Chicken coop

[Elwar]

Ok, I got the main features of my chicken coop and run finished. I was inspired to get some chickens from someone here saying that chickens are fairly easy and you get fresh eggs...so I went for it.

The chicken run is what is called a "chicken tractor" because it can be rolled to other parts of the yard. The coop is open on 3 sides with hardware cloth covering the openings. It's a Florida coop so everything has to be open. I just finished the connector from the coop to the run. In the morning I just open the door and they come out on their own, at night they line up and I kinda have to coax them up the ramp (it's only been 2 days, they're still getting used to it) then I close the door for the night.

I've had a raccoon walk up the ramp and get on the nest box and I've had a possum trying to figure out how to get into the run at night. But my bedroom sliding door is about 10 feet away from the coop and my dog hears everything and can see what's going on. I had some leftover fireworks from the 4th of July and threw them toward the critters when they came out...they haven't been back since.

Here's my page showing the building process:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/...g.php?id=33375

The girls are about 17 weeks old so they should start laying eggs any time now.

[Kotin]

that is awesome!

I am planning mine out right now.. just waiting for my greenhouse to be done before I build it..

[Dieseler]

Finest coop I ever laid eyes on.

[pcosmar]

When I first saw the thread I misread it and was looking for a new recipe.
Nice idea, my coop is not mobile. I had rabbits in it for a while but the found a way to dig out. They have been relocated.
We are going to get some chickens, but none yet.

[Elwar]

Finest coop I ever laid eyes on.

Thanks...I still have a lot of cosmetic work to do.

There are some really nice coop designs here:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/chicken-coop-small.html

[Crowish]

excellent!

I have 4 guinea keets in a brooder right now

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3436/...8bcfb1bb_o.jpg

[Deborah K]

Impressive Elwar! Puts my coop to shame. Mine is an old hog pen converted.

[specsaregood]

Thanks...I still have a lot of cosmetic work to do.

There are some really nice coop designs here:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/chicken-coop-small.html

There is an RPFer that sells chicken coops plans:the biss
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/member.php?u=21220

This is his site:
http://catawbacoops.com/

[Elwar]

There is an RPFer that sells chicken coops plans:the biss
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/member.php?u=21220

This is his site:
http://catawbacoops.com/

That's a great site...I like his ideas for making your own chicken food and his weekly no-electricity days...

I've seen his triangle design but I didn't like it that much. I designed mine because I knew I needed a Fort Knox coop. We've got snakes, raccoons, possums, hawks...

My wife loves that style though...and as I was spending so much time building on the weekends (there's always something), she started finding finished coops on the Internet pointing them out to me...

[thomas-in-ky]

We've dabbled in chickens 3 times, each time defeated by dogs or raccoons. I've found you can shoot a dog or a raccoon for every chicken you lose, and you will still run out of chickens. We're done with chicken tractors and quaint notions of unsupervised free range chickens. Our next design will be based on Fort Knox as well!

[raystone]

We've dabbled in chickens 3 times, each time defeated by dogs or raccoons. I've found you can shoot a dog or a raccoon for every chicken you lose, and you will still run out of chickens. We're done with chicken tractors and quaint notions of unsupervised free range chickens. Our next design will be based on Fort Knox as well!

From your sig....did you build this amazing home ?

[thomas-in-ky]

Raystone, I've been working on this house for 4.5 years now. Thank you for the kind adjective. The house is by no means finished, but I'm living in it, typing in it here now, using nothing but solar power. (stored solar power that is - clouds are overhead now) Actually I just found this forum today... I've been over on the Rand Paul forum for a few weeks and accidentally clicked over to here. I'm having more luck building the house than I did trying to raise chickens.

[JeNNiF00F00]

A rooster would keep the dogs and coons away but with roosters you have to show you are dominant over it b/c they will kick anyones ass that doesnt belong in that coop.

[mollymae]

Very cool! We used to own hens when I was younger. One tip I have about eggs is that for the best taste, make sure they have a consistent diet. My hens used to love these berries that grew on some random bush in our yard, but when they ate them, their eggs tasted fishy.

[Elwar]

We put our rooster on craigslist yesterday...

Although the neighbors around us have said that they don't mind, the rooster has gotten louder and wakes up earlier (6:15 AM now).

[Sarge]

Great chicken coup you built.

OK, Chicken Lovers,

I made this last night. My wife and I were both blown away. Two halves of chicken cleaned but skin left on. Use middle shelf or next lower on oven.

Take a baking sheet and cover with foil. Saves washing later. Find a 2 or 3 inch high black roasting pan if you have one, or stainless steel, squirt enough Italian Salad dressing on the bottom of the pan that you can coat the bottom of the chicken. Shake the bottle first. Place roaster on the baking pan. You don't mess the oven up when basting that way. Don't use low fat salad dressing.

Shake and squirt another three quarters or a cup in a bowl and have a basting brush handy.

Put the oven on 325 and baste the tops at 20 or 25 minutes and every 10 to 15 minutes thereafter. Baste more often at the end.

Raise oven to 350 at the end of one hour. Don't cover. It takes about two hours. The skins will be really brown with all the goodies from the dressing at the end. Just look for brown all over.

It is done and so moist, and just add some mashed potatoes and a salad as sides and enjoy.

The house smells great, the oven heats the house during the winter. I do this out on the grill all the time but, this is the most moist chicken we have ever eaten.

It smelled so good while cooking I couldn't baste enough to smell that great smell.

My wife walked in the door and freaked out on how good it smelled.

Obviously a larger pan if doing 4 halves. Our black roasting pan was perfect for two halves. We shared one half last night and our having the other half tonight.

If you try this, I hope you like it as well. Easy and comfort food smell.

[Sarge]

I forgot to add, you can get some mean mashed potatoes, at Costco, that takes 10 minutes to heat to go with that chicken dinner, to make it easy.

My wife can make mashed potatoes that float off the plate, and we both like the Costco ones. Not as light as hers, but they are very good.

[dannno]

I'd love to build a chicken coop, but I just noticed there are people selling used and new ones on craigslist, very reasonable...

Might have to get one soon.

[Elwar]

I'd love to build a chicken coop, but I just noticed there are people selling used and new ones on craigslist, very reasonable...

Might have to get one soon.

I saw one on craigslist for about $200 just after I started building mine. It wasn't exactly what I wanted but after putting in more than $1k and lots of sweat hours into mine, that $200 coop would have been a lot easier.

btw. I'm now at the point that all 3 of my hens are laying an egg a day.

[osan]

Ok, I got the main features of my chicken coop and run finished. I was inspired to get some chickens from someone here saying that chickens are fairly easy and you get fresh eggs...so I went for it.

The chicken run is what is called a "chicken tractor" because it can be rolled to other parts of the yard. The coop is open on 3 sides with hardware cloth covering the openings. It's a Florida coop so everything has to be open. I just finished the connector from the coop to the run. In the morning I just open the door and they come out on their own, at night they line up and I kinda have to coax them up the ramp (it's only been 2 days, they're still getting used to it) then I close the door for the night.

Way cool. We have about 100 birds and while yes, they are "easy", there are things you will have to learn.

I've had a raccoon walk up the ramp and get on the nest box and I've had a possum trying to figure out how to get into the run at night. But my bedroom sliding door is about 10 feet away from the coop and my dog hears everything and can see what's going on. I had some leftover fireworks from the 4th of July and threw them toward the critters when they came out...they haven't been back since.

They will return. You may not like this idea but you must kill them. Racoons and possums will wipe out your birds in no time flat. In the late summer we lost a bird a day for a month. Ollie (dog) finally treed the good for nothing sumbitch 'coon and I shot him. I don't like killing anything, but I have come to the realization that they need to be killed as rapidly as possible in every case. You need to be especially vigilant for mink. If they get into your coop, they will kill every bird you have in one fell swoop. It is the way they operate. They do not eat the birds, only drink the blood by slitting the throats. If one gets in your bird house and you don't discover it, you will discover all your birds dead. Minks are the worst.

If you do not have a gun, get one. Easy in FL, thank heaven. If you have only one, get as 12 or 20 ga. (depending on how recoil sensitive you are). Keep a clay load (7 1/2 bird shot) in the chamber and #4 buck for the backup shot. If your gun is a cylinder bore, the shot will scatter nicely, getting the critters attention and slowing him down. Finish him with the buck shot and you are done. I'm not a hunter and I don't like killing, but this must be done if you want to keep any of your birds alive.

The girls are about 17 weeks old so they should start laying eggs any time now.

Don't expect too many eggs just yet. It may be too cold, and hens need light to lay.

Another thing you will need are antibiotics. Go to your local feed store and ask for "LA-200". This is injectable. Your mainstay, however, will be Baytril. Buy a 100cc bottle - it is good for 2 to 3 years shelf life. It is given orally, about 1cc/10 pounds for 5 days. Do NOT stop just because the bird looks better. It is excellent stuff. If you observe a bird looking a bit too still - if it is "huddling", it is sick and you need to get Baytril into it IMMEDIATELY. By the time birds start showing signs, they are already circling the drain and you must act quickly.

Do you have a rooster? If not, you should get one. They keep law and order, so to speak and are important in this respect. A young rooster will go through a period of being a real $#@!, but most of the time they outgrow it. I've been tempted to shoot one or two of mine because they were so obstreperous, but they all chilled down in time and they are all very good stewards of the girls.

I strongly recommend you not have any Bantam roosters - they are cute as hell and can be stunningly beautiful to behold, but they will drive the hens absolutely crazy with chasing them and the girls will stop laying altogether. We had to get rid of 8 Bantys because of this, which was difficult for me because I am one of those blithering idiots who gets all attached and fond of my animals.

If you are going to eat them, DO NOT name them. Unless you have a very hard heart, you will not be able to kill them. Take it from me.

The eggs you get will be very different from those you buy in the stores. The yokes, rather than being pale yellow, will be a deep orange. The eggs will have flavor, too. You can sell the extras.

Feed: whole and cracked corn should be given daily, but not in excess. They will scratch about and the need greens. All of your food waste should be given to them. It is good for them, they love it, and it brings your waste to almost zero. They will eat anything, including chicken.

If you have an injured bird, you must separate it from the rest. If you do not, chances are high that the rest of the birds will kill it. That is just the way they are.

If you find a bird's face all swollen, especially around the beak, look for splinters in the mouth. At times they peck at something and stab themselves in the mouth. They will need Baytril and you may have to go into the wound with tweezers and dig around and extract the foreign body. The bird will not be happy about this, but it is necessary or they will die of infection, Baytril or no. Be gentle with them. Their hearts cannot take a lot of pain, so be careful.

Finally, if you have the space to let them range freely and do not have any severe predator problem, then do so. They will be very happy birds and will give you lots of very good eggs.

I love my birds - they are good girls and boys and we eat very well.

We also have ducks, geese, and guinea fowl. Guineas are the best watch dogs you will ever have. Anything that doesn't belong in the area will be readily and immediately discovered by them and they will start raising a racket. They are funny-ugly to the point I find them beautiful.

Geese and ducks can be desctructive of your lawn. Ducks like Muscovies are monstrously strong as are geese. Our $#@! neighbor sold us a "bonded mating pair". Turned out to be 2 boys and they are NOT gay. One day they got into a fight and like an idiot I got between them. By the time Spencer got through with me I was convinced I had 2 broken hands and a broken arm. Turned out nothing broke, but the pain was something worthy of note. They are capable of breaking a human's femur by hitting with their wings- that is how strong they are. They lay huge eggs.

Anyhow, take good care of your birds and they will take good care of you.

[Dieseler]

Excellent post Osan, Thank you.

[Elwar]

Thanks for the insight Osan.

We have 3 hens, no rooster. They had a rooster and we didn't want to become those neighbors so we gave him away. They're all laying eggs daily...which is way more than my wife and I need. We give them away to the neighbors.

I don't free range them because there are just so many predators. I do need to fortify the run by the end of February before the black snakes start coming out. Other than that they're doing well and I think the raccoons know not to come into the yard...my wife saw one just the other day that was walking through the mucky low tide mud to get around our yard when it could have easily just walked through it.

One hen has gone "broody". She lays on the eggs all day. I shoo her out usually and she goes to eat and drink before going back in. This morning she really didn't want me moving her and took a few nips at my hand but nothing to hurt me. I read online that I should be able to just close off that nest and she'll stop doing it. I have two nests so they'll be fine.

[lisaanne]

I am getting ready to get a few chicks on Thursday and just now read your post. I just wanted to say thank-you for this information. Do you have any favorite breeds of chickens?

[oyarde]

I am getting ready to get a few chicks on Thursday and just now read your post. I just wanted to say thank-you for this information. Do you have any favorite breeds of chickens?

I like lots of breeds but the Black Sex Link ( Half Rhode Island Red and half Barred Rock ) are a hardy starter .

[bunklocoempire]

I am getting ready to get a few chicks on Thursday and just now read your post. I just wanted to say thank-you for this information. Do you have any favorite breeds of chickens?

My egg-layer chickens experience so far:
Rhode Island Reds. Medium to large brown eggs, decent layers, mostly mellow. Will get again, they did great as free rangers. (didn't use a chicken tractor)

Pearl White Leghorns. Large white eggs, lay eggs like crazy, more nervous than R.I.R.s, like to wander far. Will get again, but only in a chicken tractor set up. Our Leghorn girls were egg laying machines.

[lisaanne]

My egg-layer chickens experience so far:
Rhode Island Reds. Medium to large brown eggs, decent layers, mostly mellow. Will get again, they did great as free rangers. (didn't use a chicken tractor)

Pearl White Leghorns. Large white eggs, lay eggs like crazy, more nervous than R.I.R.s, like to wander far. Will get again, but only in a chicken tractor set up. Our Leghorn girls were egg laying machines.

Thank-you!!! I am thinking of trying the Rhode Island Red and Cuckoo Marans this year.

[lisaanne]

I like lots of breeds but the Black Sex Link ( Half Rhode Island Red and half Barred Rock ) are a hardy starter .

Thank-you for the info! I am thinking of trying the Rhode Island Reds and the Cuckoo Marans this year and see how that goes.

[tod evans]

Chalk up another Rhode Island Red fan here.

[Dr.3D]

Raccoon got into the coup and killed all my Barred Rocks. Oh well, won't have to see them through the winter.

[shakey1]

very nice... been lookin' for ideas to build... thanx!