Very newbie questions

Tessynae · #1 08/27/12, 09:58 AM

DH and I are hoping to get 4-5 chickens very soon. We really want the fresh eggs and the fertilizer from their poo.

But we have some questions before we get them.

The best place for us to put the coop would be up against the house. Our screened in porch would be right next to, but one floor above the coop. DH is afraid that the smell will make the porch much less pleasant for us and our company to enjoy that space.

So my questions would be,

1) How bad will it smell if we keep it well cleaned out.

2) How often should I clean it out to keep it from smelling bad?

3) How many nesting spots should we have for 4-5 chickens? (Do they each need their own or do they share?)

4) How much feed should we expect them to go through each month?

I really appreciate any wisdom you can spare.

gracie88 · #2 08/27/12, 10:40 AM

1. Shouldn't be to bad, shavings or sawdust for bedding helps immensely, being dry helps immensely, if it gets wet regularly, it will stink no matter what.
2. My SIL picks the poo out of her (two) birds' shavings every morning. They do a lot of their pooping while on their roosts so it builds up under there otherwise.
3. 2-3, and they will probably all pile angrily into one.
4. I don't know, been free-ranging too long.

Haven · #3 08/27/12, 12:30 PM

You're going to attract tons of flies near and inside the house with a coop that close.

I put my coop about 1 acre away from the house, and I have seen a noticeable increase in flies outside and in the house since then. They will fly in the doors to your house when you go in and out. Had a picnic outside this weekend and they were totally swarming the food.

Tessynae · #4 08/27/12, 05:40 PM

Thanks for the info.
I was thinking of having 3 nesting spots for 4-5 hens.

We don't have any other option for placement of the coop due to where we are living right now. Can't wait to get some land!!

I'm hoping that if we keep it clean we won't have too many flies. (fingers crossed)

Cliff · #5 08/27/12, 05:54 PM

The best way to keep it from smelling bad is to use deep litter bedding. Pine shavings work best. Throw a handful of scratch on top every morning and the hens will scratch for it and mix the poo in so it's not sitting on the surface stinking. It will even compost in place if you give it a little squirt with the hose to add a tad of moisture when it gets too dry.

Tessynae · #6 08/27/12, 06:56 PM

That's a great idea. Letting the chickens do some of the work. But I don't think we want it to compost there. I think we'll take it out and put it in the compost pile.

Does anyone have an idea of how much feed 4-5 chickens will eat in a week or month?

CNCfamily · #7 08/27/12, 07:12 PM

I've never had just a handful of chickens, but with 28 birds i'm going through about two bags of of layer feed and a bag of grain (what are they, 40 lb bags?) Maybe i over feed, i don't know, but that's what i use!

Awnry Abe · #8 08/27/12, 11:50 PM

I would put some distance between the coop and the house. They aren't the cleanest animals in the world. Good bedding will keep the smell down, but you shouldn't use your nose as the trigger for cleaning. By the time my nose catches up, I know I am way past due on cleaning and my hens are in a poor situation. You will have much healthier birds if you spend a little time each week cleaning the coop.

I would go with 2 boxes. They share just fine. I would avoid letting them brood if space is tight. If you have too many boxes, they tend to sleep and poop in the extras at night, if you can't kick them out in the pm.

The "how much food" question is not that easy to nail down. Your feeding rate will vary depending on how much they can scavenge on their own, the type of bird, whether they are laying or not, the weather, etc. When giving feed "free choice", as in keeping the feeder loaded, it becomes difficult to establish that rate because their demand seems to change by the week. This is very much a swag: 1-2 lbs per day summer, 3-4 winter, for your 4-5 hens. Your 50# bag will last a good, long time. I do know this much for certain, chickens are a protein in-protein out machine. If the protein consumption is deficient, egg production will be likewise.

They won't break the bank, but they won't make you rich, either. Fresh eggs makes all the work worh it, IMO. And they make good backyard entertainment.

AJohnston · #9 08/28/12, 12:28 AM

Here is some information on the Deep Litter Method. It will reduce the amount of work you do as well as reduce smells.

Deep Litter Method The Easiest Way To Deal With Chicken Litter Dlm - BackYard Chickens Community

RWDitto · #10 08/28/12, 08:08 AM

If your going to move in the future anyway, why not use a moveable coop? Ours are moveable every 2-3 days on to fresh grass, no bedding, no smell, no mud hole, no cleaning, and the chickens fertilize your yard for you. You are able to get a lot of the free range benefits, but provide safety from predators, and chickens dont get bored and start pecking. Check out the photos on my facebook page and it might give you some ideas.
https://www.facebook.com/Heritage.Ways.Farm

Cliff · #11 08/28/12, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tessynae

That's a great idea. Letting the chickens do some of the work. But I don't think we want it to compost there. I think we'll take it out and put it in the compost pile.

Does anyone have an idea of how much feed 4-5 chickens will eat in a week or month?

You know what they say about contempt prior to investigation

It composts clean with no smell. I promise. We've managed our chicken house like this for years. It provides extra heat for the birds in the winter, then you clean it out in the spring and put it on your garden.

Haven · #12 08/29/12, 10:48 AM

Chickens seem to be one animal that can eat 1 ounce of food and turn it into 2 ounces of poop coming out tha back end

Tessynae · #13 08/29/12, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haven

Chickens seem to be one animal that can eat 1 ounce of food and turn it into 2 ounces of poop coming out tha back end

I seem to eat one ounce of food and turn it into 2 pounds of fat! At least with chickens you can use their poop as fertilizer.

MikeG49 · #14 08/30/12, 10:02 AM

Our coop is only 10 ft away from our house. Are you keeping them permanently in the coop? If so there will be a lot more cleaning. Ours free range around the farm and only sleep in the coop but the amount of poo that 12 birds make in just 10 hrs of sleep is incredible. We also have our main backyard eating area just a few feet from the coop and it's not bad at all. Like someone else already said, flies, not the smell will be a bigger issue.

As for the nesting boxes, 2 is plenty since they'll probably all wanty to use the same 1. If you plan on expanding ever then make it 3.

Haven't got a clue about the feed because ours free range, but chickens are kinda like pigs in that they will eat almost any table or garden scraps.

Sparkie · #15 08/31/12, 04:37 PM

Deep litter here too, I read about it years ago here and it really is the cleanest way to keep a coop.