The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Badger on September 12, 2010, 09:31:12 am
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Hi, We are new at keeping chickens, we have 4 which we brought from an old Suffolk farmer 3 months ago. They are superb birds, only problem though... they are not laying. They free range during the day, at night they happily go into a coop with attached run a friend made and gave to me. I think the house is to small, the perches are almost on the floor (due to the restricted height in the coop). The nesting box is a small communal affair. It has been suggested that the hens are not comfortable, and that is why they are not laying. I want to build a much larger coop (for say up to 12 birds), I am looking for advice on the dimensions of the house, dimensions of nesting boxes, size and height of perches...in short everything !. Does anybody know of a book which might help, giving advice on building etc, any help would be much appreciated. Thankyou
Badger ???
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have you had an egg hunt where they wander during the day you might find a surprise under a bush somewhere
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What breed of hens are they, and how old?
As for coop dimensions, they say 1 square foot for each bird, 14" square for the nest boxes, perch space 1ft per bird and perch height depends on breed, if light they like it high, if heavy they prefer it low. Take into consideration ease of cleaning also.
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We have 2 Rhode Islands, a Marran ?, and a Light Sussex. We were told they were a couple of weeks from laying 3 months ago. We have searched the garden for hidden eggs, but have found nothing so far. More questions on coops. If I build a coop for say 10 birds, do I have to have 10 nesting boxes ?. Should the nest boxes be raised from the floor level, so that the birds have to fly up to them ?. I wonder if anyone has a similar sized coop that I could have a photo of, or dimensions.
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read tis thread about nest boxes helped me out with building my first coop
http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php/topic,9819.0.html
think about ease of cleaning out its something i neglected and am already planning the chicken coop mark II.
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I would expect those breeds to be laying by about 24 weeks old. Are the comb and wattles nice and red and obvious?
I have 2 cheap chinese import coops bought from ebay, they are not ideal according to the experts but the chooks do fine in them. If you are concerned about nest boxes why not get a couple of sturdy cardboard boxes, tape them up, cut a hole in the front, line them with shavings or straw and place them under a tree/shrub/secluded place. You don't need one box per hen, likely you will find they all lay in the same place anyway. Another way to make the nest more private is to tack a black polythene curtain over the front of their existing nest box.
Coops tend to have nest boxes at or near floor level and perches higher than that.
A coop that is 3' x 4' will comfortably hold 10 large fowl sized birds.
Many people simply convert an old shed for coop purposes, add some boxes on the floor for nesting, perches at varying levels, perches should be made of wood approx 2" thick and rounded, and bobs your uncle, a comfortable house for chooks, that's easy for you to clean. Make sure it's leak free and draught proof.
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Hi there :)
I'm no expert but have you tried keeping them in their pen for a day or so that way if they are laying you can easily find the eggs?
I am building a new chicken pen / house for my layers which consists of a 6x4 shed from B&Q which i found was the cheapest for a new shed. the enclosed pen area I am building will be 8ft x 6ft.
My first chickens were in a similar set up and my perches were just off the floor .. this time I am going to make some at different levels with little ramps and things.
I would be happy to share the plans I have if you are interested :)
Sam
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i bought this book for £2.00 on amazon only a paper back got everything you will ever need to know it is called building chicken coops by gail damerow
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Hi there :)
I'm no expert but have you tried keeping them in their pen for a day or so that way if they are laying you can easily find the eggs?
I am building a new chicken pen / house for my layers which consists of a 6x4 shed from B&Q which i found was the cheapest for a new shed. the enclosed pen area I am building will be 8ft x 6ft.
My first chickens were in a similar set up and my perches were just off the floor .. this time I am going to make some at different levels with little ramps and things.
I would be happy to share the plans I have if you are interested :)
Sam
I would be very interested in your plans please. I am also considering the adapted shed route.
Badger
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i bought this book for £2.00 on amazon only a paper back got everything you will ever need to know it is called building chicken coops by gail damerow
Thanks for that, I will search Amazon.
Badger
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hi,we keep 12 birds in a 8x6 shed,our run is about 30ft square around the shed but they still free range if they want as its only 3ft high,mainly just to keep the ducks in.......our nest boxes are old pet carriers with the doors taken off!we get loads of eggs and you can pick up second hand carriers at farm sales and e bay for a few quid.we screwed them down onto a shelf about 2 ft up in the shed and the perches about 3 ft up on the other side...good luck :chook: :) :chook:
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http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=buiding+chicken+coops&x=0&y=0 here is the link for that book only small but holds all the relevent information!!
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hi,we keep 12 birds in a 8x6 shed,our run is about 30ft square around the shed but they still free range if they want as its only 3ft high,mainly just to keep the ducks in.......our nest boxes are old pet carriers with the doors taken off!we get loads of eggs and you can pick up second hand carriers at farm sales and e bay for a few quid.we screwed them down onto a shelf about 2 ft up in the shed and the perches about 3 ft up on the other side...good luck :chook: :) :chook:
Your nestboxes are 2ft up from floor level ?, do they have a ramp up to the boxes or do they fly up to them ?.
By the way thankyou to everybody who have replied to my first real post, you all are most helpfull.
Badger
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they will easily hop up to a 2 foot high nestng box no problom shouldnt need a ramp! however i learnt it was best to put the nest boxes at about 1.5 feet up and the perches at 2 feet to ensure that they roost on the perches not the nest boxes, seems to work a treat
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Sounds to me as though it might be a builders "couple of weeks"
If they were 12 weeks old or less when you bought them, they will only be around 24 weeks now. The days are getting shorter, and the older heavier breeds are not quick to come into lay during the autumn.
Are you feeding them layers pellets, and no other treats, or do they have corn and household scraps as part of their diet. (ie is their diet not properly balanced)
Are they "talking" as in cluck cluck, or are they more cheepy. (ie are they old enough to lay)
Are their combs good and red, and their eyes bright and sharp (ie are they in good health)
Are they heavy and meaty when you pick them up or light and you can feel their breastbone a bit sharp (ie do they need worming)
Are all their feathers good, or are some of them broken (ie have they got mite)
Do they ever cackle loudly and for quite a long time to signify they have laid an egg? If they do, and there are still no eggs can vermin, such as rats or magpies reach the eggs? If there is wet bedding in the nest boxes this shows eggs have been laid and something ate them - even your own hens. But if there is no proud egg laying cackle then they are probably not laying yet
You are at the start of a steep, but most enjoyable, learning curve.
All the best
Sue
Dark Brown Eggs
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We have modified a shed for our birds... pics as below....
Our ducks sleep on the bottom and the hens on the perches above. Nest boxes are in the middle. The flat 'droppings board' under the perches is covered with lino (not stuck down), which means it can be removed, scrubbed down and/or replaced
The pop-hole was bought from eBay and attached. My hubby made the ramp and upper door.
(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f235/IsoChick/chooksandducks/DSC04018.jpg)
(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f235/IsoChick/chooksandducks/DSC04019.jpg)
(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f235/IsoChick/chooksandducks/DSC04029.jpg)
(http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f235/IsoChick/chooksandducks/DSC04023.jpg)
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Wow, so many questions...so few answers !. I guess wev'e got a lot to learn. The hens all look in good health, 2 of them have not developed their combs fully and still look a bit gangly. The 2 Reds do look (to us anyway) ready to go. I guess we will have to be paatient and wait for our first egg. I have another question, today we erected a 50mts length of electric chicken wire to make a compound for the winter months. We have used Carol's old energizer from her horse electric fencing......is this OK ?. Do horse and poultry fencing have the same energizer ?. Shortly after getting them into the new compound there was a loud squawking, presumably one of them touched the fencing, and we do not want to harm them if we are using the wrong energizer. Any help on this matter would be much appreciated.
Badger
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Love your shed OverWyre nice little combo :)
Still waiting to get the roof on my chicken shed .. it seems the piece of wood that runs centrally at the apex is warped so I have to go buy another piece. :-\ hopefully going to get that today along with the uprights for the pen then finish it off tomorrow.
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Hooray!!!! 1st egg today....found it in the middle of the lawn, so we don't know which hen laid it. Much excitement, and tomorrow we are moving them into their new large coop.Thanks to everybody who gave advice on last weeks post.
Badger ;D ;D
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get some china eggs (or plastic ones nowadays) and lay them into the nest boxes, otherwise hens will not know (and learn) where to lay. The first few ones are always "dropped" somewhere in route to somewhere else..
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The pictures are really good. I will try and learn as much as I can and get my shed adapted before I take the plunge and get the chickens. Lots of good advice :chook: