How to raise chickens

[MrsBone]

So DH and recently purchased a 10x10 dog kennel with homeowners insurance money hoping we could use it to house chickens. I just want to find out from you experienced chicken raisers if this will suffice? I think we'll need to put up chicken wire around the base of the kennel because if we get chicks, they'll be able to get through. the kennel doesn't have a roof, and we have no coop or anything for them yet. DH thinks we can just use our dog house as a coop for several chickens. I don't think that will work very well. Thoughts? We had chickens growing up, and had about a 15x15 area for them to roam and my dad built a coop for each chicken to have their own place to lay eggs. Is this necessary? I think the coop even had a door on it to keep predators out. Again, is this necessary? We have a labrador retreiver thats an outdoor dog, and I'm thinking that I won't be able to have the chickens and dog outside roaming at the same time because I feel like our dog will probably want to kill the chickens. What hens are best for laying? I'm not sure that I'll want to slaughter the chickens to eat, I really just want them for eggs.

[SweetSilver]

I like to have a small number of hens for my small space, even though the literature says I can house more.  We give our hens lots of things to jump up on, and there is even a pine tree in the middle to provide shade and hop into lower branches.  We use a (ahem!) "modified deep litter system".  Which means when I get around to it I put a good layer of fresh hay all around, throw some old hay under the outdoor spot they prefer roosting on.  The freshest hay goes in the nesting boxes and hutch.  They like this hay (unsprayed, from a friend's field) because it is ripe hay and has a lot of seeds and things to dig for.  The coop is also our compost pile.  Any plant or weed that is not toxic goes in there.  Every now and again I harvest the "chickeny hay".  Then the worm hunt begins!  (Buttercup, Tyrant Queen of the Worm Hunt spends more time pecking the other hens for eating worms than actually eating them herself!)  Recently we corralled a tree service truck and had more tree chips delivered than we could use, and a huge chunk of that pile went into the coop.  Now I really like having the chips as a base.

     We have a second pen (our "night pen") that is completely covered and this is where the hutch is and the nighttime roosts.  I don't usually close the door between them now that the hens are full grown, but the pen is predator-proof (well, as best we can) when the door is shut, with chickenwire over and around.  Recently I had to segregate the hens when our surrogate chicks started running around.

     The last thing we give our hens is the "run" around the perimeter along the fence.  If you let the hens out an hour or 2 from their bedtime, you can let them range and they will return themselves to the pen......most of the time.

     Using a dog-run fence you will have cats climbing over it when you have chicks.  They'll be terrified of the hens, but a stiff fence is easy to scale.  We've had to put some floppy chicken wire at the top, angling out to prevent this.  Also, unless you get big, heavy breeds, you might have the hens flying out.  I've even seen even a huge Buff Orpington scale a 6 foot-high fence.  We were lucky, are lucky, so far.

     As far as breeds, every hen is different, and you will sometimes hear contrary information about every breed because of this.  I really like our Buff Orpingtons, which we got because they were big and (reputedly) gentle.  They are, but they go broody a lot, and though the old biddies are still laying quite nicely in their 3rd season, ours have not been the best layers if you count eggs per week.  Their broodiness was nice for tucking some fertile eggs under them this spring and hatching some chicks.  Gentleness, though, is often how much and how gently they are handled as chicks and whether the coop is over-crowded.  I wouldn't put more than 8 hens in such a coop, 6 even better.  4 is the minimum flock I would have.

[NikonMama]

Chicks need to stay in a heated brooder inside your house or garage for the first month or so.  They can't stay outside until they are feathered out, around 4-6 weeks.  Ours stay in a box in our spare bedroom for the first month, then are moved to a brooder in my husband's shop that we move in and out so they can get some fresh air.  A dog kennel should be okay, but I would put some type of netting or something over the top of it to protect them from air predators.  Some ground animals can also climb a 6' fence, I know foxes can and probably racoons also.  You will need some type of additional protection around the bottom of it (preferably hardware cloth, not chicken wire which is actually very weak) b/c animals like weasels and rats can climb through chain link fence.  I would also give them some kind of shelter in case it rains (small coop or something) and also for them to feel secure at night.  Here is a list of small chicken coops you could possibly build http://www.backyardchickens.com/chicken-coop-small.html 

[CrunchyMama19]

DH and I are seriously thinking of raising a few chickens for eggs. We are trying to figure out a good season to start, what kind of breeds would be good, and what we need to prepare?

FYI - we live in the Front Range of Colorado so our climate is dry and it varies from very cold to very hot. We are only looking for a half a dozen eggs a week. More would be great but not necessary, we don't expect much the first year anyway.

[NikonMama]

Originally Posted by CrunchyMama19 

DH and I are seriously thinking of raising a few chickens for eggs. We are trying to figure out a good season to start, what kind of breeds would be good, and what we need to prepare?

FYI - we live in the Front Range of Colorado so our climate is dry and it varies from very cold to very hot. We are only looking for a half a dozen eggs a week. More would be great but not necessary, we don't expect much the first year anyway.

Buff Orpingtons would be a good breed for you.  They are consistent layers, and they get pretty fluffy as adults so they would do well in your cold climate in the winter but are heat tolerant also.  If you only need half a dozen eggs per week, I suggest only getting 6 or so chickens.  As for when to get them, that really depends.  Spring or early fall are usually good.  During the high heat of the summer isn't the best for transporting chickens, and you will want them to be fully feathered before you have them outside in the cold. 

Good luck!!
 

[mattemma04]

Do not use chicken wire.It will not stop predators.Use hardware cloth aka metal fencing around the bottom and for the top.Chicks need a heat lamp.I had mine in the laundry room in a play pen.Once feathered out I put them in the garage.I use a metal shed for them.I let my chickens roam the back yard.Put something over the top of the kennel run to keep hawks  and others out.Animals can climb into the run or pull heads  to eat through the chain link.

You need a coop of sorts for the hens.A secure place for night.A dry spot during rain and cold.Pt in roosts and nesting boxes. I use milk crates and booda cat littler boxes for nesting.I put a old piece of wood trim on cemet bloks for a roost.

Look up the BYC  web page for good info.

My red sexlink hens and EE hens laid all winter despite a cold somewhat dark shed.No frostbite or anything.

[cameragirl]

I second the hardware cloth. We found it coated in rubber, and that lasts a little bit longer. Our chickens are in a tractor, which is a moveable coop. Every day we move them to a new section of grass so that they can peck for weeds and bugs. BYC is a great site, too. Pretty much anything you need to know, you can find there. If you'd like eggs soon, you can get pullets that are just about to or already laying. If waiting doesn't bother you, you can order chicks or eggs if the weather has cooled down a little in your area. Most breeds will start laying at around 5-7 months.

You'll enjoy the fresh eggs. They may not save us money, but the taste difference and nutritional content is definitely worth it. Chickens are pretty hilarious to watch, too.

[SweetSilver]

Originally Posted by mattemma04 

Do not use chicken wire.It will not stop predators.Use hardware cloth aka metal fencing around the bottom and for the top.

We have had no trouble with using chicken wire.  Unfortunately, I think is one of those things you figure out once you've had your hens for a while!  We live on the edge of a small town with plenty of fencing to keep out coyotes, dogs and foxes.  There are no weasels in the immediate vicinity.  Rats are minimal, and raccoons here seem oddly shy (compared to the city where we were 5 years ago).  We haven't had any trouble from hawks or owls, even though they are around.  Our main trouble has been cats, and only when the hens were young pullets.  Now I can leave the coop door open, and the stray cats will sneak in to eat the leftovers the chickens didn't eat, always keeping a frightened and wary eye out for the *giant* hens checking them out!  

Chainlink fencing will pretty much only keep a dog out.  And industrious dogs will dig underneath the fence.

It depends on where you are whether one kind of fencing will work or not, and what other predator-proofing strategies you'll need to employ.  (This sounds like what I hear about deer as well.  "Plant this plant, they won't eat it", "build a fence this high, they can't jump it", "use this spray, they hate it".  What works in one area/ region might be useless in another.)   I would ask around "the neighborhood" for starters, then err on the side of caution, but according to your budget.  Again, chicken wire seems to work pretty well around here.
 

[cameragirl]

We're on the edge of town, too...but we do get raccoons, opossums, and skunks going over our 6ft fence with ease. With them, the concern is more disease and stealing food than attacking our chickens. We did have one that was reaching in and knocking the food dish over, so we had to hang the feeder in the middle of the tractor. Now they can't get to it. We put fence locks on the doors, too. That way we can put a peg or lock through it if DD or animals are messing with the doors.

[FarmerBeth]

Despite lots of predators, our chickens still free range and we only lost one out of 24 in two years - the big key is that we always lock them in the coop at night and if we are away from home, and our dog is a coyote deterrent.  I wanted to add that once you have grown hens, letting them hatch out and care for their chicks can be just as effective as the brooders.  We and neighbours have had great success with our mother hens having their own separate section in the coop to care for a newly hatched chick (divided off with hardware cloth and a lockable swing door) where the other chickens can see them but not touch.  Once they had time to know each other we let them out.  We have sussex/barred rock crosses, and some hybrid brown layers.

[SweetSilver]

Originally Posted by FarmerBeth 

 I wanted to add that once you have grown hens, letting them hatch out and care for their chicks can be just as effective as the brooders. 

We have 2 buff Orpingtons whose favorite pastime has been to go broody-- for 5 weeks!  So it was with confidence that I tucked some surrogate fertile eggs from a friend's flock underneath.  (Success, yea!  and what fun to watch them with the chicks!)  Buff O's are famous for their mothering instincts.  I will always include a few in my flock!  (But not too many because in my brief, limited experience, Buttercup will decide to go broody, then Petunia will decide that it looks just grand and go broody too.  My flock has dwindled because we are relocating soon, so 2 hens out of commission for weeks puts the damper on the flock.  Hens are fun and wonderful to watch, but mine turn positively stupid when the ranks are thrown into chaos!)

[cameragirl]

Broody hens crack me up. We have some silkie chicks, and I'm pretty sure we'll end up with random broodiness. Too bad we don't have a roo and it will be pointless.