FARM Chicken house questions

Satanta

Satanta

Stone Cold Crazy
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I have a cage I built to house cats. It is 7'Hx5'L and 4'D. 2x4" frame and the openings are covered in 2x3" fence. Works great and plenty of room for 2 or 3 cats. It is, however, no longer needed so I thought about converting it int a chicken house outside.

One side is a door 5x4' on hinges with a hook lock. What do I need to do to it?

We will never have more than 6 to 8 chickens. Dogs go out but likely won't mess with them. Occaisional possum comes thru to dig in the compost but never seen anything else tho we did have some rabbits and FL says she saw a Coon some years ago along with deer but the neighborhood has built up a bit since then.
 
sierra don

sierra don

Veteran Member
I had my chickens in a 7' X 7' X 4' tall and they did just fine, had 10 in there and also had a little hen house attached that was 4' X 4' for them to nest and sleep in. Had them in there for 3 years and would occasionally let them out to free-range, got rid of them in August in anticipation of the soon to come re-location. I think you should be fie w/6 to 8 chickens.


You may want to dig down a bit around the pen and put down some chicken wire and re-bury it to keep out the digging carnivores.
 
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S

summerthyme

Administrator
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You need a roof and enough of an enclosure so they can roost someplace out of drafts. They need a feeder and waterer. If at all possible, set it up so you can at least have electricity via heavy duty extension cord (for keeping water from freezing and adding light in the winter). You're farther south than we are, but the birds really need 14 hours of light to lay well (younger birds will often lay better without added light). And being able to plug in an electric dog water dish saves carrying buckets of warm water outside.

If it's 20 square feet, you can keep 4-5 birds MAX, especially if they don't have a run they can access.

Unfortunately, you'll probably be surprised at how many predators show up when they have a 'reason'. Weasels, mink, etc just aren't seen very often, but they'll know you have chickens about 24 hours after you put them outside for the first time. However, having dogs roaming around helps a LOT.

I'd probably build a "roll away" nest box (with the opening on the OUTSIDE of the cage) to try to prevent having to go in the small cage to gather eggs from the far corner. But knowing chickens, half of them may lay in the bedding in the far corner anyway!

Good luck!

Summerthyme
 
CapeCMom

CapeCMom

Veteran Member
I didn't see you say if there was roofing of some kind. If you have Hawks like I do I would at least cover it with chicken wire.
 
Satanta

Satanta

Stone Cold Crazy
_______________
It has the same 2x3" fence over the top so no hawks or flying critter issues. Not sure we are far enough North for Mink or Weasels tho there are some Beavers not far drom here.

Below the main door is a smaller solid panel on hinges as well-big enough to slide litter boxes in and out.

We have a pond water heater in storage. Not sure if it works as it was part of the submerged stuff I pulled out of a small gardin pond that is overgrown with water plants.

I can add a run-each section of fence is a separate piece so adding a run or yard area is nt an issue. I know Chickens can fly but if I keep their wings clipped what is the best they can top regarding fencing?
 
P

poppy

Veteran Member
Satanta said:
It has the same 2x3" fence over the top so no hawks or flying critter issues. Not sure we are far enough North for Mink or Weasels tho there are some Beavers not far drom here.

Below the main door is a smaller solid panel on hinges as well-big enough to slide litter boxes in and out.

We have a pond water heater in storage. Not sure if it works as it was part of the submerged stuff I pulled out of a small gardin pond that is overgrown with water plants.

I can add a run-each section of fence is a separate piece so adding a run or yard area is nt an issue. I know Chickens can fly but if I keep their wings clipped what is the best they can top regarding fencing?
Click to expand...

Depends on the breed. Light chickens like Leghorns can still go over a 5 foot fence but heavy breeds should be okay. Only clip the wing on one side of the chicken but you probably already know that. Predators will come if you have chickens. Sounds like you have welded wire fencing and that is good. Coons will tear through chicken wire.
 
Caplock50

Caplock50

I am the Winter Warrior
And only clip one wing on each chicken. That makes them fly crazily and so they won't do it.

And...OMG...are you actually admitting to owning a 'cat house'?
 
S

Switchback

Veteran Member
I'd also place hardware mesh (1/4" galvanized screen grid) on the ground around the perimeter to prevent predators from digging under your fenced in area and into your pen. I lost four 5 week old birds to a suspected midnight fox and caught a opossum inside one night last summer. Broke my heart.
I dug shallow and peeled up the sod and placed the mesh screen down and covered over with the sod again. Their clawing won't make it through the wire mesh mat. About 18" wide or so.

I also use a 25W fish tank heater plugged into a "Thermo-Cube". Both on amazon. I cut a wide window in a new plastic five gallon bucket with lid as a water dispenser. It's nice because they can't kick around floor litter into their water source. Price: about $3 as opposed to $30 for a supply bought one. Works like a charm. The fish tank heater is inside and only comes on when the thermo-cube senses that it's cold out, then shuts off when the temp is above freezing. I have a coup light for winter on an automatic timer. Set to come on early in the morning, then shuts off after sunrise. I use wood shavings/saw dust for the coup floor. Every morning I scrape off the droppings form the perching strip boards and compost the chicken crap into the saw dust. They also always need CLEAN water at all times. They must have a fairly cool coup in the hot months. Chickens handle the cold better than the heat.
My six hens are over twenty weeks old now and laying in the nest boxes about two feet off the floor of the coup. At first they ate grower crumble and wasted a lot as they are pecky eaters. A lot went all over the place and was wasted. Now that they are older (17 plus weeks) I switched to pellets gradually and they love it. Much less food waste now.
I have a 10X16' tool shed that I built a partition wall in to divide some space for a coup. The other area is a workshop to tinker in. Cut some ventilation hatches up high to vent heat during summer. I cut an access hatch in the rear with a little ramp down into an 8X10' covered pen area with a secure gate. I made sure the area under the shed (mini crawl space) was not accessible to predators to enter the chicken areas. The setup works great and just looks like a regular Lowes tool shed with nice vinyl siding from the road. I keep all my feed in metal trash cans.

Good luck! Chickens are great. I love my eggs and "pets".
 
China Connection

China Connection

TB Fanatic
You can hide Quails better and they lay more eggs than chucks.

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