buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
lol, that's sort of a given, no? the question is why.
I want to get some chickens
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lol, that's sort of a given, no? the question is why.
Fisher's Mom
Executive Chef
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
a coupla good looking roosters in leather jackets smoking cigarettes?
Fisher's Mom
Executive Chef
Ooooh, cigarettes and leather??? That would work for me.
We do have a 56 chevy something in the garage, and a 40 ford something.
maybe if these leather clad, DA sportin', smokin roosters all hung out on the cars at the end of the driveway, then perhaps the neighbor chickens WOULD cross the road!
maybe if these leather clad, DA sportin', smokin roosters all hung out on the cars at the end of the driveway, then perhaps the neighbor chickens WOULD cross the road!
sparrowgrass
Head Chef
Here is a good looking boy. But he doesn't smoke.
sparrowgrass
Head Chef
I don't know what kind he is--he came to me last year as an Easter-chick-grown-too-large, from the neighbors.
I just saw the picture of your coop--do you have plans for that? Asking because my 78 year old mom would like to have chickens again, and we need to build her a little coop by the back door for 5 or 6 hens. That one looks perfect. If you have a plan, could you tell me where you found it?
Another thing--I only clean my chicken house once a year. I use the "deep litter" method. I put a whole bale of straw on the floor--6 or 8 inches deep. When it starts to get wet or look dirty, I sprinkle scratch feed or sunflower seeds over it, and the girls stir it up and it dries out.
I might have to add another bale once or twice during the year, as they break down the straw. In the spring, I shovel it out and add it directly to garden. Because it has so much straw in it, it does not burn the plants.
My chicken house is just 20 feet or so from the porch I sit on every summer evening, and there is no odor. (Well, that is kind of a lie. If the weather is very wet for several days, it can get stinky and ammonia-ish inside the house, but a fresh bale of straw fixes it quickly.)
I just saw the picture of your coop--do you have plans for that? Asking because my 78 year old mom would like to have chickens again, and we need to build her a little coop by the back door for 5 or 6 hens. That one looks perfect. If you have a plan, could you tell me where you found it?
Another thing--I only clean my chicken house once a year. I use the "deep litter" method. I put a whole bale of straw on the floor--6 or 8 inches deep. When it starts to get wet or look dirty, I sprinkle scratch feed or sunflower seeds over it, and the girls stir it up and it dries out.
I might have to add another bale once or twice during the year, as they break down the straw. In the spring, I shovel it out and add it directly to garden. Because it has so much straw in it, it does not burn the plants.
My chicken house is just 20 feet or so from the porch I sit on every summer evening, and there is no odor. (Well, that is kind of a lie. If the weather is very wet for several days, it can get stinky and ammonia-ish inside the house, but a fresh bale of straw fixes it quickly.)
The very short comb reminded me of my two hen SLWs "odd" looking combs.
No plans. I drew some stuff on a piece of paper and winged it from there. I took pics along the way if you'd like to see them. They might be helpful, but they don't really show how I fitted everything.
My five went in last June. I use about 1/2 bag of pine shavings each time I clean and have cleaned it three times..... I think. Maybe only two... It's always dry and doesn't have a stinky smell, so I guess the air flow is good. I really should toss their scratch on the shavings though and let them dig and shuffle them up some.
I'm still learning as I go.
No plans. I drew some stuff on a piece of paper and winged it from there. I took pics along the way if you'd like to see them. They might be helpful, but they don't really show how I fitted everything.
My five went in last June. I use about 1/2 bag of pine shavings each time I clean and have cleaned it three times..... I think. Maybe only two... It's always dry and doesn't have a stinky smell, so I guess the air flow is good. I really should toss their scratch on the shavings though and let them dig and shuffle them up some.
I'm still learning as I go.
From what I have gathered you could have a neighbor on either side of you with their own chickens and neither will do everything the same, including heat or insulation in the coop.
I tried the heatlamp at night thing. From my own personal experience, the chickens were up five hours after dark eating all their food and laying eggs when I had no intention of going outside and gathering them. I was told this would change, but I didn't wait to find out. When it got in the low twenties here, I would turn on a heat lamp over their water and one close to the nestbox, but during the day. This greatly slowed down the water from freezing, during the day when they needed it, and I didn't have a frozen egg again. Worked for me. At night they were huddled up on their perch like they should be.
And they do have breeds better suited to the cold if you haven't checked yet.
The thing that kept me from insulating my coop, and I have probably ten sheets of foam insulation I could have used, is that insulation will make a coop or building sweat if you don't have enough airflow. If you increase the airflow during winter, basically it would be like opening a window in you car with the heater running. Do you really want to burn a heat lamp or heater with enough ventilation to prevent the walls and roof from sweating? Let in the cold while you have the heat running? I don't unless I'm trying to keep the water from freezing, but some others do without problem, too.
sparrowgrass
Head Chef
Keeping the chickens warm in the winter is not as important as keeping them dry and well fed. My chicken house is sorta insulated--odds and ends of fiberglass and foam, with leftover drywall and paneling on the interior.
The door and window fit loosely enough to allow for some airflow. All those chickens breathing, and wet feathers, can make for a lot of dampness, and a wet chicken will suffer from the cold. If the bedding gets wet and smelly, add more. The ammonia fumes from wet bedding can make the girls sick.
The size of your coop makes a difference, too. If it is small enough, the chickens warm it with their body heat. Also, make sure they have a roost up near the ceiling, where the warmer air is.
I do have a heater in the water bucket outside--cost me about $30. I also hang an auto trouble light in the coop in the darkest part of winter--laying slows or stops if the hens are not getting 12+ hours of daylight. Be sure to hang it where the girls can't reach it--they will peck it and break the filaments in the bulb.
Heat lamps worry me because of the risk of fire.
Pacanis, my bro says he can build a coop like yours, but the dimensions would be helpful--can you give me those?
The door and window fit loosely enough to allow for some airflow. All those chickens breathing, and wet feathers, can make for a lot of dampness, and a wet chicken will suffer from the cold. If the bedding gets wet and smelly, add more. The ammonia fumes from wet bedding can make the girls sick.
The size of your coop makes a difference, too. If it is small enough, the chickens warm it with their body heat. Also, make sure they have a roost up near the ceiling, where the warmer air is.
I do have a heater in the water bucket outside--cost me about $30. I also hang an auto trouble light in the coop in the darkest part of winter--laying slows or stops if the hens are not getting 12+ hours of daylight. Be sure to hang it where the girls can't reach it--they will peck it and break the filaments in the bulb.
Heat lamps worry me because of the risk of fire.
Pacanis, my bro says he can build a coop like yours, but the dimensions would be helpful--can you give me those?
I just went out to measure a couple things and my girls are soaked right now 
Stupid rain.... or birds I should say 
It is 96 x 49 x 48 hi. Those are outside dimensions not counting the roof. The droppings pit is 20 x 60. I kept all the 2x4s flatways to add every little bit I could to the chickens inside area, trying to give them 4 sq ft per bird of actual walking area inside for the days I kept them cooped up.
If you follow this link and change out the "1" for numbers up through "9", you can see it as I was building it.
http://www.bestfriendpet.com/chicken/coop1.jpg
Stupid rain.... or birds I should say It is 96 x 49 x 48 hi. Those are outside dimensions not counting the roof. The droppings pit is 20 x 60. I kept all the 2x4s flatways to add every little bit I could to the chickens inside area, trying to give them 4 sq ft per bird of actual walking area inside for the days I kept them cooped up.
If you follow this link and change out the "1" for numbers up through "9", you can see it as I was building it.
http://www.bestfriendpet.com/chicken/coop1.jpg
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
does anyone else keep reading it as a co-op (like a co-operative apartment building), instead of coop? 
does anyone else keep reading it as a co-op (like a co-operative apartment building), instead of coop?
My guess would be no, BT..... it's just you
sparrowgrass
Head Chef
Nope, I have just the opposite problem--reading Co-op as coop.
sparrowgrass
Head Chef
Thanks, Pacanis for the dimensions--great pix, and I am sure my brother the carpenter will be able to put that together in a jiffy.
My mother thanks you, my brother thanks you, and I thank you!!
My mother thanks you, my brother thanks you, and I thank you!!
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