Month: October 2024

Stopping the Wild Birds from Stealing Your Feed

Posted on by John Meeks

Bird Dangers

  • Avian or Bird Flu
  • Mites
  • Lice
  • Internal parasites
  • Many, many different diseases
  • Feed theft
  • Large poultry companies attempting to get laws passed outlawing backyard chickens by claiming they help spread disease
  • When outbreaks of bird flu hit commercial flocks the health officials will euthanize all flocks of poultry in a ten mile circle including backyard chickens

“Not a lot of people realize that the infamous Spanish Flu that killed millions of people at the turn of the century was a form of avian flu..”

 

 

 

For your Safety

Wild Birds Must be Kept Away

 

When wild birds start stealing chicken feed most flock owners worry about the cost of the stolen feed but what they ought to be worried about is the disease, parasites, and pests the wild birds bring with them.  The bird flu has been a real problem with commercial flocks and those birds are locked away in some pretty tight housing where backyard flocks are wide open to wild birds.

The bird flu or avian flue can be carried by wild birds and ducks without the carriers becoming ill but the chickens will have no immunity and the virus mutates rapidly.  It is just a matter of time before the lobbyists working for the commercial poultry industry attempts to clamp down on backyard flocks by blaming them for spreading the disease.   Being a responsible flock owner means doing all that you can to isolate your chickens and other poultry from wild birds for your own safety as well as the future of the backyard chicken movement.

 

The bird flu in China has already crossed over to humans with bird to human transmission but if it mutates into human to human spread disease we will have a problem on our hands to the point where even the most enthusiastic chicken owner won’t hesitate to get rid of their flock.  Not a lot of people realize that the infamous Spanish Flu that killed millions of people at the turn of the century was a form of avian flu.

 Preventing wild birds from stealing your feed is as simple as not allowing them to eat the feed by using a rat proof chicken feeder.   Avoid the treadle feeders with the wide steps that allow wild birds to reach the feed when enough bids land on the treadle.  If the door is counter weighted and spring loaded that is even better.   But if you research this topic online you will find a lot of the focus is on either trying to block the birds out, scare them away somehow, or only feeding by hand a few times a day.  For some reason people initially reject the idea that a treadle feeder fixes the problems so we will cover the other methods too.

Some people have set large plastic trash cans over their feeders, taking the covers off twice a day for a half hour at a time.     Not sure many of us have the luxury of being there every day much less the time and discipline to remember to unblock the feeder.

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  • Fencing birds out is difficult
  • Plastic Owls?  Don’t work
  • Bird netting helps but doesn’t completely stop
  • Bird poop like you have never seen before
  • Cut off the food and the birds will leave
  • Treadle feeders will fix the problem quickly

 

 

People that thought chicken wire would stop sparrows learned otherwise, only hardware cloth will stop a sparrow or netting.  Others rely on fluttering tape or even old CDs hung on strings, thinking that the fluttering and flashing will scare the birds away.  Some have sworn that buying a plastic owl would stop the wild birds only to find that their chickens were afraid of the plastic owl too and wouldn’t come out of the coop.  Unfortunately the wild bird eventually realize that the owls are fake, some people report the wild birds will roost on the fake owls.

People have tried making lightweight doors that wild birds can’t push open but chickens can, fine until they realize that chickens aren’t likely to want to go around pushing doors open, most will stare at it and make a fuss waiting to be let in or out.  Others have resorted to ending the free range and cooping the chickens up 24/7.    Pens that are made out of chicken wire, chain link, or fencing wire can be closed off somewhat using bird netting found at many of the larger garden stores.   A big roll is around $20.00 and will cover a lot of chicken pen.  When hawks are the biggest problem and you have an open run some people have had success with using mono filament fishing line strung closely together across the top of the pen.  The sharp eyed hawks and eagles can see the wire and won’t risk betting trapped but of course that won’t stop smaller birds like crows or starlings, both of which can and do kill baby chicks.

The truly epic wild bird problems can involve thousands of birds mobbing the pen, cleaning out the feed and water in minutes and leaving gallons of bird poo over every surface in sight.  There is one story out there on the internet about a free range flock ran by Fifth Crow Farms.  They got a grant for a few dozen rat proof chicken feeder and not only solved their feed loss problems, those same wild birds had been snacking on their loose leaf lettuce crops and just a few bird pecks were enough to ruin the salability of an entire lettuce bunch.  Plus the birds pooping over the lettuce fields on the way to or from the chicken feeders.

The problem with rats is two fold; available safe space for nesting and a ready food supply.  Birds don’t need the safe nesting places, they only need access to the chicken feed.   A wild bird living a natural life has little time to spend doing anything other than searching for wild food.  Once you purchase a proper treadle feeder with a narrow step and a spring loaded door the birds will have no choice but to look elsewhere for their food. 

 

Learn more about treadle feeders

Purchase a bird  proof chicken feeder

 

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Preventing Squirrels from Stealing Your Feed

Posted on by John Meeks

  • Tree rats is a better name
  • Will kill chicks and eat eggs
  • Carry pests and disease
  • Will chew electrical wiring
  • A gardener’s worst nightmare at times
  • Killing squirrels just causes another squirrel to move into the territory
  • Rarely will there be more than one squirrel unless it is a mother and litter or a park where the squirrels are being fed
  • Wide platform treadle feeders are not squirrel proof

“Squirrels will eat eggs and chicks especially when they have a litter and have a protein deficiency.  Squirrels also eat baby birds and bird eggs.”

 

 

Cute or not…

Squirrels Will Kill Chicks

Squirrels are rats with a good P.R. department.   They are called tree rats for good reasons.  Besides stealing your chicken feed they naturally feed on wild bird eggs and wild bird chicks while they are nesting and have a protein deficiency.

Rats will also steal eggs and kill feathered out chicks and any baby chick they can get hold of.  Some of the diseases and pests they carry are host specific but some are not.

Keeping squirrels out of a chicken coop is going to take hardware cloth and very tight gaps on any door or junction. If there isn’t a hole a squirrel can quickly chew through 3/4″ plywood or even solid wood to make an entry hole.  Worse, if the place is enclosed like an attic or tool shed they will make winter nests in the insulation and are not tidy enough to urinate and poop outside.  They can make a mess and even cause electrical fires that will burn down your home.

 

Video of a squirrel killed chick

Video of a squirrel stealing eggs

 

 

A bumper crop of acorns and other nuts will cause squirrels to have two, even three litters a year, causing a population explosion.  Luckily squirrels have a high mortality rate too from cars, predators, and disease.  Many squirrels don’t make it more than a few months after they leave the nest.

Squirrels like to avoid open areas if possible and prefer some sort of passageway like nearby tree limbs or a fence, anything that keeps them off the ground and safe from dogs.  If you have nearby trees wrap a two foot wide strip of sheet metal around the tree about six to eight feet off the ground to prevent the squirrels from using the tree as a refuge or highway to the coop.  Don’t nail the tin in place, use wire and springs that will allow the tree to grow and expand.

A hole the size of a child’s fist is large enough for a squirrel to enter so a coop needs to be pretty tight to keep them out.  Of course a good treadle feeder with a distant treadle and a spring loaded door is a must if you leave the coop open during the day.  Dogs make good deterrents but most squirrels are quite adapt at evading dogs.  Squirrels can be easily trapped.  Once though as they are clever animals.

 

Squirrel proof chicken feeder

Live traps

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Keeping Pets and Farm Animals Out of Your Chicken Feed

Posted on by John Meeks

  • A tiny hen sized door

    Inside view of a goat proof chicken door

“Some animals like goats and horses can come to great harm if they eat too much chicken feed through bloating or foundering.”

soccer-player

 

 

Don’t believe them…

No Such Things as a Goat Proof Chicken Feeder

A lot of people raise goats and chickens together and keeping the smaller goats out of the chicken feed is a task.  If you have never had a goat they are incredibly clever and persistent at finding into where they aren’t supposed to be and out of where they are supposed to be.  They can jump like deer and climb on top of anything under five feet tall.

They are contortionists too, will lay down and wiggle through or under almost anything.  As goats will bloat and even die from eating too much feed you have to make certain the feed is locked up with a goat proof latch that can’t be pushed open.  The goat proof chicken hatch to the left works because even a small kid goat can’t bend its body sharp enough to gain entry.

Treadle feeders are of no use to defeat goats, dogs, or other large animals.  The weight and reach of a large animal is much more than a chicken so don’t depend on the treadle feeder to protect the feed unless you have the feeder inside an enclosure.

Dogs love chicken feed too for some strange reason.  The chicken feed won’t really hurt the dog although it is low in fat .  Some cats will eat laying pellets as well although it is less common.

Small breeds of dogs and cats will be difficult to keep out of chicken feeders unless the feeders are high off the ground and a cat has nothing to climb to get up to the feed. 

Larger animals can easily rip through chicken wire, even a small dog will have no problems tearing through as chicken wire is simply twisted together.   Always use hardware cloth to prevent dogs, racoons, or other predators from ripping through the coop.  Occasionally horses are persistent enough to knock over a small coop to get to the chicken feed.  Most people won’t have hogs near chickens as the hogs will quickly eat every chicken it can catch and can easily over turn a coop to get at the birds or feed.

 

 

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Preventing Frozen Water in the Coop

Posted on by John Meeks

Frozen water can be a problem

  • Thirsty chickens
  • Less resistance to cold if they are dehydrated
  • .Possible to slow down the freezing even if there isn’t electricity in the coop
  • Cookie Tin heater works well
  • Concrete block heaters
  • Bird Bath heaters work really well at low power consumption
  • Plastic heated poultry water dispensers are available

“If you need a quick solution in sudden freezing weather set a few of the chemical hand warmers under the water dispenser.  These won’t last but for a day or so but it does work on the smaller mason jar water dispensers used for quail or chicks..”

 

 

A Winter Essential

Preventing Frozen water in the coop

If you live in an area that has cold winters you know it can be a chore to keep the chicken’s water from freezing up.  People that don’t have electricity in their coop have even a tougher time. 

There is really only four solutions, heat the water, heat the coop, replace the water three or four times a day, or move to Florida.

If you do have power in the coop one of the old standbys is the cookie tin heater where you take a metal cookie tin that is 12” to 15” in diameter, drill a hole to insert a light bulb socket, using the light bulb to heat the cookie tin which in turns heats the water container sitting on top.  You aren’t limited to cookie tins, concrete blocks or even flower pots can be used to house the light bulb.   Use whatever wattage bulb you think you need depending on the severity of the cold weather in your area.  A 40 watt bulb should take care of the water down to around 20 degrees.

There are also electrically heated plastic water containers available if you aren’t the handy type.  A two gallon heated plastic water dispenser is going to cost you about $25.00 to $30.00. Check the customer reviews though as some of the plastic dispensers are quite thin and difficult to fill.  The heaters that run between $30.00 and $60.00 are going to be more durable but as with all things online shop that brand around for pricing.

Heated dog bowls can work, I actually used this method for a few years but they get filthy fast and I wound up filling mine with water and sitting my galvanized water dispenser on top. They will run $25.00 to $40.00 at most pet departments or farm store

 

Heat tapes that are used to protect pipes and faucets will work as long as you wrap some insulation around the container to hold the heat in and protect the heat cables.  There are also gutter de-icing tapes available.  Most will turn on only when it gets close to freezing to avoid wasting power.

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Coops up north will insulate the coop and the combination of ground heat, heat from the chickens, and a cookie tin heater will suffice.  Others will use stock tank heaters in larger containers that use the nipple watering devices and reports say that it works as low as -22 degrees even if kept outside.  A 250 watt stock tank heater will keep thirty gallons of water thawed out in the worst of weather.

You can buy fish tank heaters sold in the pet section of any Walmart or department store although they are more suited to the less frigid areas of the U.S.  Most of these small aquarium type heaters are quite small, some as low as 5 watts but if one shatters there is a shock hazard.  Look for a shatter proof aquarium heater if you go that route and pay a little more for peace of mind. Or look for a bird bath heater as they are actually made for outdoor use.  Steer away from the cheaper models and expect to pay around $70.00 for a durable bird bath heater.

 

Bird Bath Heater

Frozen water can be a problem

  • Oil pan heaters
  • Aquarium air pumps can keep the water moving and slower to freeze
  • .Salt water bottles
  • Chemical hand warmers
  • Larger tubs of water freeze slower

“Years ago before farm electrification farmers had kerosene heaters, even kerosene brooders.  Even something as simple as an insulated hole with a hot rock dropped into the hole, sitting the metal water dispenser on top will prevent water from freezing for many hours.”

 

 

Another innovative method is the oil pan heater that is designed to stick to the bottom of an engine oil pan.  These plug into an extension cord and you sit the water dispenser on top.  Cost starts at around $18.00 plus shipping.Another method of slowing water from freezing is to keep the water moving.  Water that is cold is also dense so the water on top of a bucket of water will sink, bringing the less dense water to the top of the bucket. That thinner layer of less dense water will actually freeze faster than the larger amount of dense water at the bottom which is why we always see lakes and buckets of water freeze from the top down instead of the bottom up.  If the water is moving the water is mixed, requiring more heat to be transferred out of the water before it can freeze.  Something like an aquarium air pump can help lower the freezing point of the water by as much as 7 degrees.
There are also electrically heated plastic water containers available if you aren’t the handy type.  A two gallon heated plastic water dispenser is going to cost you about $25.00 to $30.00. Check the customer reviews though as some of the plastic dispensers are quite thin and difficult to fill.  The heaters that run between $30.00 and $60.00 are going to be more durable but as with all things online shop that brand around for pricing.

A lower tech method if you don’t have power in the coop is to use the heavy rubber tubs that can be flipped over and the frozen water popped out.  Insulating the water container helps, something as simple as a small bucket fitted inside a larger bucket with leaves or sawdust used as insulation.

 

Another way to prevent freezing if you don’t have power is to use large tubs of water.  The larger the tub, the slower to freeze, a 40 gallon tub of water will stay liquid much longer.  Be sure and partially cover the top to prevent birds from falling into the water.

 

If you need a quick solution in sudden freezing weather set a few of the chemical hand warmers under the water dispenser.  These won’t last but for a day or so but it does work on the smaller mason jar water dispensers used for quail or chicks.

Another method that some people swear by is adding jugs of salt water to a larger tub of water.  The salt water inside the plastic jugs has a much lower freezing point so as the larger tub of water cools down it the jugs of salt water also soak up some of this “cold”.   Water freezes by heat being removed from the water so there is actually no such thing as “cold” but it is a lack of heat.  Still the heat is harder to remove from the salt water so the trick will work.

 

Heated Poultry waterer

Air pump

A wooden floating top will help slow down the freezing and keep combs and wattles out of the freezing water

 

Concrete block heater

“Moving water freezes slower by preventing stratification, keeping the colder, more dense water from sinking.”

 

 

 

Years ago before farm electrification farmers had kerosene heaters, even kerosene brooders.  Even something as simple as an insulated hole with a hot rock dropped into the hole, sitting the metal water dispenser on top will prevent water from freezing for many hours.  A long burning candle in a properly made fire safe metal container will do the same thing.  Place it below ground, surrounded by masonry to absorb the heat and store the heat as well as making the pit fire safe. 

If your temperature just barely swings below freezing you can try using black rubber water dishes kept outside with a few ping pong balls floating on top.  Some flock owners from the South claim that the slightest breeze will move the ping pong balls around, stirring the water and slowing down the freezing of the water.  No doubt the black water dish absorbs more sunlight too.

If you have another solution or want to share your experiences on preventing water from freezing please make a comment below.

 

 

Feed Storage Basics

Posted on by John Meeks

“if you  wind up with weevils purchase some diatomaceous earth, DE, and mix it in well with the feed.  The DE won’t harm the chickens and it helps kill fly larvae as well.”

soccer-player

 

Keep it safe, keep it dry

Best Practices for Storing Chicken Feed

First you don’t really want to store crumbles or laying pellets long term as they have oils that can turn rancid.  Whole grains can be held long term.  For crumbles or pellets a two or three month supply is about you will want to hold.  Always clean out any old feed before dumping new feed into the container and use the older feed first. The paper feed bags don’t do much more than allow the feed to be moved around, zero protection against insects or pests.

Chicken feed is a magnet for critters ranging from weevils to raccoons to rats.  A bag of dog food in a house might be okay as it is inside but any feed stored outside or in an outbuilding is quickly going to attract pests.

Feed containers can range from metal trash cans to plastic buckets with lids but metal is better as it prevents rodents from chewing a hole to get to the feed.

 

If you do use plastic check if the plastic is food grade.  Usually grade #1 and #2 are food grade or call the manufacturer to find out.   There are lots of plastic 55 gallon drums on the recycling market and some 30 gallon drums but they will fetch a higher price due to limited numbers being used.if you  wind up with weevils purchase some diatomaceous earth, DE, and mix it in well with the feed.  The DE won’t harm the chickens and it helps kill fly larvae as well.

Metal trash cans make the best bulk feed containers.  Easy to get the lid off, impossible to chew through, the right height from bending over and scooping out the remains of the feed.

  A typical galvanized metal trash can is going to hold two fifty pound bags of feed.  Some of the more humid areas might have problems with metal containers sweating inside so try it out before you purchase too many.  Sweating is caused by moist air condensing out moisture on cool metal surfaces.  Wrapping the trash can in insulation can prevent the sweating.

The 55 gallon metal drums are much heavier but also much cheaper and some have a lid that clamps on with a ring that wraps around the top.  A 55 gallon drum will hold over 200# of feed.

 

Diatomaceous earth

 

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Feeding Table Scraps to Chickens

Posted on by John Meeks

Feed scraps to chickens is good

  • More sustainable to produce part of your feed
  • Less waste in a landfill
  • Good nutrition for the birds
  • Saves money on feed
  • Chickens really, really, love table scraps or anything different than laying pellets and crumbles, like going out for dinner!

“As far as the “Yuck!” factor of using road kill,  most pets that are euthanized at a vet or animal shelter wind up in the local rendering plant where they are cooked down and the oil sprayed on pet food for flavoring..”

 

 

What’s Good, What’s Not?

Feeding Table Scraps to Chickens

 

Chickens will eat about anything that a human will eat. Table scraps, canning waste, fruit or vegetables going bad won’t hurt the birds and it won’t disrupt their nutritional balance.  They aren’t going to eat citrus rinds, banana peels, or avocado skins, shouldn’t eat green colored potato peelings, and probably won’t eat onions unless they are finely ground and mixed into other foods.  Just watch what they leave behind and put that stuff into the compost bin.

Regular potato peels are fine.  Vegetable scraps and seeds, any kind of meat including fish of any sort, oatmeal or any cereal left over from breakfast. Bread, lettuce, pepper tops and seeds, bones that have meat left on, fats, over ripe bananas, lawn clippings, weeds, almost anything that grows, crawls, or flies.  Crushed egg shells and shells from shellfish are all edible, old yogurt, milk turning sour, pumpkins, squash, watermelon or watermelon rinds.

If you are generating more scraps than can be fed to the birds such as after a holiday meal (and yes, that turkey carcass should also wind up in the coop) you can freeze it in small batches for later use. The chickens will drink any broth or water left over from cooking potatoes or pasta, just use a separate bowl to keep their main water supply clean.

 

People also use road kill, both cooking it and hanging it over the coop for a ready maggot supply. Wild animals killed by cars are fairly safe but to be sure cook before giving it to the birds.  They will eat it raw though but you never know if that wild animal got ran over because it was sick and moving slow or if it was just dumb or unlucky.  Wild animals are also carriers of disease and parasites so cooking it is the only way to go.  As far as the “Yuck!” factor of using road kill, most pets that are euthanized at a vet or animal shelter wind up in the local rendering plant where they are cooked down and the oil sprayed on pet food for flavoring. Some of these products coming out of rendering plants are used in cosmetics too!   Rendering plants will take any kind of animal that is rejected at slaughter houses or found dead laying in a farmer’s pasture.  Fish guts or offal from butchering any animal or fish are okay to feed raw as long as it was freshly killed.

 If you have ever seen people buying or picking up free rooster on Craigs lists or the Facebook groups chances are they are going to be fed as live food for reptiles but some will grind them up for feeding chickens.  I wouldn’t feed too much chicken back to your chickens and I would cook the meat before feeding but moderate amounts aren’t going to cause problems or disease.

As long as you have high protein commercial feed available at all times the birds won’t overeat on scraps, if they are craving protein they will eat the pellets or crumbles.  Raising show birds especially meat birds can be a different matter so be a bit more selective in feeding them.

What are your thoughts and experiences?  Leave a comment or more info on feeding table scraps to chickens below in the comment section.

 

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How Many Square Feet of Space is Needed per Chicken?

Posted on by John Meeks

Requirements will vary on many factors

  • Is the coop mobile?
  • How much time are you willing to spend cleaning?
  • Bantams or Jersey Giants?
  • Breeding stock, layers, or meat birds?
  • Replacement layers growing out?  Culling the roosters eventually?

“So for larger birds figure four square feet per bird with constant fresh ground, eight square feet for layers.  If you try to pack more birds in per square foot you are going to have behavioral issues and disease.  .”

 

 

One of the first decisions…

How Many Square Feet of Space is Needed per Chicken?

That is a lot like asking “How much is a new car?”  Size matters, style matters, brand matters, and longevity matters. Are you wanting a Yugo, a Ford Escape, or a BMW?  With a coop you need to know how many and what size of birds, how long they are going to be using the space, and for what purpose.

A coop that is too big costs more money and if you want it to be moved to fresh ground on occasion a bigger coop is going to be heavier and riskier to move without damaging the coop.  But if you crowd your birds in too tightly you are either going to be finding a need to build additional space or dealing with diseases, aggression, and other overcrowding problems.  When you decide to raise chickens the single largest initial cost is going to be the cost of the chicken coop so you need to get the size determined before you get started so you can plan the design and estimate the costs involved.

How you manage that coop is going to be a factor.  If you have a small chicken tractor and move it to fresh ground each day you can house more birds as they aren’t walking in their own waste each day..

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of each day. Only during the summer is there not fresh grass, but even then, chickens start the day with fresh ground, free from their own manure and the birds have fresh ground and grass to keep them occupied.  The same size coop that isn’t moved turns into a mud hole quickly as the birds dig dusting areas which retain water and the grass is gone and won’t be returning till the coop is moved.  You are going to be able to keep a lot more birds in the mobile coop than the stationary coop.

Then there is the size of the birds.  A flock of Jersey Giants are going to need more room than a flock of bantams.  And if you are raising meat birds that have a lot of the natural instincts bred out of them there can be more birds per square foot than a heritage breed that is active and seeks distractions.   How old the birds are is a factor too, chicks don’t need a lot of room, pullets more room but they won’t be in the grow out pen for long, but long term layers or brood stock will need the most room because of the infinite time they will be living in the space.  Meat birds will grow quickly and while it is less humane they are only going to be the most crowed for three weeks or so before they are butchered.

Breeding stock requires the most room because you have the most invested in them and healthy breeding stock puts out healthy eggs and chicks.  A meat bird that has its back pecked up is going into the freezer, not so for a prize hen.  A good rule of thumb for breeding stock is to allow 8 to 20 square feet per bird if they are large breeds and if you are moving the coop to fresh ground every few days.

 

Coop in the garden

  • Stationary coops need more room per bird
  • Behavioral issues come with crowding
  • Plenty of ventilation helps
  • Ammonia from the manure will harm chicken’s lungs
  • Inclement weather requires more space per bird
  • Bantams will take up about 25% less space

“There is roost space to consider too and for larger birds you are going to need a foot of roost space per bird and enough room between the roost bars that they don’t bump into each other, around 18” center to center will work. ”

 

 

A small flock of replacement feathered out chicks could be squeezed into a pen with 2 square feet each until they are 7 weeks old and at that age you can usually pick out the roosters and split them off, giving the hens four square feet each, again assuming you are constantly moving the coop to fresh ground.  In another 7 weeks you would need to split the pen again as the larger birds are going to be too crowded.

So for larger birds figure four square feet per bird with constant fresh ground, eight square feet for layers.  If you try to pack more birds in per square foot you are going to have behavioral issues and disease.  You can go a little more if you keep clean litter, have excellent ventilation, move the pen to fresh ground often,  get rid of ill birds immediately, have good protection from rain and wind when it is cold, and have plenty of good quality feed and fresh water available in abundance.

Crowded conditions will stress the birds, they will fight or pick on each other more if for no other reason than they can’t get away from each other in a small pen.

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So far we have been talking about a combination of  coop and run space on a constantly moved mobile coop.   There is roost space to consider too and for larger birds you are going to need a foot of roost space per bird and enough room between the roost bars that they don’t bump into each other, around 18” center to center will work.

If you over crowd chickens the increased amount of stress and contact with their waste will increase the chance of one bird coming down with a disease that will quickly spread.  They will bully and peck each other more, the coop will require more frequent cleaning, ammonia from their manure builds up and harms their lungs, more stress will be present, fewer eggs and more broken eggs, less exercise as the birds can’t really move around without bumping into other birds, and you might lose more birds to suffocation if they pile up at night instead of roosting.

But if you have a stationary coop you need to allow more square footage per bird.  For larger breeds figure on at least four square feet inside the enclosed coop for those days when it is snowing or raining and the birds stay inside and at least ten square feet per bird out in the run.  For bantam breeds you can cut the footage requirements by about 25% at least.   You are going to need to spend more time and effort cleaning the pen and keeping deep litter to avoid having health problems than you had.  If you are allowing the birds to free range or have a large penned in run figure about 300 square feet per bird.

 

A small stationary coop

  • Access to gardens are a great way to increase bird density
  • Plenty of room equals relaxed chickens
  • Allow plenty of roost room including flying up and flying down to the coop floor
  • Height of the coop  is for the caretaker’s access
  • Plan for nest boxes, waterers, and feeders in your footage plan

“There is roost space to consider too and for larger birds you are going to need a foot of roost space per bird and enough room between the roost bars that they don’t bump into each other, around 18” center to center will work. ”

 

 

Having a garden for the birds to forage in helps as the birds will gravitate to where the loose soil, bugs, and plants are.  If they don’t have loose soil they will start digging dusting areas and over graze your lawn creating bare spots and the chicken manure is going to cause problems if the outdoor space is crowded.

Increasing the amount of garden to grass can help, you might even want to plant a garden just for the chickens, ideally surrounding the main garden to act as a chicken moat that bugs have to pass through before getting to the main garden.  The higher quality forage will keep the chickens healthier and happier and your grass lawn will remain healthy.

Another way to  increase the number of chickens on a particular plot of land is to split the area up into paddocks and rotate the birds every week to allow the areas to rest for three weeks before the birds come back to forage.

Chickens that have plenty of room to live will behave very differently, more relaxed.  It is not pampering a bird to allow as much as fifteen square feet per bird inside the coop, that is less than the size of a bathtub to put it in context.  Most backyard chicken flocks aren’t high production, they don’t need to squeeze in the birds due to ROI requirements, the people are after healthy and responsible and sustainable food.

Vertical height is far less important as the birds don’t need more than a foot over their heads for normal activity.  The roosts do need to be above the nest boxes to encourage roosting.   However cleaning and maintaining a two foot tall run isn’t fun unless it is a mobile coop, even then retrieving a dead or sick bird is going to take some effort.   A run high enough for someone to crouch over in is a good investment and a coop high enough to stand and work in is almost a necessity unless you have just a few birds.   If you keep the nest boxes at least 18” off the ground the birds will utilize that space or have the next boxes project out of the coop so there is no lost footage and the eggs can be collected from the outside.

 

A simple chicken tractor

  • Manure trays easy cleaning
  • Birds will share waterers easier than feeders
  • Plan conservatively, better too much room as too little

“Chickens will jockey for position on roosts and they need room to get up and down off the roost, usually by flying, so make sure there is more than enough room for a few birds to fly ”

 

 

Don’t forget to plan for the space needed for feeders and waterers.  Birds will take turns eating and drinking but if you use limited access feeders like treadle feeders plan on no more than twelve to sixteen birds per feeder unless there are other sources of feed during the day or free range available.

Your roost needs to be over an area that has a manure tray as a lot of the manure generated will come from under the roost.  That leaves the coop that much cleaner and more sanitary. Chickens will jockey for position on roosts and they need room to get up and down off the roost, usually by flying, so make sure there is more than enough room for a few birds to fly up to a crowded roost and enough room on the floor to avoid hitting nest boxes, feeders, and waterers. 

 

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Chicken Coop Materials

Posted on by John Meeks

Definitely a Coop de Ville

  • Heavy is good as long as it isn’t a mobile coop
  • Narrow lumber will warp and bend, 1.5″ minimum thickness for strength
  • The thicker the plywood the further apart you can put the studs
  • Always hardware cloth, never chicken wire
  • Screws and bolts will help hold things together if you want to move the coop
  • Make sure the wheel size you choose will carry the weight in wet weather
  • Wire mesh needs securely stapled, not clamped between wood strips

“Plan on a long weekend to create a small coop from scratch if you have decent carpentry skills.  There are no end to plans online or just find a picture of a coop you like and figure out how to adapt it to the size you need..”

 

 

Use what you have!

Chicken Coop Materials

Unless you have plenty of money to spend you are going to be using basic building materials when building your coop.  Or if you are purchasing a coop you are going to find two choices, locally made out of substantial materials  or prefab coops that are built to be cheaper to ship and thus lighter in weight.  Many people will simply use what they might have on hand or can scrounge.

 

If you are building a barn style, stationary coop you are going to need:

  • Framing lumber, 2 x 4s and 2 x 3s, and some 2 x 8s or 2 x 6s for skids. Posts are usually made out of 4 x 4s.
  • Plywood for floors, walls, and roofs. OSB (oriented strand board) or T1-11 plywood are popular choices that are found at the big box stores.  Thickness will vary depending upon use and portability requirements.
  • Solid wood lap siding is attractive and durable if you want to copy the doll house look of the Chinese prefab coops.
  • Plenty of nails and screws and framing brackets/braces. Screws are stronger, especially if you are building a mobile coop.
  • Shingles for the roof. Cheap OSB can be used for the roof if you cover it with tar paper and asphalt shingles.  Or you can use 2 x 3 runners and steel sheet panels or fiberglass panels.
  • Rolled roofing, similar to shingles but on a 36” wide solid roll, is a cheaper alternative to roofing shingles.
  • Wire mesh, hopefully not chicken wire which is little protection against larger predators like raccoons or dogs. One half inch square hardware cloth is best, one quarter inch square is available if you think you are going to try to fence out rats and mice but it is a fool’s errand to attempt that.
  • Staples to secure the wire mesh to the framing, U shaped nails hand driven with a hammer.
  • Hinges, hasps, and steel angle braces to secure everything
  • Windows are a nice touch or at least slide open hatches that are screened with hardware cloth
  • Wheels and sturdy handles if you are going to make it mobile

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Very neat and professional coop

  • Buy or scrounge, use solid materials and do it once
  • Top heavy is bad unless it has a foundation

 

If you are building a mobile coop many of the same material will be used but smaller in section to keep the weight of the coop to a minimum.  Roofing could be good quality tarp or even old political banner materials.   If you are inventive you can consider using PVC pipe or electrical metallic tubing (EMT).  Heavy wire panels like cattle panels can be used as the structural arch if you are making an arched coop, with hardware cloth providing the predator shield.   Something like a possum can squeeze through a 2.5” diameter hole, if their head will fit through, their body can come through, so cattle panels along aren’t enough.
 

 

Finally almost anything can be incorporated into a chicken coop if you aren’t particular on how it looks.  Old windows, old doors, recycled lumber and steel sheeting, some amazing coops have been made out of salvaged materials or even pallets.  A good coat of paint will unify everything and make it presentable.

Your coop can be built much more solid than anything you might buy online or from a local company but consider the weight of the final coop if you are planning on making it mobile.  A good heavy coop is insurance against a storm blowing the coop over so sometimes a fixed location coop is the way to go.

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Chicken Coop Design

Posted on by John Meeks

Two small coops for a couple of hens.

” Windows are a must, South facing if possible to catch the winter sun.  If the window is to serve for ventilation, put it up as high as possible to remove the  hottest air.”

 

 

Chicken Coop Design

Hopefully if you are reading this you have already read our articles on square foot requirements per bird and chicken coop materials.  Whether you are purchasing a coop or wanting to build your own a design needs to be decided upon before you get started.

 

We’ve already covered the size requirements, four to five square feet per bird in the coop and ten square feet per bird in the run.  Next pick out a good location, preferably under a deciduous tree for shade in the summer but still exposed to the sun in the winter.  If no shade is possible consider building a double layer roof so the coop will be cooler. The top layer need not be waterproof, just to provide shade for the lower roof.

In the coop itself, raise the entire coop off the ground enough so that a dog or cat can get under the coop for ratting duties. 

  You want to have the inside to be high enough to easily enter and walk around in so you can clean and care for the birds. Or have very large sections that swing open that will allow you to reach every part of the coop to reach a sick bird or to clean. The floor can be plywood s long as you either cover it with sheet metal or heavy plastic and keep deep litter in place to soak up water spills.  Make your door wide enough to poke the nose of a wheelbarrow through which is also wide enough to pitch a shovel full of manure/bedding through as you are cleaning the coop.

 

The walls need to be solid and as air tight as possible.  You will add ventilation at the top to cool the coop in warm weather and to remove ammonia and moisture but you want ventilation that you can control, not a drafty coop once the temperature drops below freezing.  Windows are a must, South facing if possible to catch the winter sun.  If the window is to serve for ventilation, put it up as high as possible to remove the  hottest air.  Insulate the walls if possible so the bird’s own body heat will help keep the coop warmer than outside in cold weather.   A low hardware cloth screened vent is nice, put a sliding plywood hatch so it can be closed off if needed.  Don’t forget to leave a 12” x 12” opening for the ramp into the  lower run.

Looks more like a doll house but perfectly functional for a small free range flock

If you are building a stationary pen either cover the floor of the run with hardware cloth or dig a trench around the coop and bury the first section of hardware cloth about a foot deep to prevent predators digging into the coop.  Use hardware cloth everywhere except for any inner partitions that can be chicken wire.

 

Your roof needs some pitch or slope to allow the water to run off.  Asphalt shingles need at least 4” of drop per foot of run (4/12 pitch) but if you use the roll roofing you can go as low as 2/12 pitch.  Metal roofing can go even lower to 1/12 but the steeper the roof pitch the more water tight it is in extreme weather and it will hold up to snow loads better.   It is good to cover about half of the run with a roof for the rainy days and snow days.  The run will require cleaning too so make the run at least six feet tall in back and eight in the front, or six feet on both sides and an 8’ tall peak in the middle.  Provide a six foot tall door that is at least 36” wide to allow a wheel barrow to be pushed in and out of the coop. 

You will want electricity for additional light in the winter and for freeze proofing the water.  A single 15 to 20 amp service is plenty.   A water source is good too if you can bury it deep enough to prevent freezing.  Get one of those metal freeze proof  faucets but place it outside so it drains well or when you back fill the hole around the faucet use small stones with gravel on top to make a drain for any spilled water.

You will need a ramp to connect the lower run to the coop.  Chickens can handle a steep ramp but make it a bit longer if you have the room.

Inside the coop, cover the back one third with chicken wire, providing a tray under the chicken wire to catch the droppings from the roosts poles that you wlll install overhead.  The tray will provide the predator protection so chicken wire will work fine and allow the droppings to pass through easier than hardware cloth.  Roosts should be 2 x 3 lumber, set with the narrow side up for strength.  Keep the span down to less than six feet length, 18” between roosts, at least 9” from the outside wall, and between three and four feet off the ground.

The walls need to be solid and as air tight as possible.  You will add ventilation at the top to cool the coop in warm weather and to remove ammonia and moisture but you want ventilation that you can control, not a drafty coop once the temperature drops below freezing.  Windows are a must, South facing if possible to catch the winter sun.  If the window is to serve for ventilation, put it up as high as possible to remove the  hottest air.  Insulate the walls if possible so the bird’s own body heat will help keep the coop warmer than outside in cold weather.   A low hardware cloth screened vent is nice, put a sliding plywood hatch so it can be closed off if needed.  Don’t forget to leave a 12” x 12” opening for the ramp into the  lower run.

Cute coop for four to five hens.

Nest boxes need to have an outside access door, be around 12” wide x 16” deep x  14” tall with a pitched roof to prevent roosting.  Set the next boxes at least 24” off the floor and add a 2” front rail to keep the bedding inside.  Put a good latch on the outside access door that a raccoon couldn’t open.  One nest box per five to six hens.

You should provide space for one treadle feeder per 12 to 16 birds, ideally placed against a wall and even better is placed in a corner so that one side is close enough to a wall so the birds won’t try to lean in to eat from the side.  On the other side of the treadle feeder provide a thin, short partition to do the same thing, leaving room for clearance.  Water is best left outside unless you also provide a water tight drain area for the inevitable water spillage.

You will want electricity for additional light in the winter and for freeze proofing the water.  A single 15 to 20 amp service is plenty.   A water source is good too if you can bury it deep enough to prevent freezing.  Get one of those metal freeze proof  faucets but place it outside so it drains well or when you back fill the hole around the faucet use small stones with gravel on top to make a drain for any spilled water..

The run can be covered with a thick layer of straw, dried leaves, rice hulls, or wood shavings.  Anything that is dry and absorbent.   Provide a hook to hang a water dispenser from or set the water dispenser on a cement block fitted with a light bulb for winter use.  Paving the area around the water dispenser with patio blocks is a good idea.

What are your thoughts on chicken coop design?   Please leave a comment or message in the comment section below. 

How Much Space per Chicken is needed?

Chicken Coop Materials

 

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Mites and Lice on Chickens

Posted on by John Meeks

© An even smaller heading.

“Mites are very similar to lice but they are much smaller and tough to see unless there are vast infestations on a bird.  Some hide in cracks in the wood and building, coming out at night to feast on the hens.  ”

 

 

Mites and Lice on Chickens

Mites and Lice make life pretty miserable for your birds and the same pests can bite humans.  But there are things you can do, actually that you should be doing already, that will reduce the chances of you having to deal with mites and lice on chickens and there are ways to deal with a infestation of mites and lice on chickens.

Preventatives:

  • Clean coops at all times
  • Healthy birds are less likely to get infested
  • Check the birds for signs of infestation on a regular basis

 Signs of an infestation:

  • Seeing bugs on your hands or bites after handling the birds or being in their coop
  • Sick looking birds
  • Birds not wanting to roost in their normal spot
  • Pale combs
  • Ruffled feathers caused by abnormal dirt bathing
  • Preening more than normal
  • Head shaking
  • Dirty looking feathers that might be egg clusters and not dirt
  • Scratching more than normal and damaged feathers
  • Red skin, especially around the vent
  • Scales on legs raised and scabby looking
  • Raspy breathing caused by air sac mites
  • Unexplained deaths

 

© An even smaller heading.

“Northern fowl mites and red roost mites are the most common type and are tiny eight legged insects that live in cracks during the day. Grey colored, or dark brown, or reddish color, you will find them after dark on the feathers and vent areas where they suck blood from the bird.”

 

 

There are many types of lice that will infest chickens:

  • Cuclotogaster heterographa, or head louse, they are visible to the human eye, about one tenth of an inch long.  They will stay right at the base of the feathers to eat skin and feather, not suck blood.  Found frequently on young birds and can kill birds if there are a lot of them.
  •  Eomenacanthus stramineus (= Menacanthus stramineus), the body louse is probably the most common type of lice and the most harmful pest.  Between 1/10th  and 1/8th of an inch long, brown to tan colored.  Feeds on feathers and blood.  Found mostly on the skin where there are fewer feathers but will be found all over the bird in bad cases of infestation.  You can see the egg clusters on feathers and skin.
  • Goniocotes gallinae, the fluff louse, is tiny, 3 to 6 hundredths of an inch long, barely visible in good lighting.  They feed on feathers around the base of the feathers.
  • Lipeurus caponis, the wing louse, is just over a sixteenth of an inch long and is grey colored.  Found on the inner parts of the wings, the tails and head feathers.  It eats feathers so bad that it is called the depluming louse. 
  • Menopon gallinae, the shaft louse, around one sixteenth of an inch long.  Feeds on skin and feathers and can suck blood.  Eggs are white looking clusters around the base of the feathers
  • Columbicola columbae, slender pigeon louse, is a sixteenth of an inch to 3/32th of an inch long, found everywhere on the bird.  Feeds on feathers, lays eggs under the wings on fine feathers

Mites are very similar to lice but they are much smaller and tough to see unless there are vast infestations on a bird.  Some hide in cracks in the wood and building, coming out at night to feast on the hens. 

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Whitewashed coop interior

“Doing a thorough cleaning of the coop, followed by a good coat of white wash, followed by a good spraying with permethrin both inside the coop and out including the exterior of the coop during dry weather.”

 

 

.  Northern fowl mites and red roost mites are the most common type and are tiny eight legged insects that live in cracks during the day. Grey colored, or dark brown, or reddish color, you will find them after dark on the feathers and vent areas where they suck blood from the bird.  DE or diatomaceous earth isn’t very effective on mites and works better on lice.  Spinosad, a product of Saccharopolyspora bacteria, will kill mites, flies, beetles, and many other insect pests.  It is diluted and sprayed on a thoroughly cleaned coop, even on the birds themselves.  Elector is a popular brand containing Spinosad and can be found on Amazon at this link.  The product is quite expensive but will kill mites in one application.

Chemical controls

Permethrin spray and/or dust, Ivermectin either oral or injected or topical, and Vectra 3D although it is not approved for use on poultry.  Ivermectin is not cleared for use on laying hens though so avoid it unless the eggs are used for replacement chicks.  The old standby, Sevin dust, is no longer approved on chickens due to its ability to put traces into eggs.  If you aren’t eating the eggs but hatching replacement stock you could probably get away with Sevin dust.

The best method of control is to carefully inspect and dust all birds when they are brought home, isolating them in a distant coop for a few weeks to see if any pests hatch out after the initial treatment.   Providing a dry dusting bath for the birds, either inside the coop or out under the covered run, helps.  Wood ashes, fine playground sand, and some poultry grade diatomaceous earth mixed in will help prevent mites and lice from getting out of control.   Dusting the roosts and nest boxes with pyrethrin or permethrin powder  a few times a year is a good idea.

 

© An even smaller heading.

“There are signs that some mites and lice are becoming resistant to permethrin and the old poultry lice standby sulfur is making a comeback.   Back in the sixties sulfur was the go to insecticide when you were going out into the woods or picking blackberries to keep ticks and chiggers off.”

 

 

Ivermectin applied to the skin at the back of their neck helps on some birds.    Doing a thorough cleaning of the coop, followed by a good coat of white wash, followed by a good spraying with permethrin both inside the coop and out including the exterior of the coop during dry weather.  More on whitewashing at the end of this article.
Both lice and mites are spread by wild birds, mice, and rats so a good treadle feeder is a must to keep the vermin from infecting your flock.  Diatomaceous earth can be rubbed into the feathers on infested birds.  Diatomaceous earth comes in many forms and is safe if you pick the right type.  It is approved for a commercial kitchen bug killer in the right form.  Food grade or Amorphous diatomaceous earth will have a small amount of crystalline silica, less than one percent, while swimming pool grade is going to be 20% dangerous silica so avoid that type even if it is cheap. 

Then there is calcined diatomaceous earth, which has been heated till it melts, cooled and fractured into tiny sharp shards, not safe for hens because of the inhalation risk but good for a general outdoor insecticide.  Calcined DE is dangerous for humans if you breath the dust so avoid using it.  The Amorphous DE can be used as a food additive, a desiccant in grain, even fed to chickens to kill fly larvae.

ADE kills by absorption and eroding the outer layer of the chitinous exoskeleton of bugs.  The ADE slowly erodes the out layer till the bug starts leaking fluids and the combination of fluid leaks and the ADE absorbing four times its weight in fluid will desiccate the bug.  ADE will dry out naturally once the humidity drops so the dust doesn’t wear out or go bad. Wear gloves when working with it as it will dry out your hands really, really, bad.  Try to find large 50 pound bags marketed as ADE for feed, much cheaper than the repackaged 2 pound bags marked up 20 times the price. 

 

There are signs that some mites and lice are becoming resistant to permethrin and the old poultry lice standby sulfur is making a comeback.   Back in the sixties sulfur was the go to insecticide when you were going out into the woods or picking blackberries to keep ticks and chiggers off.

 

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© An even smaller heading.

 

Scaly leg mites are another pest that does a lot of damage to chickens.  Ivermectin will help, Vaseline, Vicks Vapor Rub, and Campho-Phenique also help smother leg mites.  There are stories out on the internet that dipping the chicken’s legs in gasoline will kill the mites, followed by slathering Vaseline or other oily ointment and repeating the ointment treatment several times.   The old farmer’s remedy for dog mange (also mites) was used motor oil.  The dogs hated it, were shamed by it to the point they would run off for half a day before returning, but it worked with one treatment.  The oil would have higher levels of sulfur than new motor oil and the oil smothered the mites. 

The old state university publications on treating mites and lice listed cresol (coal tar) and gasoline mixed together and brushed on the chickens.   Kerosene and cresol were also listed, mixed with laundry soap, to be sprayed on the chickens.

When you treat for scaly leg mites expect several months before the legs are looking healthy again.  The old scales will slough off and new, healthy tissue will grow back in time.    Another prevention method is to whitewash the coop.  Most people thought whitewash was a cheap paint but it was disinfectant and pest control back when we didn’t have modern chemicals.

 Take a gallon of warm water, mix in two cups of salt and seven cups of hydrated lime that is found at a feed store or garden store.  A quarter cup of Elmer’s glue makes it stickier.  Keep it stirred up and paint it on, spray it, use a rag, just get it on the wood, cement, or anything else that isn’t moving around.  The mixture will go on clear but dry to a white, shabby chic looking surface.  The lime is a caustic, the other end of the pH scale than acid, so it acts as a natural insecticide.  Besides killing pests it acts as a crude paint to whiten everything and make the inside of the coop brighter.   

There are other mites that gather on the combs, wattles, and faces of chickens.    Applying castor oil or any other thick oil to smother them works along with the other treatments for lice and mites.  There are also stick tight fleas, that suck blood just like a normal flea except they bite in and stay while sucking blood out of the host.  These fleas are tiny and burrow into the host and are difficult to eradicate.  They are found on wild rabbits, dogs, cats, people, almost any mammal.  If infested try using the castor oil and regular lice/mite treatments before moving on to the more specific stick tight flea remedies.

 

Elector on Amazon          

 

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