I am so excited! I want to get 2-3 chickens and would like some advice on which ones you all might recommend; I want fresh eggs in the morning :) I have signed up for Myron's next Raising Chickens in Your Backyard class but thought I'd get some ideas from here...I'm going to place the coop on the East side of the house as it doesn't get as much sun, probably 25% of the day. At the moment there is just rock there, but I'll be clearing it out down to the dirt where I'll be putting the coop.Are there plans out there for building coops? I've seen a ton and am curious, being in Arizona, is heat going to be an issue and, with regards to the coop, should it be half and half as far as cover goes? I mean, should part of it have a roof and another just have chicken wire? Any recommendations on size or type? How and where should I start, other than Myron's class :)
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I second the deep litter method if you can do it. Don't forget that chickens LOVE dirt baths so something a little on the soft side works well for that and when it's sprayed down in the summer, they'll nestle into it to keep cool. As a whole, feather legged birds don't do as well with the heat as clean legged birds, but it all boils down to each bird. We've had most standard size breeds over the years and haven't had any issues with heat, from Leghorns to Giant Show Cochins. If you choose a brown, white and green egger you'll always know who's laying :)
I second Kristin's Orpingtons. They're very middle of the road. Nice heavy bird for large eggs but friendly. If you're only going to have three and you get them from chicks, chances are they'll all have good dispositions and be quite friendly. All our girls (22 with 30 on the way) know that the "chick, chick, chick" call means we've got a tasty snack for the, be it rolled barley or horn worms or an occasional red wiggler.
Salmons are beautiful birds and very friendly as well as calm. As a whole you'll find your heavier birds less flighty and more personable, but like with everything else, each develops their own personality~
LeAnn, if you decide you don't want your WJG, let me know. She's be a welcomed bird to our two Black JGs and our White Cochin :)
Do you have a recommendation for the floor/run area? I saw grass was a recomendation....how hard is that to keep up and clean and does it grow ok in a run? On line I read someone suggested course builders sand....has anyone tried that...
We are considering building a coop etc. - how much time is involved in daily cleaning and how much of a smell is there?
Any ideas on how to build a coop with less time in daily cleaning but that does not smell so much?
How have neighboors been to those of you with chickens...
As I usually do, I will recommend that you get three rather than two. This is because you should always have more than one chicken and if one of yours turned out to be a rooster, or died, you would want to have two remaining.
Rhode Island Reds are good layers, Australorps, even Easter Eggers (the ones that lay the green eggs) often lay 4+ eggs per week during the spring. I would recommend that you choose whatever breed suits you. From the experience of others though, I wouldn't get a leghorn, they seem to have difficulties with our hot weather (which is counterintuitive as that's the breed that fills up factory farms everywhere...) All chickens will be uncomfortable when the temps are up in the 100's, but there are things you can do to mitigate this: lots of available shade, wet the ground in the morning so it stays a little cooler, put out frozen water bottles for them to lean up against/drink from.
As for coop plans, just do a google search, you should find plenty. Also, backyardchickens.com has lots of coops to look at. Also, you will start with a couple, but I would put money on the fact that you will end up with 5 or 6 minimum down the road as they are quite addicting!
I don't know if you plan to have the coop only for sleeping and laying or if you want to keep them in there all the time. I will tell you that chicken wire doesn't keep out sparrows. If you want to keep feed from getting stolen, and sparrows can consume a lot more than you would think, you should use 1/2" hardware cloth.
Wow, Rachel, thank you SO much! I know I have a lot to learn and I am not rushing into it because I want to make sure that I provide a safe environment for the chickens way before I get them. I did look online and on backyardchickens.com, but I wanted to get additional information like you provided about the 1/2" hardware cloth. I'm assuming this is breathable? Would I cover the entire coop in this? Would I cover part of it in chicken wire?
Would I build a coop with like a 'room' on one side and a 'yard' on the other? I have a rocky area that I'll be building on, however I'll be moving as much rock as I can...is there a mulch or dirt or something that you'd advise me laying on top of the rock to make it softer?
I have to assume, that unless I'm advised otherwise, I'll be keeping them in the coop because I do have dogs...but because I'm an animal lover in general, I'll probably let them roam the yard when the dogs are in the house...can chickens swim? I have a pool!
The water bottle idea and spraying the ground with water ideas are excellent! And I appreciate it SO much!! I have a friend who has ducks and he provides a small plastic tub-like thing as a 'pool' for his ducks and chicken.
At any rate, I know I'll have more questions, but I SO appreciate the feedback so far and can't wait to take Myron's class to learn more :)
If you are building a coop that they will be in nearly all the time, then yes, I would build one with a sort of room (which at our temps, should probably not be all the way enclosed-- three-sided would be fine)where they sleep and lay and then a yard area to walk around in. You could cover the rocky area with straw, dirt, grass or anything like that. The hardware cloth is sort of a misnomer, it is like chicken wire, but instead of those bigger hexagonal holes, it has half inch square holes.
Chickens are not that bright and not swimmers, so keep them away from the pool. I had a chicken fall into a hole I had dug for a fencepost and she hurt her wing a little. There was nothing obscuring the hole, she just wasn't paying attention and walked right in. :)
Replies
I second Kristin's Orpingtons. They're very middle of the road. Nice heavy bird for large eggs but friendly. If you're only going to have three and you get them from chicks, chances are they'll all have good dispositions and be quite friendly. All our girls (22 with 30 on the way) know that the "chick, chick, chick" call means we've got a tasty snack for the, be it rolled barley or horn worms or an occasional red wiggler.
Salmons are beautiful birds and very friendly as well as calm. As a whole you'll find your heavier birds less flighty and more personable, but like with everything else, each develops their own personality~
LeAnn, if you decide you don't want your WJG, let me know. She's be a welcomed bird to our two Black JGs and our White Cochin :)
We are considering building a coop etc. - how much time is involved in daily cleaning and how much of a smell is there?
Any ideas on how to build a coop with less time in daily cleaning but that does not smell so much?
How have neighboors been to those of you with chickens...
Rhode Island Reds are good layers, Australorps, even Easter Eggers (the ones that lay the green eggs) often lay 4+ eggs per week during the spring. I would recommend that you choose whatever breed suits you. From the experience of others though, I wouldn't get a leghorn, they seem to have difficulties with our hot weather (which is counterintuitive as that's the breed that fills up factory farms everywhere...) All chickens will be uncomfortable when the temps are up in the 100's, but there are things you can do to mitigate this: lots of available shade, wet the ground in the morning so it stays a little cooler, put out frozen water bottles for them to lean up against/drink from.
As for coop plans, just do a google search, you should find plenty. Also, backyardchickens.com has lots of coops to look at. Also, you will start with a couple, but I would put money on the fact that you will end up with 5 or 6 minimum down the road as they are quite addicting!
I don't know if you plan to have the coop only for sleeping and laying or if you want to keep them in there all the time. I will tell you that chicken wire doesn't keep out sparrows. If you want to keep feed from getting stolen, and sparrows can consume a lot more than you would think, you should use 1/2" hardware cloth.
Would I build a coop with like a 'room' on one side and a 'yard' on the other? I have a rocky area that I'll be building on, however I'll be moving as much rock as I can...is there a mulch or dirt or something that you'd advise me laying on top of the rock to make it softer?
I have to assume, that unless I'm advised otherwise, I'll be keeping them in the coop because I do have dogs...but because I'm an animal lover in general, I'll probably let them roam the yard when the dogs are in the house...can chickens swim? I have a pool!
The water bottle idea and spraying the ground with water ideas are excellent! And I appreciate it SO much!! I have a friend who has ducks and he provides a small plastic tub-like thing as a 'pool' for his ducks and chicken.
At any rate, I know I'll have more questions, but I SO appreciate the feedback so far and can't wait to take Myron's class to learn more :)
Chickens are not that bright and not swimmers, so keep them away from the pool. I had a chicken fall into a hole I had dug for a fencepost and she hurt her wing a little. There was nothing obscuring the hole, she just wasn't paying attention and walked right in. :)
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