Chicken picking at feet

[charlotty]

I am really excited about getting some chickens, and love the idea of getting an Eglu...but i can't afford it!

 

I am completely new to all of this, and am learning by reading this fab site!

 

The thing i really wanted to ask, (now brace yourselves this is REALLY basic!!) what exactly do you need inside a chicken coop? I'm a little confused!

 

Theres somewhere to lay eggs, somewhere to perch...anything else?

 

I was just looking at a chicken coop and it has angled wooden slats, i was wondering how the chickens sit on it!

 

Im sorry for asking such basic questions!

 

Thank you!!

[mrsm_jones]

Yep. Think that's about it!

I have a nesting box, and a perch for roosting, but I also have some roosting bars over a poo tray on the floor, cos my Orps didn't like the high perch. They're ok now though, but it's still handy having the bars so they don't have to walk through the poo. (There's a lot of talk of poo on this forum! )

Most ready made coops will be purpose built, but it's really easy to make one yourself. Think it through properly though, cos my OH has had to make several improvements on ours cos we just threw it together in haste.

[BeckyBoo]

Hi there, go for it with the chooks. If you're thinking of building your own why not get a book out of the library or look up a design on line - I'll have a look in a minute see if I can find something. Or visit some breeders or coop builders (our local breeder also sells coops) and have alook around the hen houses. They're basically just somewhere to roost ( a bar or bars for them to grip onto at night) and somewhere to nest. And that's it. I like having the whole house bit off the ground - we've got a cube and we had a wooden house where the house was upstairs and the run was underneath it. Have a look at peoples pictures on here as well, might provide inspiration! Eglus are dear, the cube was REALLY expensive, but if you were going to buy a wooden house it wouldn't be a whole lot cheaper in the end.

 

By the way, welcome!

 

Mrs B

Edited April 29, 2008 by Guest

[charlotty]

Thank you so much for your reply!

 

Right, so i need almost a tray with wood slats over it for sleeping on? And somewhere enclosed for laying eggs! Do chickens need food and water over night?

 

Im sorry to be so clueless! It's a lot to take in!

[mrsm_jones]

No, they fill their crops before they go to bed. No food or water needed over night. The wooden bars over a tray are not essential, but it makes it far easier to clean! Mine is a couple of grobag trays from B&Q, attached together by my OH, the genius!

[Mutrix Farmers]

Welcome from one newbie to another. This site is so fab for picking up hints and tips, everyone is really friendly and knowledgable.

 

Do chickens need food and water over night?

 

The Eglu has no place for food and water inside so I think the answer may be no as long they are only confined to the coop during the night.

 

Enjoy your birds, they are fantastic!

[charlotty]

thank you! hello to you too!!

 

I'm just trying to see if it's viable for me to have chickens to be honest, i think it is!!!! I'm thrilled!!

 

Just goign to sit down and draw a coop. Really want to make one myself! Wish i could afford an Omlet one, but, thats life!!!

[Nuggywoo]

Hi Charlotty

 

pm sent.

[Imo]

Hi there! Just wanted to add that there are some really good chicken keeping books out there for first time chicken owners - I recently bought a really sweet Country Living guide to keeping chickens (not sure of its complete formal title, but it was something along those lines!!) and it's been an informal way of introducing some new tips and wrinkles of keeping hens.

Having said that, there is SO much advice floating about here! And the hens themselves are probably the most easy pets I have ever had, and you pick things up with them so quickly. They do pretty much look after themselves And you get great eggs!!

Good luck with any future chickeny plans!!

[charlotty]

thank you both for your replies. Nuggywoo, i've emailed you!!

 

 

Imo, thank you for the advice about the books, i'm definitely going to do that. I'm nervous in case i do something wrong and hurt them!!

 

I'm very excited about my new venture though!!

[Olly]

The basics are what's been said above - somewhere to roost, somewhere to lay eggs, and they don't need food and water overnight.

 

However, a couple of other things to consider: chickens do a lot of pooing overnight, especially during winter when the nights are longer. You need to be able to clean this out fairly easily. The Eglus/Cubes have sliding trays that can be emptied and cleaned; I think some wooden coops have boards that you can s"Ooops, word censored!"e it off. It's something to consider, you don't want to be crawling inside it every week with a dustpan!

 

Another thing is the risk of red mite, which lives in cracks and crevices in the coop. You may never get any, but it's best to avoid too many places where it could live, and to seal up as much as possible. For example, roofing felt is apparently a big disadvantage as it's hard to get rid of them from there.

 

Finally, the all-important point - the coop needs to be fox-proof. No spaces where he could dig, tunnel or force his way in; no simple sliding or twisting catches, that he could operate with his nose. I'm sure all of these can be overcome, just thought I'd throw them into the debate!

Have a look at the gallery - some people have adapted greenhouses or wooden Wendy Houses, you might be able to Freecycle something like that and adapt it. Good luck with your plans, I'm sure you will come up with a way to keep chickens.

[Imo]

Keeping hens is like a huge learning curve - I still pick up new ideas and tips and I've had chooks for almost 4 years now!! Don't worry about hurting them - like I said, they are really really easy to look after. As Olly pointed out, Mr. Fox can be a big concern, but with a secure run and a keen eye, they should be fine

[charlotty]

thank you all again!!

 

As far as red mites go, it may sound odd, but would sealing any joins, (i dont know what with yet!) make a difference to that?

 

Some people said they put mite powder in the straw in nest boxes...think thats a good idea!

 

Am drawing as we speak!! Put a slidy poop tray under slated sleeping area! All your advice is so appreciated!!

 

xx

[safari chick]

Hi - to make life easier you could get a second hand mark one eglu which is easier to clean than a wooden one. I recently paid £199 for one which I know is still a lot of money but Ive had a wooden one before and this will be much easier to look after.

 

Ive also read up about red mites and the best treatment - a liquid one is recommended so it gets into all the nooks and crannies. But you can put red mite powder in thier dust bath so they get a regular dusting of it too.

 

I'm waiting for a date for collection of my 3 ex-batts. Have you thought about where you might get your chickens from - what about rescuing ex-battery farm hens to give them a happy life rather than ending up in a meat pie? If you are interested have a look at the battery hen welfare trust's website at www.bhwt.org.uk

 

Good luck!

[markie]

Hi,

 

Have been reading the forum for about a month, but this is my first post to help you. Started keeping chickens for the first time 4 weeks ago. The price of an eglu or cube also put me off, although I think the cube does look nice. I made a largish coup (bigger than a cube), with nest / egg box on side with run for just under £100. All pressure treated wood throughout -Used featheredge fence boards, at approx £1 each; bought wire mesh from ebay (cheapest) at about £15, other wood was bought from a wood yard using offcuts, etc. including 1" thick plywood floor for £2 (bargain) ! Hinges / locks bought from screwfix (cheapest I could find for proper galvanised). Did take longer than my allowance of a day - about 3-4 days, but saved a lot of money. Am thinking of extending it already, so do it as big as you can to start with. Cannot upload a picture on this site otherwise could have shown you. If interested, pm me and i'll send them via email.

 

The chickens were all point of lay when purchased and are now all laying. Have been very amusing to watch as they free range arounf the garden and have been no trouble at all apart from me having to put a bumper bit on on a bluebell chicken as she took to feather plucking and eating ! They are all eating out of my hand now, although are not tame enough to pick up unless you grab them when they aren;t looking !

[abwsco]

We've converted our shed. Just put a perch in and some nest boxes. Also replaced the rotten roof with onduline.

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2058/2449250303_48359ab2f5.jpg?v=0

[chickenanne]

I've a wooden coop and never had red mite problems. Whatever you get, you need to make sure there are as few joints as possible, so solid plywood sheeting inside works well, and Onduline roofing is much much better than felt. Some wooden coops do look like they'd be red-mite-paradise, but so long as you remember they hide in little nooks and crannies and avoid coops that have loads of these then you should be OK.

My coop has a hinged back, so you can access the entire coop really easily for cleaning: avoid any where you either have limited access or something really heavy to shift to get to the inside. If you can, have one that's raised up so that they can use the space underneath as a dryer part of the run, and so you don't need to bend down much to get the eggs /clean the house. This also means the chickies can have a bigger run without it taking up a bigger footprint in your garden.

It also needs to be well ventilated but draft-free, typically this means ventilation grates along the roof line. Make sure that nothing can get into the coop through these though.

There are some really good wooden coops on the market, and some really bad ones, too - one idea if you're making your own is to window-shop other manufacturers and "steal" the best design ideas from them.