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Tomkat wrote:I hear ya, but daytime here is a little dangerous, too.

So you think that free ranging them during the day would be ok?

And isnt it best to get them as chicks so they know where "home" is?

Yes. Even the ones I got from the neighbor at about 6 weeks would often wander back home.

assateague wrote:

Feelin' Fowl wrote:

Olly wrote:This thread just makes me want to build a small coop and get 3 or 4 chickens.

Sent from my phone.

No way. 3 or 4 couldn't possibly be worth the trouble of the upkeep, but chickens could be nice to have...

I think this is where something clever about tapatalk should go.

I disagree. It'd be a piece of cake with 3 hens and a rooster (although I'd go 4:1). They are easy keepers after about 5 weeks, and after about 10, they eat anything. Just like pigs. Throw out the dinner scraps, and they clean that shit up like its filet mignonette. When I'm skinning deer or hides, the ones that we had roaming around before my "domestication" of them this time, hang around snatching up every scrap they see fall.

I was thinking about the upkeep of cleaning/changing bedding for such a small crew. My thinking is that if you're going to do it then do it a little bigger to get a little more out of it, BUT I am not a chicken expert respectfully rescind my objection after seeing the plans set forth.

Honestly the though of the work involved with keeping up with a bunch of chickens has kept me from even a little research on the subject. I might have to check out some details now.

Good luck Olly. I hope you can get it figured out and going!

I'm no expert when it comes to a coop- this is my first time also. We're using the "deep litter" method, though, which involves just throwing down shavings on top of the old, and cleaning out completely at the most twice a year. But I can't see it being too much of a pain.

It would be cool if you could post some reality tv of you chasing one.

I know a few people with small back yards that free range less than 5 chickens. They say they're pretty maintenance free most of the time.

Sent from my phone.

I tried free ranging them but they would end up coming up by the house shitting all over the patio and around the pool and eating my wife's flowers. I keep em in a pin. My wife let the ducks out one time and they destroyed the pool.

That's the biggest advantage of a coop- controlling a lot of the shit. Yes, they poop all day roaming around, but when they roosted in the barn, on the hay, or on the porch, it's a Godawful mess.

Agreed, I collect the shit from the coop every so often for the garden.

rebelp74 wrote:Agreed, I collect the shit from the coop every so often for the garden.

For what? Fuck feces, screw feces man. Just let it lay, who cares.

As long as you don't put too much it works great in the GARDEN.

rebelp74 wrote:As long as you don't put too much it works great in the GARDEN.

You keep on thinking about that...im gunna go toke some indian grass and relax with no chickens.

There's no thinking about it, I do it every year, same with cow and rabbit shit. the garden turns out great every year.

On that note, I'm gonna do same but I have a pen full of chickens.

I always thought fowl manure was bad for plants.

Sent from my phone.

It is if you use too much, the whatever in it will burn the plants up. If used in small amounts it works great.

Olly wrote:I always thought fowl manure was bad for plants.

Sent from my phone.

That's all that gets used around here. There's nothing but chicken houses, and in the springtime, it's all spread on the fields. You have to let it "age" a bit. I can throw horse manure on the plants literally fresh out of the horses but, but chicken manure needs a while to "cool off" or it'll burn. But it does work well. Just gotta give it a little more time to mellow.

Like a fine wine.

A fine shitwine, as Jim Lahey would say.

Here's a quick tour of the coop, as TK requested.

Very nice setup you got there. A little too nice for something that will get completely covered in chicken shit.

looks like a great coop
well done
my kid's step-grandpa raised game cocks.his hen houses/coops were very similar to what you built.
his rosters were all kept out side with 1 leg tethered to a spike in the ground. they all had a half of a 55 gallon drum as a house. the leg straps were about 4 feet long, just short enough they couldnt get to each other. very pretty birds, with a serious mean streak.
i used to go with him alot back in the day, had lots of fun. even met Roy Jones Jr on weekend
just for the record some of my dogs are as game as they come, but i am not a fan of dog fights. chicken fights on the other hand.........

AT, the city council just voted to lift the ban on backyard chickens here. Could ya tell me some info like...
Minimum space requirement for coop they sleep in. Per chicken.
The neighbor lady wants to get some so I figured I would help her build her coop.
I figure I will get free fertilizer and maybe some eggs.
How much does it cost per week to feed six hens? Estimate.
Laying hens cost around ten bucks or a little less.
I think they will be some expensive pets that might lay some eggs if her dogs dont kill them first.

I believe if they're going to be cooped up 100% of the time it's something like 12sf per chicken. but if they have free run, and just sleep in a coop, it's a lot less. We have 31 chickens, and the coop is 12x7. They all squeeze onto the top roosting stick at night, and are just fine. So the answer is, "it depends".

As far as feeding, we don't feed much, since they get free run of the yard/hay barn/pastures. We go through about 1 50 pound bag of feed every 2 1/2 weeks or so. A 50lb bag of layer/finisher here is $13, so a little over $5 a week, for 31 chickens. You're good at math, so I'll leave it to you to figure out. But bear in mind, the only time they're really eating from the feeders is briefly at night, and a couple hours in the morning before I let them out of the coop. The rest of the time they're roaming around eating bugs and grass and such.

assateague wrote:I believe if they're going to be cooped up 100% of the time it's something like 12sf per chicken. but if they have free run, and just sleep in a coop, it's a lot less. We have 31 chickens, and the coop is 12x7. They all squeeze onto the top roosting stick at night, and are just fine. So the answer is, "it depends".

As far as feeding, we don't feed much, since they get free run of the yard/hay barn/pastures. We go through about 1 50 pound bag of feed every 2 1/2 weeks or so. A 50lb bag of layer/finisher here is $13, so a little over $5 a week, for 31 chickens. You're good at math, so I'll leave it to you to figure out. But bear in mind, the only time they're really eating from the feeders is briefly at night, and a couple hours in the morning before I let them out of the coop. The rest of the time they're roaming around eating bugs and grass and such.

She will lose her chickens in a week. Her toy dog squeezes thru the fence all the time.

Six chickens. 48" chicken wire to keep dogs out.
The coop will be about 40" up off the ground with chickens using hole in floor to get in and out. Decided it will leak less that way and is better ventilation. Once I build something will post pics. Have fenced yard to let them roam but the dogs share that space. Gotta have a pen. Bird dogs n birds is gunna be fun!

Surprisingly, The Dingo has only gone after a chicken once in the last few months. After about a week or two, neither the dogs nor chickens seem to care about each other.

assateague wrote:Surprisingly, The Dingo has only gone after a chicken once in the last few months. After about a week or two, neither the dogs nor chickens seem to care about each other.

that's how mine are.

rebelp74 wrote:

assateague wrote:Surprisingly, The Dingo has only gone after a chicken once in the last few months. After about a week or two, neither the dogs nor chickens seem to care about each other.

that's how mine are.

Wait til you see Milo "crunch" a duck. He can kill a bird quicker n snot.

aunt betty wrote:

rebelp74 wrote:

assateague wrote:Surprisingly, The Dingo has only gone after a chicken once in the last few months. After about a week or two, neither the dogs nor chickens seem to care about each other.

that's how mine are.

Wait til you see Milo "crunch" a duck. He can kill a bird quicker n snot.

How was that old bottle?

This one ?
The tax tag...says Texas on it and was 50 cents. My grampa musta have stashed this in 1977 when he came to visit.

Favorite chicken. Part Americana, part something else. We've got about 4 like this, but this one takes no shot from anything.