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Hope to get chickens next year - beginner questions

Prepper

Prepper

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I'm in NH with 2 acres, half of it is lawn and the other half of it is tall weeds (milkweeds etc) and woods plus some neighbors (in case that matters any to the chickens - I want them to be free range and roam around eating bugs, etc.). All your usual predators exist around here. I'd like to get enough chickens to reasonably reliably get at least 4 eggs per day.

Is there a suggested amount of chickens to get that would produce 4+ eggs year round?

What happens in winter with them? How much of a structure is necessary for them and are there any heating requirements? (I hope not since that could be costly.)

What about vacation? Can you stick them in a coop for a week (or two) with plenty of food and water, and be good to go?

Is non-GMO feed possible to find?
 
Organic is non-GMO. We feed our bird organic but it isnt cheap. Fortunately we supplement with garden produce and other stuff. I keep six chickens and we have for several years. In the summer we get 4-6 eggs a day and in the winter one or two. I dont put artificial light in the coop though so that reduces the winter laying. I would say a dozen will give you more eggs than you can use in the summer and enough in the winter. GIve the extras to your neighbors.

Free range expect to lose some. Ours were great until they got killed by a neighbors dog. They will also eat your flowers and stuff that you just planted and dig up your seeds. They dug up all the mulch around the fruit trees in their quest for bugs. Another issue with free range is they may lay the eggs elsewhere. We found eggs under a tree, in the grass etc. Just aobut everywhere but the coop. That can be mitigated by only letting them out after they have laid the eggs.

Are your neighbors good with you having chickens? The chickens will be in their yards if they free range. Some people frown on stepping in chicken shit in their front yard.

Mine wintered in the chicken tractor fine. Only thing I have in there is a water heater to keep the water from freezing.

We have gone away for up to a week and left the chickens food and water. Neighbors kids came and got the eggs while we were gone.
 
I got six hens last year and I get 5-6 eggs daily. Build yourself a Chicken Tractor so the coup can be moved around. In the winter have a lightbulb in the coup to help give 12 hours of light per day.
 
Everything Coastie said, plus i'll add some comments on my experience these last 2 years:

I have ISA browns, they don't slow down in the winter, actually they speed up. Hot summer we got 2 on average with 4 birds, in the winter its 3-4. Spring and fall 4 a day was pretty consistent. As he stated, expect to lose some, I didn't but extra eggs don't go to waste.. so buy a few more than you think you need... we give surplus eggs to friends/family and the dog gets a few raw ones a week as its basically dog superfood.

Hawks are the biggest concern when they are young.

Chickens don't know where your yard ends and your neighbors begins, so if that's going to be a problem you'll need to have some kind of run when for them when they'll be unsupervised. Mine have actually been arrested by the ACO for going several houses down and destroying some hosta's. Make sure they have shade available during the day... that's where they spend most of mid-day.

Heating requirements are minimal with most heavy breeds in the winter so long as the coop isn't too big or porous that their body heat is zero'd out. A 100w lightbulb covered by a coffee can is at most all you'll need as a space heater.. but i don't even do that. Something to keep water thaw is the only concern usually. I don't give mine artificial light in the winter, it can wear them out prematurely.

Vacation, don't leave them locked in a coop.. if anything leave them in a run/tractor but it should be secure from night predators. 3-4 birds can perch up on a plastic tote at night and lay in it during the day while your gone (provided its not dead of winter), but you should really have someone come over to feed and them. You're in NH, there's pet sitter services and many will feed and water chickens... I've actually seen it advertised in the local paper. The eggs are safe for that long if they're out of the sun and dry. You can always float test eggs if you were slow to bring them in.

Regular feed goes for less than $15 at the local agway, organic is more like $40. In the winter, 4 birds will need a bag every 6 weeks roughly.

If they do free range, careful pulling in the driveway... they come running when someone is home that might feed them.
 
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I wouldn't expect the neighbors to mind them. My immediate neighbors have no chickens, but 2 houses further there's a trailer with chickens always walking around by the street (and protected by a big dog). 2 houses in the other direction are horses and other large farm animals. And 2 of the 3 houses next to me do gardening.

How far can chickens wander anyway? The nearest houses are 300 feet from where the coop will be, some of them through the woods. I am wondering how I'll be able to find all the eggs if they start laying them in the giant milkweed field... I'm not about to walk in there during the summer.

My garden has a fence around it so I wouldn't expect the chickens to get in there.

Can I expect them to supplement their diet much in the summer by eating bugs and whatever they find in the yard?

Interesting idea on the chicken tractor... I was wondering about making one of those to let them peck at the ground but keep them under control.
 
I'll be letting the chickens into the garden pretty soon to clean out any bugs and scratch it up to help me get rid of any weeds and old plants. Normally I keep them under control in the chicken tractor and attached moveable 10'x10' area. I've got coyotes and foxes around. Here is my "tractor". 10' X 10' extension area not shown.

DSC_2323.jpg
 
Prepper said:
I wouldn't expect the neighbors to mind them. My immediate neighbors have no chickens, but 2 houses further there's a trailer with chickens always walking around by the street (and protected by a big dog). 2 houses in the other direction are horses and other large farm animals. And 2 of the 3 houses next to me do gardening.

How far can chickens wander anyway? The nearest houses are 300 feet from where the coop will be, some of them through the woods. I am wondering how I'll be able to find all the eggs if they start laying them in the giant milkweed field... I'm not about to walk in there during the summer.

My garden has a fence around it so I wouldn't expect the chickens to get in there.

Can I expect them to supplement their diet much in the summer by eating bugs and whatever they find in the yard?

Interesting idea on the chicken tractor... I was wondering about making one of those to let them peck at the ground but keep them under control.
Click to expand...

They'll wander a bit, mine were arrested 4 houses down. I have an acre, most other houses have roughly the same sized lot, and that also included them crossing a street.

Free ranging in the summer, you can just throw them a handful every other day just to be sure they're getting proper nutrients... but they're largely self sufficient if allowed to wander and scratch. You can also augment with fruit and veggie scaps and bread that's gonna be tossed. Ours are in a tractor sized run most of the time and allowed a few hours of free range after we get home, they get a cup of feed a day in the summer, 2-3 in the winter.
 
Congratulations with wanting to get some backyard chickens. I started with 3 chickens a couple of years ago. One was attacked by a hawk, but I was able to nurse back to live by feeding it liquid baby chick food for several weeks. Unfortunately, a few months later a mink made it into the coop and killed it. After that, I completely covered all walls and ground in my run with wire mesh so not even a mouse can get in (I leave the door open between the run and the coop). I would recommend the same to keep mice/rats and other animals out. I have a fenced in yard, so I let them out when I am home, but I always lock them up at night. The longer you leave them out, the further away they will roam, and they will also tear up your garden. I prefer to let them out in the afternoon since they tend to stay closer to the coop that way.
I have a large feeder and automatic water heater so I can go away for at least two weeks in the summer. My heated watered that I use for the winter holds water for 7-10 days so I usually have someone fill it up when it runs out.

When you make your coup, consider making it so that it is easy to clean.
I had litmited space and wanted to keep the roofline below the fence, so I decided to have a small run at the bottom of the coop. I later added a run at the back that is almost as high as the fence.
 
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newportri said:
That's a great website! Check out the pages that has coop designs since there are some awesome coops!
Click to expand...

That's just what I need... ideas on how to build a coop, a good project to keep me out of trouble over the winter (okay, I always keep out of trouble anyway).
 
Advice from someone who lost two flocks of 6 chickens each. You must build your coop so that it is 1000% secure. Any place that a something can get in it will. I had several killed by something that was brown and the size of a large rat that managed to wiggle in via a 1.5 inch hole.

The only daytime threats I had were hawks...think I lost two 60% full size birds to hawks. The rest were lost to racoons and the brown rat-like things.

Another word of caution. When it gets dusk->dark the chickens need to be locked up. I lost several to coons at like 5PM in the winter months. Coons are smart and learn to come out early.

My next attempt will be at a new location that has a lot of owl's, coyotes, foxes, and bears. I'm planning to use a covered run and electric fence.

Egg production. Five RI Reds were giving me about 3-4 eggs per day. I was loosing some because they had a secret nesting spot behind the woodpile and it took a while for me to realize it.
 
By brown rat-like thing, I presume you mean fisher cat? Those are around my home, and pretty much everything else... fox, coyote, bear, deer, cougar (I still think it was a cougar and not a bobcat), hawks, turkeys, ground hogs, raccoons, mice, rats.

Is there some minimum guidelines for building a coop that is sure to keep out all of them (well, except maybe mice)?
 
Prepper said:
By brown rat-like thing, I presume you mean fisher cat? Those are around my home, and pretty much everything else... fox, coyote, bear, deer, cougar (I still think it was a cougar and not a bobcat), hawks, turkeys, ground hogs, raccoons, mice, rats.

Is there some minimum guidelines for building a coop that is sure to keep out all of them (well, except maybe mice)?
Click to expand...

1.5 inch hole, likely a weasel/ferrett
 
MisterHappy said:
Craig:

Cost in $ and time?
Click to expand...

I think the costs came to around $4000.00 in materials + 6 or 7 days labor (overall) involving 2 people.

We let the chickens out in the warm weather to roam the property, and also when the weather permits in the winter. There are a lot of predators in our neck of the woods, so there was also a lot of protection incorporated into the coop design.


The aftermath:


This is the solid-pigment stained exterior (not paint) with the winter Panels installed (7 mil poly + Plexi-glass on some lower panels. I have the plexi for the narrow front & side panels under the coop, that will replace the poly there). I just have to find the time to do that = so that the chickens can see out:


- The windows have predator-mesh (in-frame panels) installed over windows - using aluminum turn-paddles for easy removal & to open & close the windows (we have them open in the summer for ventilation).
- The coop-stairs & the chicken-door ramp are set onto angle-cut cleat-systems for easy removal.
- The narrow slot-looking door on the exterior right side is where a laminate-covered panel is (that is under the roosts) and can be slid-out and easily cleaned-off.
- The coop walls & floors are insulated with rigid foam board.
- The roosts are 2x4 laid on the flat (is more comfortable for the birds to sleep on) than poles.
- All materials are PT and T1-11 panels.
- There are soffit vents both in the coop & the run that are left open in the summer, and are closed-off in the winter.
- I had my Electrician install an underground run for lighting (on timers) and for the water-pan heater (in winter).
- There is a gutter on the backside of the sloped roof that takes the rain & snow water run-off away from the coop, using a grade-level extension to it.
- The feeder is hung from a chain, slightly above the ground (the water is also hung too in the summer, but sits on a metal heat-pad, on a concrete paver, in the winter). The hanging is too keep the dirt & debris out of them = because the chickens will scratch and kick-up the interior run floor.
- The interior chicken door is on a rope & pulley-system (with a rope running to the exterior).
- There are multiple locks & latches (raccoons have little hands that can get into everything).
- The main entry door has self-closing hardware, and also a chain with hook & loop to allow it to be left open (when the birds are allowed to roam).
- Last, there are the weather-panels that are removed in the summer, and installed in the winter (as mentioned earlier).

- The screen = is galvanized HARDWARE CLOTH (with heavier grade wire-grid along the lower 2' and is rolled under ground around the coop & run). - The Hardware Cloth is what should be used (and not chicken wire).

Some of the functional aspects were dictated by the wife (Cowgirlup on this forum).

We live in the sticks, in a little valley, on the side of a large hill. So we can sometimes get strong winds during harsh storms.
With that in mind, the structure was built using 12" x 4' concrete footings & conventional building code-type framing methods (I am a MA state licensed GC).
I am also cursed by the fact that I am the son of an engineer, and have the same "sickness" that everything has to be built perfectly, and every minutia of detail taken into consideration. I am aware that I can get carried away = and I will sometimes drive myself nuts.






Pic of the Rooster:
 
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http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/wichita-cabin-coop
I based our coop on this design but tweaked it to get it the way I wanted it.

NHCRAIGT:
"I am also cursed by the fact that I am the son of an engineer, and have the same "sickness" that everything has to be built perfectly, and every minutia of detail taken into consideration. I am aware that I can get carried away = and I will sometimes drive myself nuts."

This came out a bit taller and grander than I had planned. When I found out how much it ended up costing I nearly had a stroke. I call it the "chicken palace" and occasionally Fort Knox chicken coop. We probably have the only ADA compliant chicken ramp in the country. ;) We did want something that was nice to look at since it's in the middle of the only green space we had left. And it was done right the first time. No chicken casualties. It will never have to be rebuilt unless a tree falls on it or some other disaster.
 
Prepper said:
I'm in NH with 2 acres, half of it is lawn and the other half of it is tall weeds (milkweeds etc) and woods plus some neighbors (in case that matters any to the chickens - I want them to be free range and roam around eating bugs, etc.). All your usual predators exist around here. I'd like to get enough chickens to reasonably reliably get at least 4 eggs per day.

Is there a suggested amount of chickens to get that would produce 4+ eggs year round?

What happens in winter with them? How much of a structure is necessary for them and are there any heating requirements? (I hope not since that could be costly.)

What about vacation? Can you stick them in a coop for a week (or two) with plenty of food and water, and be good to go?

Is non-GMO feed possible to find?[/QUOTE]


The biggest thing in the winter is to keep them out of drafts, especially if they are wet. Chickens are less tolerant of extreme heat than cold. We don't heat to coop and didn't put a light on them last winter. I have one hen that is not cold hardy. She got a little bit of frost bite on the tip of her comb but was fine other wise. At night they puff out their feathers and they have a built in down coat.


I wouldn't leave them for more than a few days with no one to check on them. We have a trusted neighbor who also has chickens to come check on them and get the eggs if we are gone for more than a few days.

Organic feed at Blue seal was $27.99 for a 50lb bag. With 6 chickens that last us about 6 months in summer and about 4 in winter. Organic scratch grain is really expensive. It's good to have in winter because it has a high calorie content and helps them stay warm.



Prepper said:
I wouldn't expect the neighbors to mind them. My immediate neighbors have no chickens, but 2 houses further there's a trailer with chickens always walking around by the street (and protected by a big dog). 2 houses in the other direction are horses and other large farm animals. And 2 of the 3 houses next to me do gardening.

How far can chickens wander anyway? The nearest houses are 300 feet from where the coop will be, some of them through the woods. I am wondering how I'll be able to find all the eggs if they start laying them in the giant milkweed field... I'm not about to walk in there during the summer.

My garden has a fence around it so I wouldn't expect the chickens to get in there.

Can I expect them to supplement their diet much in the summer by eating bugs and whatever they find in the yard?

Interesting idea on the chicken tractor... I was wondering about making one of those to let them peck at the ground but keep them under control.
Click to expand...

Our chickens stay within sight of the house or their coop. They never wander in the woods. I had one hen decide to lay eggs in the yard. It wasn't hard to stop that behavior and she hasn't done it since.

I let the chickens in the garden in spring before I plant and again in fall. Our rooster is a good flyer so I had to rig something up and work with him a little so now he knows entry into the garden is by invitation only.

They will eat bugs, seeds, plants. Nearly anything. I saw one of the hens with a good sized salamander in her beak and 2 others in pursuit trying to take it from her. They get all kinds of scraps. They love any old leftover rice or pasta too.
Click to expand...
 
If you let them roam freely, be ready for the droppings. Everywhere. They're very curious creatures and will investigate every nook and cranny around your home. And your neighbors homes.
 

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