what do you put in a chicken coop…?

3 Responses to “what do you put in a chicken coop…?”

1. Chicken in Black says:

   July 7, 2009 at 6:26 am

   For nest boxes we’ve got ones that are 1 foot square boxes with a slat 2 to 3 inches high to keep straw in. The boxes are 1 foot deep, too. How many chickens you have ups the number of boxes you’ll need, if you’ve got only a few chickens Mine are a minimum foot off the floor, so that they don’t get cold drafts from damp or cold weather, especially in winter.

   The roosting perches on the other end of the coop, and across the top with about 1 foot clearance also. The roosts are staggered so that there are choices as to perches. The nest boxes are in a bank of the wall, with a small enclosure over it that is set up so we can isolate peeps or mothers if the need arises. There also got several heat lamps and a thermometer in the coop. I’d make at least 4 of them so that they can choose a box and hopefully not fight too much over the favorite boxes. Yes, there will be battles over boxes because chickens are willful.

   We use straw for the bedding, since it’s dumped from the coops in our fields and straw has very small weed seed, where hay has lots of seeds in it.
2. Klondike Goldie says:

   July 7, 2009 at 6:26 am

   yeah what CIB said.
3. catawbacoops says:

   July 7, 2009 at 6:26 am

   Regarding chickens and nesting… I JUST got back from Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm Field Day. This fella knows his chickens. He said that he gives 1 nest box filled with straw for every 10 chickens he raises.

   You don’t want to use hay in your nestboxes. The difference between hay and straw is that hay is vegetation cut at the peak of its nutrition density. It’s dried and bailed and used as a foodstuff for ruminant animals.

   Straw OTOH is leftover stalks after a grain field has been harvested. Animals don’t eat it since it has 0 nutritional value. That’s why it makes fantastic bedding for nests and animal stalls.