Re: Chicken coop help
[Re: keystone]
#6826167
04/01/20 08:04 PM
04/01/20 08:04 PM
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Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 471 SW MISSOURI
Rockfarmer
OP
trapper
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OP
trapper
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 471
SW MISSOURI
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Inside the roost concrete is easiest for clean up, also i see a lot of people make these little coops that you can’t even stand up in. When i’m feeding and watering chickens everyday it’s nice to be able to stand up and walk around. Use a good sturdy fence and i’ve got a net on top. It’s to wide open where i’m at to let them free range. They don’t have enough cover to protect themselves from predators so they stay in the run covered by a net. The run is 20x50 divided into two sections so whenever i get new chicks they can be separate until there big enough to run together. I’ll post some pics in the next couple days. You may want to consider more hens, no matter how many eggs we have the kids sell them for $3 a dozen, people beg for them. Thanks for the info! How long do you let the hens set on eggs for new chicks? or do you use an incubater? Dont know if we will go concrete. any other suggestions? How big a coop if we want a few laying hens and get 1 or 2 to butcher every month or so? Thanks again!!
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Re: Chicken coop help
[Re: Rockfarmer]
#6826185
04/01/20 08:21 PM
04/01/20 08:21 PM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,955 Central, SD
Law Dog
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,955
Central, SD
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Find a old lawn barn shed they work great you can always section it off for fewer birds. If you stick with less birds a guy can build a 4x8 coop just using plywood pieces just put on treated lumber. Old doors and windows will round it out.
Last edited by Law Dog; 04/01/20 08:29 PM.
Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!
Jerry Herbst
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Re: Chicken coop help
[Re: Rockfarmer]
#6826217
04/01/20 08:44 PM
04/01/20 08:44 PM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,955 Central, SD
Law Dog
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,955
Central, SD
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Last edited by Law Dog; 04/01/20 08:48 PM.
Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!
Jerry Herbst
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Re: Chicken coop help
[Re: Rockfarmer]
#6826221
04/01/20 08:46 PM
04/01/20 08:46 PM
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Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 535 MI
Supergoose
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 535
MI
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Know why a chicken coup has two doors......because if it had four doors— it would be a chicken sedan
Last edited by Supergoose; 04/01/20 08:46 PM. Reason: Because I can
A goose may honk....but he won't wave
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Re: Chicken coop help
[Re: Rockfarmer]
#6826278
04/01/20 09:16 PM
04/01/20 09:16 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 20,106 SEPA
Lugnut
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 20,106
SEPA
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Here's my set up. It's 6' X 6" and it has a 3/4" Advantech (resin impregnated OSB) floor that has held up great for the last twenty or so years. We have had as many as 14 chickens in it but our normal flock size is seven or eight. I built it on 6 x 6 pressure treated skids and installed heavy eye-bolts so it could be easily moved from time to time. I tow it with my Kubota tractor. I built a bump-out in the back for nesting boxes. The waterer and feeder. In this pic the water fount is sitting on a heater base. It is hung up off the ground (like the feeder) during warm weather. The nesting boxes. I installed blinds because some of the girls like a little privacy sometimes. Fold down glass windows for ventilation in warm weather. The openings are covered in hardware cloth. The windows in the up position in cold weather. The ramp to the run which can be lifted and locked at night. The ramp in the up position. It has been replaced with a new one since this pic was taken. We use a timer to provide 15-16 hours of light during the short days of fall and winter. It makes a big difference in egg production,. An old oil drum just so happens to hold exactly 100 pounds of pellets. There is about 18 feet of roosting bars inside. Happy girls lay lots of eggs!
Eh...wot?
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Re: Chicken coop help
[Re: Rockfarmer]
#6826290
04/01/20 09:20 PM
04/01/20 09:20 PM
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Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 3,241 Indiana
keystone
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 3,241
Indiana
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Inside the roost concrete is easiest for clean up, also i see a lot of people make these little coops that you can’t even stand up in. When i’m feeding and watering chickens everyday it’s nice to be able to stand up and walk around. Use a good sturdy fence and i’ve got a net on top. It’s to wide open where i’m at to let them free range. They don’t have enough cover to protect themselves from predators so they stay in the run covered by a net. The run is 20x50 divided into two sections so whenever i get new chicks they can be separate until there big enough to run together. I’ll post some pics in the next couple days. You may want to consider more hens, no matter how many eggs we have the kids sell them for $3 a dozen, people beg for them. Thanks for the info! How long do you let the hens set on eggs for new chicks? or do you use an incubater? Dont know if we will go concrete. any other suggestions? How big a coop if we want a few laying hens and get 1 or 2 to butcher every month or so? Thanks again!! I don’t ever hatch them, i just buy the chicks. They don’t cost much at all and i see them free quite a bit also. A rule of thumb has always been 2 sq ft per bird inside the coop, i like to give them a little more room. Most important factor to raising any livestock is clean water, clean water, more clean water and good food! You’ll get back the best in return in my opinion!
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Re: Chicken coop help
[Re: Rockfarmer]
#6826305
04/01/20 09:24 PM
04/01/20 09:24 PM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,955 Central, SD
Law Dog
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,955
Central, SD
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Yep trenched in old wire under the run to stop diggers, the 2X4 horse wire comes in 6 foot heights and is cheaper to use.
Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!
Jerry Herbst
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