I have some chicken questions for those of you who have chickens...

[Angela in GA]

We're closing on our first home December 19th. Hopefully sooner. We wanted to close the 9th, the bank said, "that's nice, you'll close the 19th." Grrrrrr. Anyone, one of our requirements when searching for a house was, we must have room for chickens. Well, we have LOTS of room for chickens at this house. I know we will not have free roaming chickens, so dh wants me to research what kind of coop/pen we should get. We'll probably start with 8-10 layers. Oh, if you care to recommend a particular breed of chicken, that would be good too. :p One thing to keep in mind, we live in Alaska. It gets c.o.l.d in the winter months. We'll have to put some kind of light in the coop for heat, as well as extra daylight since it's so dark here in the winter. That being said, what do you recommend?

[jar7709]

We have Buff Orpingtons. We love them! Good layers and relatively intelligent. I think they are fairly hardy--it doesn't get as cold here as it does in Alaska, but we do have that yucky soggy damp for months on end and even though we don't have heat in our coop the chickens seem to do just fine.

 

I can't tell you where to buy a coop because DH built ours. :001_smile: I'd ask around at feed stores in your area, they probably have good leads.

[bbkaren]

Well, we're in NJ and it does get cold here...not sure if it gets as cold as Alaska but here goes...

 

We have Buff Orpingtons and they're great; during the warm months (regulated by the light cycle, so if you use artificial light you can keep it going in the winter as well), they give almost an egg apiece each day. From 5 chickens I'd say we averaged 4 eggs a day this summer. (We had a power problem in Sept, the light stopped working and the girls are now molting so now we average 1 egg a day until they get out of molt).

 

We have the light on a timer set to turn on at 4 a.m., and off at 8 a.m. when it's fully light out. I believe in order to keep them laying, they need 14 hours of light. Doesn't need to be much light; we just use a 7 watt curley-cue fluorescent bulb.

 

I know some people who just leave a light on 24/7 and it doesn't do any harm.

 

We don't use anything for heat but we close up the windows with plywood in the coldest months. Our hens have gotten frostbite on their combs and pieces have turned black and fallen off, but they grow back just fine.

 

One thing to consider if it gets cold...when building the roost, use 2x4's laid flat, so the hen's toes are stretched out flat and tucked under her belly feathers, rather than curled around the roost. They can lose toes to frostbite as well, which is a bit more of a problem than a bit of comb here and there.

 

We built a small shed (6x12) which houses them plus our six meat rabbits with plenty of room left over for the galvanized trash cans we use to store feed, 2 nest boxes, etc.

 

The shed has an entry door plus a little guillotine-style door for the chickens to come and go. We built an L-shaped fenced-in area around the front and one side to give them some safe space outdoors.

[Remudamom]

Buffs are good, Rhode Island Reds are also great, and a lot of my friends have got something called Red Star that they swear by.

 

Can't help you with coops, we built two rooms in the back of my tack building, added chicken wire and chicken doors and got two coops. They've got concrete floors and there's electricity in the building so it's easy to hook up heat lamps.

[Meriwether]

We have Buffs and Rhode Island Reds. Dh built our coop. It doesn't have electricity. We'll see how they do this winter. If we absolutely have to move them we can put them in the garage and hook up a heat lamp.

[Critterfixer]

Can't help you with breed advice ( here it's the heat and the humidity I worry about!) but I remember seeing a coop that an individual built as a dug out or underground coop. I never saw anything like that and actually have been considering a "berm" coop for my girls. Of course, in my case, it's the living in tornado suburb that has me thinking about chicken caves.

[lailasmum]

We have two coops, one bought and one made, the made one is far better than the bought one. Heavier and more solid in its construction.

 

If I did it all again I would just buy a quality shed though. So much easier to clean.

 

It doesn't get really cold here but I think Sussex would be good in the cold. They are really chunky solid birds (well ours are at 18 weeks-they are as big as our 18 month old chickens of different breeds.) and have a nice personality.

[cajunrose]

I can't help you with the cold..we live in Louisiana. HOwever, breed wise..our favorites are Buff Orphingtons. We have 7 birds total and 2 are buffs, 2 are Rhode Island Reds, and 3 are Barred Rocks. The RIR's are bossy...very. They are quite dominate and I'm not sure we will get them again. The Buffs are very docile and often seem to be at the bottom of the pecking order but really, it's quite opposite..they are just quiet about it..lol If we are feeding them fun treats like worms, the buffs hang back and act non-interested but they are the ones that ALWAYS get them. Its fun to watch. The Barred Rocks are really personality-less, but are good layers. All of mine are really. We get 4-7 eggs every day.

 

As far as coops...you need to build as big as you can...b/c you WILL want more..lol I only have room for my 7 but I am wanting more like you wouldn't believe...lol If you look on Backyard Chickens, there should be guidelines for square footage. I'm thinking it was 4 square foot per bird in the coop itself and 10 in the run? I could be wrong though.

 

You need 1 nesting box for every 3-4 birds. I have 2...I could probably actually use one more but we don't have room.

 

Have FUN with it...it has been a fantastic hobby for our family. We all are having fun with them.

[Angela in GA]

Thanks for all of your help! I'm off to read about chicken breeds. Maybe you could share pics of the coops/sheds you've built? :p

[SonshineLearner]

What kind of heat do you use for your house? I think it'd be interesting to have your coop right up against your house with some air going out into the coop. If the coop isn't too large, it seems like it wouldn't be too expensive... The underground part sounds interesting, too. Seems like if the coop is insulated that it would be able to be toasty :)

:)

[AK_Mom4]

We have four Rhode Island Reds and four Plymouth Barred Rocks. Both are cold tolerant and not broody. If you want to raise chicks you want broody.

 

You don't have to heat the coop. You do have to have ventilation even in the winter and no drafts. You have to vent the coop to keep moisture from building up. This is what causes the frost bite.

 

Here is a great article about the coop/winter http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-winter-coop-temperatures

 

Well, whether or not you have to heat the coop depends on WHERE you are in Alaska. Without heat in the coop in Fairbanks, you will probably wake up to chicken-cicles one night - frozen on the roost - when it drops to 30 below. We had family friends outside of Fairbanks and they kept the chickens in the barn with the cows in the winter - hens roosted right in the stalls and kept themselves warm.

 

Down south in Anchorage, we had lots of chickens growing up. Rhode Island reds mostly because my mom liked them. We left the light on 24x7 and had happy hens and it also detered weasels. No need for heat as long as the hens could roost up off the ground and were out of the wind. We had eggs most of the year, though the hens tended to slack off in January when it got really cold. If you are near Anchorage, Alaska Mill and Feed gives good advise.

[Vida Winter]

We are well into our chicken project which we started last March. We have four Golden Sex Link hens. They lay very large eggs and are cold tolerant. The project has been a success although there have been many things I have learned by trial and error.

 

The coop we use is locally built and looks a lot like some of the coops you can find on Amazon.com - only perhaps sturdier. It has an upstairs with three nesting boxes and a ramp leading downstairs to a small fenced in area. The hens seem crowded and I want to extend the coop area to fence in a bit of yard in the spring. The biggest challenge now is to keep water from freezing. It has already been in the teens at night. We hung a heat lamp in the upstairs of the coop (large heat lamp bulb - red) and that is where I keep the water for now.

 

The other day I bought a waterer with a heated base but every time I try to fill it and set it up I end up dumping freezing water all over myself.

 

There are other solutions for water which we are exploring. In summer we use an "Aqua Avian Miser" which is a jug of water with a metal "nipple" at the bottom that the hens peck at and drink from. Dh just purchased an immersion type heater that may be able to work with these jugs - which would make my chores much, much easier.

 

Do yourself a favor and get chicks in the spring, start them indoors, and move them outdoors a bit later, and spend the summer getting to know them as they grow up and begin to lay. You can take some time to build or assemble a coop when they are young and still indoors. If you ease into it gradually, it will help when winter comes and you are faced with other types of challenges.

[Truscifi]

I can't help you with the climate, but I love the chicken tractor dh built. Also, our Rhode Island Red is our best layer by far, but we have several easter eggers that lay very pretty eggs.

[Heather in OK]

Ditto the BYC website. There are TONS of pictures in threads there with coop, run, chicken tractor, etc. ideas.

 

We have a barn/shed in our backyard. We cleared out part of it for the coop. Dh and FIL built the run walls, made a little chicken door, and put in a window.

 

Here are pictures from when it was started (and the chickens were small and when we had the two roosters):

http://littlemamamidwife.blogspot.com/2011/05/monday-menagerie.html

 

We have a frizzled cochin, a golden sebright, a lavender old english or lavender dutch, a black australop, and three reds. We just added the australop and two reds a couple months ago so they aren't laying yet. So far the red is the only one laying regular size brown eggs. The other three are laying but they are still small pullet eggs.

 

For looks the frizzled is my favorite. :) She's just so cute and fluffy.

 

For eggs, the red for sure. Which is why we went and bought two more. ;) The australop will also lay big brown eggs too.

 

I'm also no help with climate. We started this adventure this Spring so we're coming up on our first winter with the girls.

[bbkaren]

...The other day I bought a waterer with a heated base but every time I try to fill it and set it up I end up dumping freezing water all over myself...

 

We looked into a lot of different options water-wise.

 

For winter (granted, we're in NJ but yeah, it gets cold here), we just cycle two waterers between the shed and the house.

 

When one is in the bathtub thawing out (once thawed, we replace the water), the other is out in the shed being drunk from. We go out one extra time during really cold weather, and switch the waterers.

 

We keep meat rabbits and do the same with their waterers.

 

Keep in mind the chickens eat snow as well for water...

[BrookValley.]

Buckeyes are supposed to be great for colder climates--apparently they lay well during the shorter days, too. I also think the suggestion of wyandottes is a good one. A bird with a rose or peacomb is a good idea. Less to lose to frostbite.

 

Definitely check out backyard chickens for coop ideas. And, I know this goes without saying, but please be careful when adding a heat source to the coop. A good friend of mine recently lost a cat, two flocks of chickens, and her entire barn when her heat lamp fell, broke, and caught the litter on fire. :( Someone else I knew installed a radiant-type of heat in their coop...if I can come up with what she used, I'll post a link for you.

 

Edited to add link. This is what my one friend used to heat her coop: Heated Coop Floor Mat It's pricey, but I think it's safer than a heat lamp.

Edited November 15, 2011 by BrookValley

[Dobela]

Go to Backyard Chickens. There should be a forum dedicated to people who live in Alaska and they should be able to give you lots of information (Look in the Where am I? Where are You? section). There are also sections for coop designs and more. Your coop design depends on the number of chickens. You need 4 sq ft inside per chicken inside and 10 sq ft per chicken outside. On BYC, and locally, I have seen coops made from just about every thing imaginable. Ours is a 12x12 shed and it houses 40 chickens and 2 ducks. Yeah, a bit smaller than recommendations but we have warm weather so it works. We are not even close to Alaska so I can not recommend a breed. However, thru 4H my son bought chain chickens that are Bovan Browns for a ridiculously low price. Those birds lay every day without fail. They are not the prettiest, but they are crazy good layers. In general, Banty breeds are not good layers. If I were you, I would contact a local county extension agent and ask for advice for your area.

[Lucy the Valiant]

We have Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshire Reds, and Plymouth Barred Rocks.

 

They're considered dual-purpose breeds, good (but not excellent) for eggs, and good (but not excellent) for meat, too. We have eaten them, and they are not bad (in the crock pot). The eggs are amazing - we keep a stats log for the "ginormous" eggs - ha!

 

We live in New Hampshire where it does get cold (probably not as cold as AK).

 

If you put the water near the heat lamp, it helps with the freezing.

[Upward Journey]

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/blue_laced_red_wyandotte.html

 

 

Request the catalog from this hatchery. They give specifics about each breed (cold hardy, friendly.....)

 

We have auracanas, wyndottes, buffs, and australorps. They are all very friendly but I don't know about the cold. We live pretty far south.

 

eta: the chicks that we've gotten from them have always been healthy as well.

[JadeOrchidSong]

We have four Rhode Island Reds and four Plymouth Barred Rocks. Both are cold tolerant and not broody. If you want to raise chicks you want broody.

 

You don't have to heat the coop. You do have to have ventilation even in the winter and no drafts. You have to vent the coop to keep moisture from building up. This is what causes the frost bite.

 

Here is a great article about the coop/winter http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-winter-coop-temperatures

Thanks! I would love to have some cold tolerant hens next year and I will ask my dh to build a coop as my X'mas gift. Of course it won't be built until Jan or Feb. Where do you order them?