poop in the coop

Lots of questions and lots of answers! will do my best!

Chickens do most of their poops at night when they are on their perches. They have no regard for where they do them - if they are in the front garden they are as happy to poop on the path, as my front door mat!

When making the coop, try to make it with as few joints as possible. If you make it in wood, try and seal all the joins with something, so that no nasties can get in the cracks and crevices.

It is a good idea to put linolium down underneath the perches and then a good thick layer of straw. I throw corn into my coop each evening when I give them their treat as this encourages them to scratch around in the straw and turn it over, keeping it light and fluffy. Not everyone agrees about putting corn loose on the floor in the coop, but it works for me.

The run area sounds ideal as it is under the trees. Chickens were originally fowl of the woodland so like to be scratching under trees. The damp bit is the worrying side of your run. I would suggest that you either put in a concrete floor if you are having a fairly small run and then put wood chip (not bark - it can cause problems because of the fungus) on top of it. Alternatively put down gravel with wood chip on top. You will then be able to water it lightly with bleach water every now and then to keep down the nasties.

With regard to cleaning - the coop needs to be cleaned regularly, their perches scrubbed and a layer of red mite powder put down on the floor before the straw goes on it. I use Stalosan F in my coops as it keeps the droppings dry and cuts down the smell of amonia which can get quite strong if the floor gets damp.

Depending on what type of hens you get you will need a run height of anything from four feet (if you go for heavy breeds that don't fly) to six foot. Be prepared to cover it as well. My birds were forever flying over the top of the run until I put a solid roof on it. Your fencing needs to be fox proof and I would suggest you use a pop hole as an in and out for the hens in your coop, that you can shut at dusk and open again in the morning.

Would suggest that you feed layers pellets or mash ad lib during the day, and then give them a feed of grain last thing at night. This fills their crops, they don't digest it as easily as greens and layers pellets, and keeps them full and warm overnight. Obviously they will need fresh clean water available at all times.

It may seem a lot of things to take on board at first, but actually hens are very easy to keep and are very rewarding. There is nothing like the taste of that first egg!

Anything else I can help you with just ask, and I am sure that there will be others who will also give you advise on here.

Sorry mankmanuk... I have to be childish and admit the rhyming did make me chuckle

Thank you for all the advice, I think or so I was told to wait until early spring to get the chickens in.

So all that advice will help me prepare the way for the new arrivals and I am really looking forward to it.

Thanks

Mankmunk - if you wanted to you could get your point of lay pullets in before Spring - it just means they may not lay quite as many eggs at first because of the short days! Still it will give you time to get everything sorted won't it!

One point - make sure that the top of your perches are an oval shape not square! Square edges hurt the hens feet as they grip on very tight at night to hold them in place and stop them falling of the perch in a pile of agitated feathers!

Just wondered Squirrel, if the perches were round would the hens fall off? Sorry if this sounds a stupid question!

no it just means they find it very hard to balance, if they cant balance properly they wont use it.