I am new to chicken keeping and have a few questions please. My husband is making me a coop and I need to know if:
1. Can I paint the inside of the coop? Most paint is water soluble these days.
2. What side should the nest boxes be? The coop front is facing north so should they be on the east or west side?
3. Do they need food and water at night in the coop or shall we leave it in the run? I assume they will need water but do they eat at night?
Thank you for any advice given.
Replies
Carol, my thoughts:
1) I would not paint the inside
2) the entire coop should have some shade, but if you have to choose make it the east side.
3) they need water (water dispenser) day and night and a wading pool (not a dish) when the temps are in the high 80s and above (pretty much April through October at least. Unless there is bright light (like a full moon or you keep a light on for maximum egg production (see note below) in the winter time, they do not eat at night.
They like a place to take dust baths, so the run can be dirt, sand, straw or mixes, but not concrete.
The general recommendation is the coop, next box and at least part of the run should have natural shade (tree, large hedge, vines), which help keep their areas cooler in the hot months. While they adapt well to cool/cold the summer heat here can be very dangerous to them. With proper shade, water access and food they will produce eggs even in the summer heat. Folks post every year about losing one or more chickens to the heat so best to prepare and setup properly at the beginning. A kiddie wading pool is a good option. You can dump the water periodically into your garden - manure and all.
*Egg laying can decrease with reduced natural day light in the cool months - molting aside - so many folks put a light on a timer in the coop. The timer should come on at about 4 a.m. or so and automatically turn off at about 9 or 10 a.m. This creates a long light exposure but allows their natural activity to lessen at dusk.
If you have not taken one of Rachel's chicken classes she has one coming up in May - I strongly urge you to consider taking this stand-alone class.
http://vpaaz.wildapricot.org/events?eventId=865550&EventViewMod...
Hope these ideas help. Good luck.
Thank you Catherine for all your tips and advice. I took Rachel's class about two years ago but have only just got my chicks so still learning!