Chicken enclosure of some type

We have a chicken out back. Actually there used to be two but we believe one ended up in the belly of a coyote or a feral cat.

We've decided to keep the chicken. We'd like to create an enclosure for her to keep her safe.

A friend suggested this,

I don't have any drawings. Just remember each chicken needs 3-4 square feet of space. They also need a roost off the floor to sleep. Since you are up north it is best to use a 2x4 with the 4" side up so in the winter they can cover their feet and not get frostbite (unless you heat the coop). Also, make sure the roost is not over the nest box to lessen the mess. Hope this helps.
Megan

We think the chicken is some kid's escaped 4H project. She's been running around out back since November. Are you sure they only require 3-4 sq feet of space per bird? Seems as if that would be awfully cramped. I was sort of thinking along the lines of some sort of an enclosure that would be about 10' x 15'.

3-4 sq feet is the recommended minimum. There is no rule that says she (and future additions) can't have a condominium! You will also find after you get a few more, they tend to roost very close but like to move around a lot.

BTW an idea I read about (only after my DH and I built our coop) is to leave a dirt floor in the coop, spread 4-6" of litter (wood shavings or straw) and your chickens will compost their own manure for you. They will love it too, as the worms and other bugs move into the litter your chickens will get an additional protein source for FREE. Just check for compacted areas or wet areas. You can turn over or add more litter as needed. Then you only remove and re-litter the coop 1-2 times per year with a great natural compost!
I will try to find where I read that and post a link.

Thank you, I'd love to read that link.

You could always keep them in that fabulous new greenhouse. ;)

We only have one right now. I have every intention of tossing Joyce in there when we catch her. She's back to being spooked again. I was able to get pretty close to her before we left for vacation but now she's back to taking off for the woods since we came home. I don't mind if she stays in my new greenhouse until we can figure out long term accommodations. Unless of course... you want her.

HA! I have 40 something of my own. LOL Try tossing her some corn or a bit of bread. Mine go nuts for both. They'll eat almost anything!

I got some new adult chickens that didn't take a liking to me right away. I caught them by waiting until dusk. They will try to roost in a tree (hopefully not too high) then climbed up the ladder and scooped them up (one at a time lol) and put them in the coop. A greenhouse would be a great place for chickens! They keep bug populations down, will even kill mice! Give her a nice nesting box and cross your fingers she decides to lay there instead of wherever! I have an EE that decided to go over the enclosure (before we topped it) and lay her eggs behind a lean-to. When we finally found where she was laying there were 12 eggs! I wish we could let ours free range but we have Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and they just won't leave them alone.

Well I couldn't find the article I read about deep litter but this is a link to a forum with the topic in discussion. Hope this helps.

http://backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=70

Also, found two sites with coop designs. The second is a compilation of the members own coops in three categories - small, medium, and large. This should give you a LOT of ideas. Good Luck

http://www.buildeazy.com/chicken_coop_1.html
http://backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html

I've been buying her special fortified chicken feed from the feed store in town.

The greenhouse is only temporary when I catch her. Once we get an appropriate enclosure for her, that's where she's going. I don't know that I want her out by my plants. I've got some that are rare out there. So far, the only insects we have found in the greenhouse have been wooly caterpillars and those we relocate to an overwintering area of oak bark and leaves.

I've actually tried to catch Joyce. First with a skimming net for the big pond. Ended up running around with this net looking like an idiot. She's too quick for me and the snot always takes off for the woods where I end up tripping and doing face plants. One time I did tree her though. Told the boys to gather around the tree to keep her there so I could go get my chainsaw. Oh how clever I thought I was. There she was perched up there in all her glory triumphantly staring down at me. The gall of that bird. Had one of the kids start the chainsaw for me and told them to jump her when the limb came down. It all happened so fast. The limb came down and I was the one who took off after the chicken while the kids stood around wondering what the heck happened. She got away, again. Neighbors are probably convinced I've lost it. They stood in their back yard watching silently as I took the chainsaw to that huge limb. I'll spare you my trials and tribulations of what I went through trying to catch this chicken after Weeze told me to start thinking like a chicken.

I'm pretty much doing what Carol told me to do which is to gain her confidence by feeding her. Joyce will get used to me again and then I'll toss fruit tree netting over her. I do have the pond net propped up against a tree out there just in case I think I might get a chance to nab her with that. The only HavAhearts we have around here are for feral cats and she's too tall for one of those.

Okie dokie, time to go check out chickenrancher's links!

Just wait for dark, and you can catch her anywhere
you can reach with a ladder. Make sure someone
is there with you to hold the ladder! Reach up under
her (if in a tree) and spread your fingers thru her
legs so that you have fingers in between and around
each leg. While grasping her legs, use the top of
your hand to lift her off the branch and make a large
sweeping motion with your arm downward, so that
when your arm drops to the down postion, she is
hanging upside down. Voila! Complacent, caught
chicken-au-Joyce. It must be dark for some time for
her to settle in, say an hour, but she will be so easy to
catch, you will wonder why in the world you tried in
daytime.

You're hired! How soon can you come to Illinois to catch Joyce? Just teasing with you truest. I'm going to get her sooner or later.

I really don't know where she goes during the day and I don't know where she goes at night. I'm sort of in the middle of a remnant oak/hickory savanna of several acres. Neighbors are also on similar properties. The one neighbor thinks that back when there were two chickens they were living under his deck for a while but hasn't seen them for a while. I will go out and look up into the trees with a flashlight and see if lady luck is with me. What you say makes sense. I will try my best to find her after dark but please know there are a heck of a lot of trees out there.

When you go make sure it is a chicken you are grabbing and no tsome other fowl LOL!!!

10x15 is too big if you are referring to a closed in building, just right if you mean the "yard" for the chicken.

they need body heat to stay warm, as well as deep litter and some heat lamps. the larger the enclosure the more birds you would need in there. ours is 6x8 inside, and we currently don't have enough birds in there, but we plan to remedy that! when considering the 3-4 sq ft per bird, you can keep in mind height too. some will want to roost high, others low, some on the floor.

i recall seeing some plans for a chicken tractor made from pvc, plyboard, and cattle panels and chciken wire. of course that was three years and two hard drives ago, but i will post it here if i find it again.

congrats on your new adopted pet. once you win the chickens trust, she will win your heart!

tf

Hi TamarayFay! Yes, I goofed. Wrong terminoloogy. I meant the chicken yard to be 10 x 15. Gosh, sorry to everyone else. I thought you all were referring to the yard when references to chickens only needing a couple square feet each was being mentioned.

I only wanted to get one more chicken to keep her company but pretty much people who have chickens said it was best to have three and explained why so we will pick up two more over the summer at the county fair. I've no doubt there will be chickens for sale from 4H kids and most of those will undoubtedly be very tame already.

That being said, we need the "closed building" to be large enough to accommodate three. I found some plans I liked at one of chickenrancher's links. (Thank you for those links chickenrancher).

I have one heat lamp. I may need to get another one.

Glad I could help!

From my experience...I would say go bigger for your hen house. Especially if you are going to build youself. A lot of people have started with one or two...and end up with 15-20. We started with 2...then 3 more (and a duck). Then 5 more last year...and now we have 6 in the incubator...AND plan to do a second round. The picture is of our hen house and enclosure. It is 8 x 8, with an 8 x 10 run, and seems to work well since we also free range. This was before we got the front, back, and floor done though. :)

Last year when some of us were building new places I put this one out there...

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/755900/

Great front door. I think that's a little bit bigger than what I wanted. I swear I am going to stick to only 3 chickens! Love the photos you provided on the interior space.

Yeah...the door came from the parents-in-law to be. We were building a brand new house last year and they seemed to think we would want the old door from their house. We took it...but ended up wanting to buy a new front door...to go on our 'new' house. We did tell them we used their front door for the new house...just didnt tell them which one. :)

They did find out eventually and didnt mind at all! Our chickens are pretty well taken care of. That house is even insulated now. :)

I sort of figured insulation would be a must.

That was kind of them to offer you their door for your new chicken house. It really classes up the coop so to speak. I like it.

Have you found where Joyce is roosting at
night? Perhaps if you fed her right before dusk, you
could watch and see where she goes. If you are the
only one feeding her, I bet that it's not too far from
your yard.
Another solution would be to build a small enclosure,
if you are planning more chickens anyway, and
put her food out there. Let her come and go as she
pleases for a couple days, allowing her time to inspect
the property. After a couple days, you could just close
the door after you feed her, and wouldn't cause too
much trauma.

No, haven't found where she goes during the day after she eats here or where she goes at night. Not for want or lack of trying. What I will say is that she normally appears like clock work early morning at daybreak and we haven't seen her for a few days.

This is actually a great suggestion, "build a small enclosure, if you are planning more chickens anyway, and put her food out there. Let her come and go as she pleases for a couple days, allowing her time to inspect the property. After a couple days, you could just close the door after you feed her, and wouldn't cause too much trauma." My husband picked up some lumber to be able to start an enclosure. We haven't picked up chicken wire yet but he was planning on running with a mini-version of mcamden's coop.

You definitely will want some friends for Joyce, too. Chickens like other chickens around, so they can gossip. If you have a whole bunch of chickens ( like 6) then you won't have to worry about insulation as much, since they will roost together to stay warm. Joyce seems to be a tough old bird! Literally! You'll have to keep us posted.

Something sort of similar happened to my neighbor. She lives way out in the woods, miles from anyone else around. She has chickens and one day a chicken just came out of the woods and joined to flock. How bizarre !

Three is going to be pushing it. I've got a home owners association that is sort of picky. We'll see how it goes and if I get caught by the HO association with Joyce out back. I've sort of grown accustomed to seeing her bright and early every morning so this is sort of nerve racking that she hasn't been around.

Sure hope nothing got her.

Unfortunately, I'm echoing your thoughts.

I'm hoping that maybe since the days are stretching
out a bit, she has laid some eggs. Though probably
not fertile, she might think so and may be setting on
them. Since you have been feeding her, she may have
improved her condition some, and that might make her
start laying. Not so good about that is, if she is a very
good Mommy, she will sit on those eggs a long time,
and not eat well. I hope nothing got her, but with
my hen, if she breaks routine, it's usually got something
to do with her hormones. Let's hope!

I can't imagine where she would be sitting on eggs. I called the neighbor and he looked under his porch and she wasn't there and there were no chicken tracks in the snow anywhere to be found.

Oh, snow. um- if she is all by herself without a
buddy to keep her warm, I worry for her, also.
I will be thinking positive thoughts for Joyce!
And, you too, Equil!

Yes, and it was perfect snow that would have showed up little birdie prints too. She did disappear for an entire week once and then all the sudden my husband yelled out that she was out there so I went and tossed feed out to her in addition to what she had in her little feeder.

Maybe she will surprise you again! She probably
has several 'drive-in restaurants' that are her faves,
and she makes the rounds!

You know, I never thought of that. If we're feeding her, there may be others who are feeding her too. Great thought truest. Much better thought than where my mind was leading me.

Good thoughts from here too. Maybe when the snow was on it's way, she headed back where she came from, and she is safe in her original home, warm and well fed...

But hoping you find her soon

Sadly, I believe I recently learned who her original family is and they are totally self serving and irresponsible. If she goes back there, I suspect they are the type who would chase her away with a broom. Rumor has it they raised them from eggs in one of those kits you get and when they weren't cute and little any more, they opened up the garage door and set them free. Real nice people and if this is what happened their children will not exactly be contributions to society when they grow up. This family has done this with at least one cat that I know of before too. But, there are some decent hearted people around here who might be feeding Joyce.

I just can't stand folks who are irresponsible about animals, esp when they are setting a bad example for children ;-(

OUr neighbors are like that. They are not nice people, and do not take care of their animals. At one point I tried to make a peace offering to the husband. I knew that he had wanted a fainting goat since he was little...and I knew someone who was looking for a home for their pet. I asked the wife if he would like the goat, and she said he would love it! So on my day off I drove an hour to go pick up this goat...and bring him to the neighbors. When I got there the husband came over and looked at me funny. I asked if his wife told him I was coming, and what I was bringing. He said yes. I got the goat out, and handed him the lease. I said I am sorry we havent been able to get along, but I hope we can make a mends. He took the lease then said, 'So do you care if I eat him?' I WAS SHOCKED! What do you say then? I freaked out and just left. The wife called RYan later and told him that they thought it was a female goat. I couldnt deal with it...and before I could get him back they sold him to a hispanic family who butchored him. They made $70. A couple weeks later I was working on cleaning up a disaster that was caused by them (some washout) and he showed up on his four-wheeler. He held out some cash. I asked what it was for and he said 'Gas money' It was $5!!!! I took it...tossed it at him, and told him to get the heck off my property. He made some money on my peace offering. And I will NEVER speak to him again as a result of it.

All the folks in our area have had similar issues. These are city people who think you have to screw everyone over to get what you want. Such a sad sad world sometimes.

ANYWAY...that is where our Mop-top chicken came from. That guy just HATES the idea that instead of killing our chickens (like apparently he intended her to do) she lays a perfect egg every day, and takes care of the other hens. Sweet bliss.

Melissa

One of my personal cats is compliments of the ding dongs that I've been told Joyce came from. Very long story but I got fed up dealing with the family so I went and neutered their cat. I had enough of that cat marking its territory on my screens showing my indoor only cats who was boss and after having repeatedly asked them to keep it in, gave up on begging them to at least cut his nuts to stop the spraying through my open windows. I really did neuter it as a last resort because there were children in their house. Then came winter and they took off for Disneyworld leaving the cat outside with no unfrozen water and a food bowl emptied by raccoons. I took the cat to a no-kill shelter and paid to get it in. Got a case of the guilts and went back and adopted the thing for myself. I still have Tyson to this day. Great cat and he's got great body weight on him since he was long ago dewormed and deloused. They have a little drop kick dog right now that supposedly cost them a lot of money. They're pretty good with the dog because it has value to them because it has a pedigree of some sort.

You are a much nicer person than me. First off, I would have never apologized for not being able to get along in favor of moving forward in hopes they would become more neighborly. Scumbags are scumbags regardless of where they come from. Second, if he had asked me, "So do you care if I eat him?" I would have said I sure did care if he ate him as the goat had been relinquished to go to a family as a pet not a potroast and would have reached out and taken the leash back and hopped back in the car and returned the goat to its original owner. That would have been that. I'm too old to waste my time with people like your neighbor.

After I left I regretted leaving the goat. I was just so shocked that I didnt know how to handle it. I just wanted to get as far from him as possible. That same night i tried getting him back, but they wouldnt answer the phone...and when I went down he wasnt there. THey had taken him the second I left. I couldnt believe it...and I will never be as much as civil to them again. I ordered 500 Concolor trees from the DNR, and I will be planting them all along the fence between our properties. I am also plannin on writing them a letter explaining how I, and the other neighbors, feel about them.

I have never in my life encounted a bigger jerk, more heartless couple, and backstabbing neighbor. They offered their church group to bring the kids out one day after church to pet the animals...then they CHARGED them! I could talk for days about everything they have done. I wish there was a department I could call for people like that!

Say Melissa, tell them to their face if you feel the need but please don't put anything in writing. These people aren't exactly winning any popularity contests and if something happens to them or their property... you don't want them standing in their kitchen sharing your correspondence with the cops. Just a thought.