Coop Plans For Housing Chickens – Yahoo! Answers

William asks…

Chicken Coop Plans?

Me and my mother want to get chickens, not just yet but when we move house. We are planning to get them for egg laying. My uncle has some so we know very basic stuff but we don’t really know much. Any advice on building coops?

We are particularly interested in black rock chickens, any advice or anything we need to know about them…?

Yahoo Answers answers:

I keep chickens and have found this site really useful http://www.henkeeping.co.uk . There’s a section specifically for beginners so it should be of great use to you and your mum. There’s also forum on there so if you have any hen related questions, there’s probably your best bet.

I keep black rocks and would recommend them particularly for beginners. They’re a hardy bird, prolific layers and not flighty. If you want the tastiest eggs, I’d recommend you look at getting some Marans. They lay lovely dark brown eggs and the colour of the yolk (depending on their diet) is a real deep yellow/orange. They’re good layers too but the only downside is that they are known for being broody.

Happy hen keeping, you’ll not regret it, chickens rock!

Sandy asks…

Chicken coop, will they be safe?

So I’m going to build my own chicken coop. I’ll get the chickens in spring so I got all winter to do this. Well I live in the woods and I made my own coop plans. On the plan the coop with be 1-1.5 ft off the ground and a chicken door so they can go out and in at will. Yes I’ll have a little ramp for them to walk on. But sense I live in the woods there’s many raccoons and foxes and other predators out there. I’ll be keeping it close to the house so the coyotes won’t come near but raccoons aren’t afraid of me so I was wondering if it’s a good idea to have a open hole for them to get in and out without any wire. I heard they’re smart enough to stay inside in the night but not sure if a raccoon would go in cuz it would be wide open. Should I change that or would it be fine?

Yahoo Answers answers:

I have built an enclosure around my chicken coop.. I used 2×2′s – 6ft tall, and stucco wire because its way stronger than chicken wire.. I build a pen bigger than the coop.. With a gate so I can get in.. The chickens can roam in the pen and I can keep the gate shut.. Or if I want to open the gate in the day and let them roam I can.. But I always shut the gate at night!

A raccoon would go in.. So would a fox! And coyotes might try at night because they know you are not there.

David asks…

How to care for baby chicks?

I am planning on getting a couple of baby chicks. We are almost finished with the coop in the backyard, but, we need to keep the babies inside first couple of weeks. anyone know how to make a box/house for them INDOORS and the lighting, food, water, etc.

Yahoo Answers answers:

1. An old fish 10 gallon fish tank will do or hamster cage.
2. Get an old iguana or snake heating lamp
3. Line the bottom with newspaper
4. Line the sides of the tank or cage with foil
5. Get two feeding dishes; one for cracked corn, the other for water
6. A small piece of cloth to cover top of tank or cage do not drape cloth over light

When you put the lamp over the top of the tank or cage make the bedding (ripped up news paper) right under it. Put the food and water on the other end. If cracked corn seems harsh for babies at first, feed them left overs like lettuce and spinach(cooked or raw) or bread.

I remember keeping my baby rooster until he was at least six months before putting him out in a coop. By this time the rooster was 8 inches tall. The hens he went to roost with attacked him when he first joined the coop. Now he is one meanie. Takes care of his hens very well.

Chris asks…

Does anyone have Serma chickens they have kept outside over the winter?

Over the spring I added 2 Serama chickens to my menagerie. It was an impulse buy, and i regret not educating myself about these special chickens before i bought them. I have read online that they are exotic birds and can not survive under temperatures of 40′ F.

I live on the mid eastern coast of the US, and it defiantly gets below 40′ here in the winter. I have relocated all 3 hens to a smaller coop and put it up against the east side of my house for a wind breaker. I also put blankets over the ventilation holes and a tarp over the blankets to keep them dry. I left very small holes for ventilation which i will keep closed during the evenings, and i have a heater for there water.

As well as all that i have listed above, I purchased a Snugglesafe heating disc which is a microwaveable heating pad that is supposed to provide warmth for up to 12 hours. I was planning on keeping this in with the hens over night to keep the coop warm.

And on top of that my polish hen (who is 4x the size of the Seramas) sits on the little hens at night while they are sleeping. They cuddle up under her wings… may be one of the cutest things i have ever seen.

My first question is, do you think this is enough to keep my little Seramas warm over the winter?

And another question is does any one have personal experience with the snugglesafe heating pads? If so do they work???

Thanks in advance for any helpful information.

Yahoo Answers answers:

I live in north central Arkansas and keep chickens in outdoor coops all winter. They do o.k. With a heat bulb which is what I use to warm my chicken coops with. It sounds like your birds will be fine!