Posted in Homestead Barnyard
Keeping Chickens 101
Today, my topic will be housing for a flock of chickens. Housing does not have to be fancy. We just have a simple pen that was here on the place when we moved here. It was originally used for keeping roosters but it has nesting boxes in it and it works. Our pen is approximately 10 ft. long by about 3 ft. wide. It stands about 4 to 5 ft. high and is about 3 ft. off the ground. So in the heat of the day they can get up under their house with no trouble. It is constructed of lumber for the sides, bottom, doors, and tin for the roof. We added some rods for them to perch on. We have made them a fairly large chicken run. We also let them free range from time to time. Free ranging is the most healthy form of egg laying but my chickens tend to come up and eat the dog food when they are free ranging. So we don’t let them do it all of the time.
Her are some specs on how many chickens you would need per sq. ft. and so on.
Birds need adequate space for movement and exercise as well as areas to nest and roost. Space requirements vary with the type of bird you raise.
|
Minimum Space Requirements |
|
|
|
Type of Bird |
Sq ft/bird inside |
Sq ft/bird outside runs |
|
Bantam Chickens |
1 |
4 |
With chickens, always provide 6 to 10 inches of perch space per bird. Perches are not usually used with meat chickens and waterfowl.
Perches:Nests:
Always provide at least one nest for every 4-5 females in the flock.We have 3 nesting boxes for 10 hens and it seems like they all use the same box.LOL
My ideal chicken set up would be a chicken coop in the middle of two very large chicken runs. I would rotate the runs that they would use from year to year. I would have the chickens on one side and a garden on the other. I would rotate this situation yearly. That way they could cleanup my garden area, as well as fertilize my soil. This would be the ideal use of chickens!
Here are some great sites for chicken coop pictures:
http://backyardchickens.com/ (and all time favorite, check out that poulet chalet)
http://www.instructables.com/id/Backyard-Chicken-Coop/
http://www.rosecomb.com/random/coops/coops.
htmlhttp://www.mypetchicken.com/
Blessings, Trixi
Trixi Spencer is a wife of 17 ½ years and mother to three home schooled children. We live on a small acreage in Ms. where we keep chickens and horses. I am a saved by grace follower of Jesus Christ who enjoys sewing, cooking from scratch, gardening, putting food by, raising animals, and all the things of an era gone by. We love life and all that it has to offer.
This is just a starter. The web has every type of chicken condo you could imagine.
