Back yard chickens, getting started

[Ashful]

Good idea, that'll make more room in the budget for the four very small Tempurpedic beds.

 

[semipro]

Don't have chickens but have friends with them.
One important thing I've learned from them is that building a coup to keep predators out is much harder than building it to keep the chickens in.
Many a chicken owner has opened their coup only to find most or all of their birds dead from attack with the nowhere to be found.

 

[Ashful]

Don't have chickens but have friends with them.
One important thing I've learned from them is that building a coup to keep predators out is much harder than building it to keep the chickens in.
Many a chicken owner has opened their coup only to find most or all of their birds dead from attack with the nowhere to be found.

Good advice, and I've surmised the same from all I've read over the last week. Most of the coops and combos you'll find sold on the internet are pretty flimsy, and predators getting in is a common complaint.

I found a few Amish companies right here in Lancaster, which sell nice units. Trouble is, they're all $1500 +/- $300, and I'm not willing to spend that on something that could be the fleeting fancy of a 6-year old. If this becomes a permanent part of our family routine after a year or more, then no problem, but I was hoping to start off on a more modest budget.

I did find one company (CC Only) which looks like they might have something that's a decent compromise between the $300 - $500 junk coops, and the $1500 permanent solution. Still more than I had originally planned to spend, but looking at them a bit closer, now.

Building is still a last resort, given my schedule between now and when I'll need the coop.

 

[heat seeker]

You might just find that the hobby will captivate you, and even if the youngster loses interest, you'll still carry on.

 

[CowgirltuffNJ]

Please be thorough in considering the coop by CConly. I purchased a chicken plucker from them 1 1/2 yrs ago and it is NOT what they told me. I am supposed to be able to put 4 or 5 chickens in at once and it can barely do 2. Not happy for $1,000 +

 

[jeanw]

wish I could have seen your post earlier. Unless you want an 8 yr commitment dont have them. I am sorry I did. I want to give them to someone who wiill treat them as well as they have it here.they roam 1/2 acre fenced in with every thing they would want.. Now I am having trouble with several. soft eggs, lots of runny poo. and some with breathing problems. I luv them but they break my heart. It is so hard to give them any medication. I have met no one who would treat as well....or would care for them as they are so well tended and Spolled rotten. LOL
Like I tell everyone the Chicken Health book should be near every cute chicken for sale bin...
I know each one by face and whine. I kept one Roo Roo. he is great but too many of them are getting bare backs. I tell him "roo go hump that fence pole instead" If I seem him on a gal I gently push him off or throw something like a handful of weeds I am pulling at him.LOL He jumps off them and whines and dances.
they eat out of my hand and one luvs to be cuddled and patted.
I would only get chicks again never a straight run. cause I ended up with only one girl the first time.
Broke my heart to give away my beautiful roos. ended up found out later not so pleasnat of conditions.
Also I think its cruel to keep them penned all the time. You got to let them out to "run" and flap at least right before bedtime.... Ill admit they are a hoot but I have mine spoiled
I have my big garden fenced in.My bb bushes are hardware caged too right in their big field. They whin when they seeme picking the berries. Oh I give them some..... You got to use HARDWARE cloth for their fenced run at least up to a certain heith. I even have the run poultyr wire roof. it big. But they spend most of time in their big field. with lotsof trees and bushes and toppers and shelters.
Plus no place for anthing to get in their coop . window have 1/2 hdwe cloth over them and even their coop door. plus hwe cloth around thir run as an apron buried.
Plus I spend lotsof time with them
other nite a small raccoon came on the porch. Now their coop doors are def closed again at night
last few weeks been letting them roam most of property. But since its hot they spend more time under the grape vines and trees in their big 1/2 acre... now too they have been going under the toolshed extenstion wings. soft dirt thee for their feather DUSTING
lately been getting only 4 or 5 eggs a day plus one or two busted soft shells.
Plus I give them non GMO and Organic pellets. Plus other grains and grasses everyday/ Plus Jap Beetles I pick off my veggies etc. I also raise millworms for them
we built both coops well three... sold one of them
The TSC coops we sold too. they are so tiny and a joke
now just a saying good luck

 

[Ashful]

Please be thorough in considering the coop by CConly. I purchased a chicken plucker from them 1 1/2 yrs ago and it is NOT what they told me. I am supposed to be able to put 4 or 5 chickens in at once and it can barely do 2. Not happy for $1,000 +

Thanks for the feedback / warning!

 

[Ashful]

wish I could have seen your post earlier. Unless you want an 8 yr commitment dont have them. I am sorry I did. I want to give them to someone who wiill treat them as well as they have it here.they roam 1/2 acre fenced in with every thing they would want.. Now I am having trouble with several. soft eggs, lots of runny poo. and some with breathing problems. I luv them but they break my heart. It is so hard to give them any medication. I have met no one who would treat as well....or would care for them as they are so well tended and Spolled rotten. LOL
Like I tell everyone the Chicken Health book should be near every cute chicken for sale bin...
I know each one by face and whine. I kept one Roo Roo. he is great but too many of them are getting bare backs. I tell him "roo go hump that fence pole instead" If I seem him on a gal I gently push him off or throw something like a handful of weeds I am pulling at him.LOL He jumps off them and whines and dances.
they eat out of my hand and one luvs to be cuddled and patted.
I would only get chicks again never a straight run. cause I ended up with only one girl the first time.
Broke my heart to give away my beautiful roos. ended up found out later not so pleasnat of conditions.
Also I think its cruel to keep them penned all the time. You got to let them out to "run" and flap at least right before bedtime.... Ill admit they are a hoot but I have mine spoiled
I have my big garden fenced in.My bb bushes are hardware caged too right in their big field. They whin when they seeme picking the berries. Oh I give them some..... You got to use HARDWARE cloth for their fenced run at least up to a certain heith. I even have the run poultyr wire roof. it big. But they spend most of time in their big field. with lotsof trees and bushes and toppers and shelters.
Plus no place for anthing to get in their coop . window have 1/2 hdwe cloth over them and even their coop door. plus hwe cloth around thir run as an apron buried.
Plus I spend lotsof time with them
other nite a small raccoon came on the porch. Now their coop doors are def closed again at night
last few weeks been letting them roam most of property. But since its hot they spend more time under the grape vines and trees in their big 1/2 acre... now too they have been going under the toolshed extenstion wings. soft dirt thee for their feather DUSTING
lately been getting only 4 or 5 eggs a day plus one or two busted soft shells.
Plus I give them non GMO and Organic pellets. Plus other grains and grasses everyday/ Plus Jap Beetles I pick off my veggies etc. I also raise millworms for them
we built both coops well three... sold one of them
The TSC coops we sold too. they are so tiny and a joke
now just a saying good luck

Thanks, Jean. But it sounds like you are treating these much more as pets, than I think I will be inclined. Bottom line, I'm told to expect 2 years good laying out of a hen. After that, we have a market here who sells them to a particular demographic, who doesn't mind eating older chickens.

Yes, I did buy pullets, not straight run, so they'll all be hens. I'd not mind a rooster, to keep order in the flock and make for safer free-ranging, but I don't have enough hens to keep him occupied, and don't want to chance annoying a neighbor. We only have a few acres, here, and the coop will be less than 200 feet from the nearest neighbor.

 

[begreen]

Be sure to size the mini-split for the cubic ftg and btus per chicken heat load.

 

[Highbeam]

Whoa! Some folks consider their birds to be family members and some to be livestock. Most of us are somewhere in between.

I've "off'd" some sick ones, I've lost a couple to predators, and I've given away roosters, but I do have a bad habit of keeping an old non-laying bird until she dies. That's my weakness. It would be more efficient to eat or kill that old non-layer. These things are cheap and easy to get rid of if the hobby gets old.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Im not a pet person, but can you really get attached to a chicken.?

 

[Highbeam]

Im not a pet person, but can you really get attached top a chicken.?

Oh yeah, some people are quite "in love" with these things. I've met a few dumb humans that I'd prefer a chicken to.

Some chickens are like lap dogs. They sit with you and snuggle in, like being pet, etc. Most of the time they come running when they are used to you feeding them. So to a lonely lady, her birds being happy to see her might be a great source of joy.

 

[Jags]

After that, we have a market here who sells them to a particular demographic, who doesn't mind eating older chickens.

coq au vin - it doesn't have to be a rooster (cock). Just say'in'...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/coq-au-vin-recipe.html

 

[jeanw]

heck like I mentioned like to see mine rehomed... but who wants ones that arent laying or have problems?evne though they FREE RANGE .
The ages are from 2 1/2 to 1 and 1/2 yrs old
Roo , ROO pretty good but the down size is sev of the girls have missing back feathers and are sunburned....even though he has almost dozen gals..
I only have couple of acres and I could care less about Roo crowing.....
care more about the blankety blanks up the hill that bark continously
. even walking around our house at nite. they bark .I cant see the creepos but sure can hear them.
I guess the guy leaves them out when he is NOT not home...one thing good bout the rainy nites dont hear them much....prob they are hunting dogs...
I have to remind Hubby to not yell up the hill obsenties.... cause dogs dont care and guy prob not home or does not care

 

[edge-of-the-woods]

How is it going? Wish I had seen this thread a while back.

We built a coop this spring and started with chicks. Our girls just started laying early this month, six hens of various types. Don't worry too much about keeping them warm, make sure they have good ventilation. Backyardchickens.com has some great threads on ventilation. It's more important that your coop isn't drafty OR stuffy than it is that it's warm. you don't want air blowing over the roost that the chickens will sleep on, but you want fresh air moving into it at all times. They can deal with cold way better than you would imagine, but they get weird respiratory diseases if it's too moist in the henhouse, or there is too much ammonia smell.

 

[Ashful]

Yep, been a regular over at backyardchickens the last few weeks. Coop is built, then modified, then modified again... it's finally close to being right. Built a stone and block foundation for coop and run, installed coop on foundation yesterday, so now I get to start building the run.

Chickens are now living in coop (5 weeks old). I installed wire mesh over pop door, so we can open that and window for ventilation during day, and I put a few temporary vents in the roof, which will all get reconfigured after run roof is tied to coop roof. Fun stuff.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jeanw]

please dont forget to use hardware cloth 1/2 or less over all openings....and aroun bottom of run and make an apron on ground too...
My newest coop has 4 windows and small window in door and its still hot..
they have a fan d for the hot nites..
the other (coop) one with a old truck topper roof get a to the 90s plus during day and still ot at night
Im getting lik 4 eggs or less everyday now.Unfortunately only the truck top two side windows crand open some.. it doesnt NOT (truck topper) have the sliding front window. dang so its hard to get a good flow. with only tiny vent bottom windows. Luckily the door is homemade wood framed with hardware cloth and aluminum screening full length.
one of the 2yr olds has severe breathing problems for over a year.. she has fallen off the roost everynite for the last few days and was "stargazing" Heck she might have a concussion, heck I dont know... there are so many things to go wrong. Heck everyday lately I ask Hubby is "she still alive?" I hate to see her suffer
I just cant medicate them by myself. Hubby is DR. CHICKEN DAD.....
Yesterday found a worm on poop tray yesterday. I saved it in a covered dustpan to be able to show or picture of it taken. It was gone this morning and the poo messed with in that dust pan....that I left on the ground...
I got a good microscope I bought weeks ago to do fecals... But havent bought rest of stuff...wish I have another person who help me with learning... got a book and watched lots of videos but over my head... the local vet doent want to mess with a $2 bird....
Hubby gave dose Of Safeguard(oral syringed) several nites ago. but it needs to be given like five DAYS in a row... I am lucky to get him to do it once. He is so tired at nite. both of us tired and irriated.. That is when they are a captive audience.. Otherwise try catching them in a 1/2 acre....good luck not to fall etc yourself. even though my Girls are very tame.. They know when I am trying to mess with them Esp if Hubby is there too what a pain in the >. Always something new everyday.. such fun. We call our life "Groundhog Day"
Been seeing more hawk or hawks too. Course I dont see first them Roo Roo "grunts". The wild birds warn them too...
I hope you have better luck. some of it may be cause I hate giving them that dang commercial feed with the SOY... even bought an additive to put in my homemade "grains" but they leave it behind the consistency of "sand".. so next day I take the leftovers and mix it with liitle rice or canned fish, or scrambled egg.
Oh on BYC forum they suggested to remove a whole side of the newest coop and just hardware cloth/ called "open air"
thanks for listening to me miserate
thanks all