Rural Gardening: Chickens??, 1 by Horseshoe

Horseshoe wrote:
Melissa...tell your hubby that if the nest boxes are roughly 12 X 12 that is the perfect size for any breed you get (large bodied or even bantams). I have some with tops and also some that are topless. (Referring to the nest boxes, NOT the chickens!) In the pic below are some easy to build nest boxes; please note the "runner" near the bottom, this keeps the chickens from kicking out the straw and also gives them a perch to climb onto, check out the nest box (for previously laid eggs by other hens) and then gently enter to settle down comfortably.

You should build one nest box per 4-5 hens. (Also, don't stress out your hubby...if you are ordering chicks you'll have about 16-24 weeks before they'll need a nest box! Lots of time to build them.)

I have some nest boxes low to the ground, and some higher up in our coop. Chickens have their own personalities, some like the lower ones, some the higher ones!

The "yellow Kool Aid" Virginian mentioned (Love that description, Virginian!) is an electrolyte mix. And yes, it really will help them off to a great start; you have to remember these babies just went thru hatching/birth and also being shipped in a box thru the mail system for a day or so. They can use the extra vitamins. (As for me, I'm a beak dipper, mainly cus once they come out of the shipping box and into our brooder box they are scared, immediately put under a heat lamp and can be disoriented. The sooner they find water the sooner they are happy. And it only takes a second so why not help them out. It also helps them to get used to being handled.)

As for lights, in an effort to keep up egg production in the winter (short days) I have a 40 watt light bulb on a timer. It comes on just before it gets dark and goes off a few hours later...just long enough so the chickens benefit from the "summer time hours" even in the winter time. (As a kindness, I don't run the light very much in January for a few weeks; I'm firmly convinced that not only does it give the chickens a rest but also will help your egg production in the long run.)

Let us know what kind you get. I love the Buff Orpingtons but am most favorable to RI Red, Araucanas, Black Australorps (and this year, because of "rave reviews" am trying out Red Star; and they sure started laying according to schedule that Murry said they would, around 22 weeks).

Have fun!
Shoe.