Coops and what chickens need to be happy

[Sanction]

There are 5 things your chickens need to be happy.

Coop
Run
Nesting boxes
Roosts
Food & Water
Security

The typical chicken coop contains a nesting area and whats called roosts. The nesting boxes need to be big enough for a hen to lay her eggs comfortably but still feel snug and out of the way of the other chickens for privacy. The roosts are simply wood bars or perches for the chickens to sleep on. Typically you want these to be up off the floor of your coop. It will make your chickens feel safe. The run is simply an open area with dirt/gr*** for your chickens to scratch and make dirt baths. you will want it to be secure from outside predators. The food and watering dispensers should be hung just a bit off the floor so the chickens won't poop in the trays. This short but sweet description will give you a good idea of what you will need to do. Details can follow.

[Sanction]

About the breeds.

the best known dual-purpose breeds are the New Hampshire and the Rhode Island Red, the Plymouth Rock, the Orpington and the Dominique. The idea was that these breeds would both lay lots of eggs for eating and produce chicks that would grow big enough for the pot. People also eat old laying hens which are past their prime. Most hens probably eat more than their eggs are worth after their first two or three laying years. These somewhat tough old birds are not the ideal centerpiece of a Sunday roast but can be stewed and were the makings of the cl***ic peasant style chicken soup.

Best Egg-Laying Chicken Breeds There are many chicken varieties, and all lay eggs, but only a handful are in the best egg-laying chicken breeds category. All female chickens will lay edible eggs with identical nutritional content, but some bird varieties have been bred especially for their egg-laying capabilities and thus are superior chickens for that purpose. For example, Leghorn hens are excellent for consistent, nearly-daily laying and produce about 300 eggs per year.

Many modern laying breeds contain some Leghorn in them. Some of the best egg laying chicken breeds include:

Leghorn

Rhode Island Reds

Black Star

Red Star

Light Sussex

Plymouth Rock

Cuckoo Maran

Barred Rock

If you're looking for a good setting hen, one that will

[Sanction]

Plucking chickens! You just have to watch the video...

http://www.youtube.com/v/FNvdWcEDpJ0&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0

[Lowdown3]

Good thread! I've had chickens since 93-94, I like RI Reds best but have had good luck with them as well as Buff Orpingtons, Austrlorps and Barred Rocks.

[Sanction]

Thanks Lowdown3! I went with the Barred Rocks as they are a good middle of the road breed for both egg production and eating.

[Kat]

Wow! Some great information there. I'm going to reference that when we need to order more next time. We had a few Cornish X Rocks that didn't get butchered in time last year and the meat was tough. I used the mallet on some of it and that worked great. Some of it we canned and found that it didn't get much softer in that process. I've read that you can dip the eggs in Gulf Wax and they will store for up to a year. Has anyone ever tried that?

[Rmplstlskn]

My wife has been looking into getting chickens... Good info, and the plucking video was awesome. Fast and efficient. Simple too, with the right machine. But right now we do not have any farm animals, nor any pets, and I rather like the FREEDOM that allows right now. For once you add farm animals to the family, you then must consider them every time you want to slip away to visit the beach over the weekend, etc... But I think we might be open to that soon... Thanks for the info...

Rmpl

[Kat]

"For once you add farm animals to the family, you then must consider them every time you want to slip away to visit the beach over the weekend, etc..."
I know exactly what you mean :) We have several types of animals and it's always hard to leave them for a few days. We used to have relatives that came and took care of them when we were gone but that didn't work out all that well. What we decided to do was buy extra waterers, feeders, etc... and top off everything right before we leave. For some of the animals we bought extra large feeders/waterers to hold them over. This works pretty well. We haven't had any losses since we started doing it this way. It just takes a few extra minutes than usual but it's not that bad. If you were just going away for the weekend this method should work out fine. Besides, the joys of owning animals is worth the extra effort. I wouldn't trade our goats for anything! Who knew they had such great personalities? They are by far the most fun animals we own.

[RainyDayChick]

Very informative thread here. Hope you folks can help me out w/some of my questions...

I don't have chickens, but hope to get some in the future and would like to stock up on their feed while it's available & cheap. So here are my ???:

How long can you store chicken feed?
Would packing it in mylar w/oxy absorbers be a good idea or overkill?
Another thought I've had is to store plain feed corn in a galvanized garbage can--wouldn't this be a miniature equivalent to the steel silos farmers store their dried corn in?
About how much feed would 15 chickens go through in a year?
Should the corn be cracked before feeding it to them?
What are your PAW plans for keeping your chickens fed?

TIA

[Sanction]

How long can you store chicken feed?
Would packing it in mylar w/oxy absorbers be a good idea or overkill?
Another thought I've had is to store plain feed corn in a galvanized garbage can--wouldn't this be a miniature equivalent to the steel silos farmers store their dried corn in?
About how much feed would 15 chickens go through in a year?
Should the corn be cracked before feeding it to them?
What are your PAW plans for keeping your chickens fed?

1: Chicken feed will store about the same amount of time that grain will. Keep it dry and dark.
2:Mylar would be over kill storing for just a year. Using a galvanized trashcan works great. I also use plastic cans.
3:15 chickens will go through about 50-60lbs a month. The more you free range them, the less feed will be consumed. Buy the pellets and mixed grains!
4: Yes Crack the corn before feeding it to them. Also make sure you supplement ouster shells for calcium. and they do need very small stones or rocks to grind there food in the gizzard. A course sand will do.
5:Free range is the absolute best. they can completely feed them selves. Adding some vitamin supliments would be a good idea.

I hope that helps. We do have predators here, and I cannot allow total free range. They are on about half and half right now. Chicken hawks or the "red tailed hawk" is my biggest problem at the moment. Make sure your coop and run are very secure...

[becky3086]

Chicken feed does not store very long here in GA since it is so humid. I would guess not more than a couple weeks, if that. I have heard that chickens can eat whole corn just fine but I have never tried it myself.
I have to agree that free range is the best. I always thought that predators would be a problem if I free ranged but this year we have (after about 9 years here) attracted a raccoon. I had a LOT of chickens and he has killed about half of them. He can't catch the loose ones, he gets in the pens and kills the penned ones.
Snakes are also a problem. Last year we killed 4 very large black snakes. This year, just recently, I had a copperhead waiting for me when I went out to feed.

[rice paddy daddy]

My wife is the animal person, I'm the "hired hand". We have orpingtons and Aracanas. We keep them for eggs, we do not eat them.
After losing birds to predators I did the following - I fenced an area about 40X75 with six foot chainlink. Inside that are DIY dog kennels (Lowes, Home Depot) that are also six foot chainlink, with a shadecloth top for security and a tarp roof (both available options with the kennels). Inside those are my homemade coops. We let one flock out each day to roam the enclosed area, rotating them so the roosters don't fight.
We built a feed room on the end of our horse stables, and the various bags of feed and grain are stored in galvanized trash cans, mainly for rodent control.
On the end of the big chicken area I put dog kennels for the dogs. They let me know when something's not right in chickenland.

[becky3086]

Sounds like a really good set up for your chickens. My chickens who are in chain link pens have not been gotten by the raccoon just the ones that are in wire pens.

[rice paddy daddy]

Snakes are also a problem. Last year we killed 4 very large black snakes. This year, just recently, I had a copperhead waiting for me when I went out to feed.

Noooo. Don't kill black snakes! They are good to have around. They will eat all sorts of pests. There's a good size one in our hay shed, I just have to be careful when I scoop up an armload that he's not in it too.:)