Once you have made the decision to raise laying hens the first order of business will be building or buying a chicken coop.
There are many aspects to take into consideration when designing a coop that will best meet your needs. We live in Minnesota and experience extremes in temperature, those living in warm or temperate climates will have different needs.
Click Read More to see the complete post.
People living in the city will need to make arrangements different from those who have more space to devote to their flock. Some will want to keep it simple and others will build the Taj Mahal of coops.
It is important to figure out exactly how you need your chicken operation to function before you purchase or begin construction on your coop. Here are items to consider;
Predator Protection
Chickens are prey for many wild animals and raptors. They need shelter as protection not only from the weather, but also from predators. Predator threats can come from both above and below.
Hawks, owls, and other birds of prey can swoop down from the sky and kill a chicken. Fox, coyotes, and other canines can dig under fences to gain entry to a chicken coop or pasture. Weasels, opossums, skunks, and raccoons have also been known to kill chickens.
Chickens have developed instincts to protect themselves from danger. Hens will run for shelter when they sense a moving shadow over head. Most predators hunt at dawn or dusk. Chickens naturally find their way into a shelter and group together on a roost when the sun starts to fade and wait until day break to venture outside.
To be secure a coop must be constructed solidly. The walls and roof should have no openings that a weasel could squeeze through, the floor should be solid so predators cannot dig under the walls and into the coop. Windows, runs or openings for ventilation need a predator proof design.
Plan to open the coop in the morning and secure it each night so your chickens can be outside during daylight hours. Most coop designs have a small door that can be opened in the morning and closed when the chickens are in for the night. There are even high tech chicken doors that can be opened and closed electronically.
The opening in our coop has a door on both the inside and the outside with hinges on top. The outside door keeps predators out and the inside door keeps the chickens out when we need to clean the coop.
It is difficult to protect chickens from birds of prey. If you live in an area where wild food (rabbits, mice, etc) are scarce you may need to confine your chickens to a pasture and string netting over the top to keep your chickens safe. Raptor predation, in my experience, has been most common during the snowy winter months.
Fencing a pastured area with a 6 foot fence will keep your chickens confined and many land predators outside. You may need to bury the bottom of your fence a foot or more if your area is prone to predators who dig underneath fences.
If you find that your chickens can fly over your fence you can trim an inch off their wing feathers which will keep them inside your enclosure.
Weather Protection
Protection from the extremes of weather will also need to be taken into consideration. Our Minnesotan winters can get very cold, so we need a shelter that is warm enough so the chickens and their eggs will not freeze during the cold winter months.
Consider if you will be heating the coop and if so, plan to include a layer of insulation in the walls and ceiling. Insulation is helpful even if you do not heat the structure as it will help maintain the warmth generated through body heat or deep bedding. Insulation will also help moderate temperature spikes.
I wish we would have added a solar heating feature to our coop. Ceramic space heaters heat adequately, but increase our electrical bill substantially.
If you live in a snowy climate consider building a "run in" next to your coop. Our run-in has a metal roof and the sides and bottom are fenced with hardware cloth. Hardware cloth is wire fencing with small squares. These openings are much smaller than those found in chicken wire fencing and provide security against small predators like weasels.
A run-in will provide protection from both rain and predators. Chickens keep clean by taking dust baths. The roof of a run-in will keep the ground underneath free from snow build up and create a place where chickens can scratch in the winter.
If your chickens are confined to a pasture try to include a tree. When the weather gets hot, chickens will congregate in the shade to keep cool. Providing an environment where chickens can stay comfortable by following their instincts will eliminate the need to figure out how to keep them safe from the sun during the scorching days of summer.
Electrical Needs
If you plan to use overhead lights or plug in heaters in your coop you will need a source of electricity. We find it very convenient to have an overhead light, an outdoor sensor light, and an outlet to plug in a space heater. We also use a timer to provide supplemental light, to encourage egg production, in the fall and winter when the days are short. If electricity is desired you will need to see if it is possible to trench a line to your building site. If not, consider battery operated lights, solar lights, and solar heating devices.
Windows provide sunlight and ventilation and should be included in your design if possible.
Ventilation
Ventilation is a must as chickens create significant amounts of moisture from breathing and defecating. Moisture build up in a coop can lead to frost bite in the cold months and respiratory disease year round. Chickens need a supply of fresh air and a dry moisture level to stay healthy.
The build up of manure in the coop can lead to high ammonia levels in the air which can be damaging to the lungs. Windows spaced across from each other will create cross ventilation when opened. The door that the chickens use to access the outdoors will also provide fresh air.
Ventilation is needed in the summer and is surprisingly necessary in the winter as well. If the level of humidity is high in a coop during freezing weather the chickens are prone to frost bite. At the same temperature a coop low in humidity would pose no frost bite danger.
Storage Needs
Meeting your chickens daily needs are easier when the feed, grit, wood shavings, egg baskets, and cleaning supplies are in the same building. A space separated by a wall will keep your supplies clean and safe.
Free Range vs Pastured
The terms free range and pastured are often bandied about when eggs and chickens are the subject of conversation. If you purchase eggs these terms can be hard to interpret as definitions are fairly broad. A great resource for decoding language on an egg carton can be found at;
http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/how-to-decode-egg-cartons.aspx#axzz3HNjlYOPa
Free range (in industrial terms) means that the chickens have access to an outdoor area. This could simply be a small concrete covered space and whether the chickens actually go outside is not regulated.
Chickens that roam freely outdoors throughout the day are called free range by those who homestead.
Pastured on the other hand refers to chickens who spend the day outdoors, but are in some way confined to a given area of land.
Whether you decide to give your chickens free range of your property or fence them in, the important factor for optimal egg nutrition is that they eat grass, weeds, and insects. Mother Earth News did a study comparing the nutritional value of eggs produced industrially (in buildings with no access to the outdoors) to those who ate grass, weeds, and insects and found eggs from free range chickens to be far superior. Check out the study results here;
http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/free-range-eggs-zmaz07onzgoe.aspx#axzz3HNjlYOPa
If you decide to free range your chickens be aware that they do not respect property lines. Be a good neighbor and make sure your chickens stay on your property.
Be aware that chickens scratch to find worms and other insects and to take dust baths. If you have gardens that are not fenced in they can kill seedlings and toss mulching materials all about. They can dig up and kill grass in your lawn and eat your garden produce, especially tomatoes and berries.
Pasture Management
If you need to protect your gardens from the scratching or your chickens from predators by fencing them in, try to give them as much space as you can. Chicken pastures often end up looking like barren waste lands as the chickens peck every scrap of vegetation as they scratch the ground looking for worms and insects. You can offset this ongoing damage a bit by designing your pasture with zones so one area can rest while another is being used.
We do this by having two doors in our run-in that each lead to a different pasture. We also have a small area where we can isolate the chickens leaving both pastures free from use. I have found that the weeds that the chickens do not like to eat will grow tall and need to be periodically cut down. For this reason it is good to create a gate in the surrounding fence to allow for lawn mower access.
Feeding
In addition to the vegetation and insects that chickens can forage from a pasture or from free ranging, you will also need to provide feed. Once your chickens are 4 to 6 months old you can change their feed from "grower" to "layer". I usually give my eighteen hens a 2 pound coffee can full of feed each morning. Since organic feed is around $25 for a 50 lb bag, I limit the feed in the summer months when the chickens have access to plant material. In the winter I need to provide more feed to make up for the lack of grass and insects.
Chicken feeders hung 6 to 8 inches off the ground will reduce food waste as the chickens will be unable to scratch the food out of the feeder and on to the floor. You will see chickens using their beaks to knock some of the food out of the feeder, but they will be unable to scratch it out as well. Having the feeder off the ground also serves to keep bedding and feces out of the feed.
Chickens can benefit from a number of food scraps including, mash from apple cider making. vegetable and fruit scraps from your kitchen, and weeds pulled from a garden. If my sauerkraut gets too soft, it is also given to the chickens. My chickens love the insides of squash and the rinds of melons.
Egg creation requires tremendous amounts of calcium. You can supplement your chickens calcium needs with oyster shell grit or by feeding them crushed egg shells. Oyster shell grit is available at feed mills. Egg shells are free, just save the shells, crush them when they are dry and feed them back to your birds.
Water Supply
Your hens will need a constant supply of fresh water. Waterers are available in many sizes. We use a plastic 5 gallon automatic waterer that fills the trough from the center storage unit as the water level is lowered. This unit works well when temperatures are above freezing. We refill the waterer every 4 days or as needed.
When the temperature gauge dips below 32 F, you have the choice of refilling the water several times a day, heating the coop to keep the temperature above freezing, or using a heated waterer base. If you opt for the heated base you will need an electrical source and a metal waterer.
Nest Boxes
Chickens need a quiet, out of the flow of traffic, space to lay their eggs. Strategically placed nest boxes serve this purpose. In the coop my husband constructed he placed 6 nest boxes in the wall that divides the living space from the storage area. The boxes are across from the wall with the chicken door that leads outside. This location provides the solitude that chickens prefer when laying eggs.
Having the boxes in the wall allows access for egg collection from the inside of both rooms. Those who live in a temperate climate can place the nest boxes in an outside wall and retrieve the eggs from outside the coop.
The number of nest boxes needed will depend on how many chickens you plan to have. You should provide 1 nest box for every 4 birds. The chickens will take turns using the box.
The nest box should provide about 1 square foot of space and be enclosed on all sides accept the front. A wooden lip should be placed on the front to keep the the wood shavings and eggs inside the box. To help chickens get in and out of the box an rail can be placed on the outside of the box as shown in the photo above. If the nest box will protrude into another room or outside the coop a hinged door can be attached to the back for easy egg collection.
Wood shavings inside the box will cushion the eggs and help keep them clean. Refresh or replace the shavings if they get soiled by droppings or broken eggs.
Egg Production
For most people the objective of owning laying hens is to have fresh nutritious eggs from ethically raised chickens. Some publications state that you can get an egg a day from each chicken. I have found this to be overly optimistic based on my own experience.
During the sunny summer months chickens over 6 months of age can and sometimes do lay an egg every day. But in the fall as the days get shorter, you will find fewer eggs in your nest boxes.
Egg laying is also interrupted during molting. I have not observed any specific time period when molting occurs, but when you see lots of feathers strewn about the ground and chickens looking a bit ragged you will know they are molting.
If you notice that the shells of the eggs are getting thin, increase the amount of grit or egg shells in the feed.
Roost/Perch
Chickens naturally group together off the ground on a roost or perch as the sun goes down. You will need to provide a roost in your coop. This can be as simple as a tree branch placed horizontally over two upright supports or as complex as a custom made perch. Ideally no chicken should be directly under another chicken. Chickens defecate while roosting and being underneath another chicken is not the ideal position. Roosts should allow chickens to perch side by side allowing roughly 6 inches per bird.
Our roost is a less than perfect and constructed from an old wooden ladder. When it is time for a new perch, we will make it shorter so less poop gets on the walls and have the horizontal boards staggered so no chicken is directly above another.
Plan on constructing your roost from wood. Metal is not appropriate as it gets too cold. The area where the chickens feet grasp the wood should be smooth with rounded edges and easy for the chickens to wrap their feet around. The roost should be placed several feet off the floor.
Manure Management
When we began our chicken adventure I was amazed at how much manure chickens create. To be frank, they poop a lot! If you have a garden, chicken waste is a valuable fertilizer. But until it is time to move it out of the coop, a system must be created to effectively manage the manure to reduce the build up of ammonia gases and create a reasonably sanitary environment.
To absorb the moisture and odor, some form of carbon based material needs to be spread on the floor of your coop. This can be wood shavings, straw, hay, leaves or any other dried plant material. When the ratio of manure to carbon gets too high it will be time to add more bedding or scoop out the debris and add it to a compost heap.
In the book; Holy Shit: Managing Manure to Save Mankind, the author Gene Logsdon describes a "deep bedding" system that can eliminate the need for weekly cleanings, accelerate the composting of chicken waste, and generate heat.
He suggests putting down a layer of straw and then adding additional layers as needed to keep the manure covered until the bedding is 1 to 2 feet deep. Then tossing it with a pitch fork frequently to mix the manure with the carbon bedding. This process distributes the manure equally with the dried plant material, creating an environment where the ingredients break down similar to the process that takes place in a compost pile. He also suggests adding corn to the layers to encourage the chickens to scratch the bedding and do some of the work for you. Kitchen scraps are added to the top and what is not eaten is composted as well.
As the break down of bedding and manure is occurring, heat is being generated. For those living in cold climates, using a deep bedding system during the winter can add supplemental heat.
Logsdon goes on to say that "Science discovered that the chickens also stayed healthier, even derived vitamins and minerals from their composting bedding and manure."
Chicken manure is very high in nitrogen and when thoroughly composted will greatly enhance the fertility of your garden. When we diversify our homesteads to include food animals we create a nature based interdependence. Our garden weeds and vegetable scraps are fed to the chickens, which in turn create manure, which is used to increase the fertility of our gardens. In this circular system there is no waste as everything benefits the whole.
This is our first winter using the deep bedding system. If I were to redesign our coop I would have the openings placed higher to accommodate the deep bedding.
Cleaning Needs
Chicken coops will need to be thoroughly cleaned several times a year. I have found it most convenient to scoop out all the debris and then take a hose and spray it down. To do this the walls have to be finished with a non-porous product that can withstand scrubbing and spraying. We opted to cover the interior of the coop with white gloss hardboard wall panels we purchased at Menards. The hardboard was installed on both the walls and the ceilings. I am always amazed that chickens can somehow get poop on the ceiling!
The cleaning supplies I have on hand include a broom, dust pan, pitch fork, flat shovel, and plastic buckets. A mop and squeegee help with the twice yearly deep cleaning.
In Conclusion
I hope you have found this information helpful and that you will explore books and other Internet resources to find tips helpful for your specific climate and lifestyle.
Raising laying hens can be enjoyable when you create an environment where your chickens can thrive and you can enjoy an ongoing supply of healthy eggs from happy hens.
 |
| Our coop four years after construction. |
Click Read More to see the complete post.
People living in the city will need to make arrangements different from those who have more space to devote to their flock. Some will want to keep it simple and others will build the Taj Mahal of coops.
It is important to figure out exactly how you need your chicken operation to function before you purchase or begin construction on your coop. Here are items to consider;
- Predator protection
- Weather protection
- Electrical needs
- Ventilation
- Storage needs
- Pasture management
- Feeding
- Water supply
- Nest boxes
- Manure management
- Cleaning needs
 |
| Coop under construction. |
Chickens are prey for many wild animals and raptors. They need shelter as protection not only from the weather, but also from predators. Predator threats can come from both above and below.
Hawks, owls, and other birds of prey can swoop down from the sky and kill a chicken. Fox, coyotes, and other canines can dig under fences to gain entry to a chicken coop or pasture. Weasels, opossums, skunks, and raccoons have also been known to kill chickens.
Chickens have developed instincts to protect themselves from danger. Hens will run for shelter when they sense a moving shadow over head. Most predators hunt at dawn or dusk. Chickens naturally find their way into a shelter and group together on a roost when the sun starts to fade and wait until day break to venture outside.
To be secure a coop must be constructed solidly. The walls and roof should have no openings that a weasel could squeeze through, the floor should be solid so predators cannot dig under the walls and into the coop. Windows, runs or openings for ventilation need a predator proof design.
 |
| Cement was added to the floor. |
 |
| Our simple door has hinges on the top with hardware above to hold the door open. |
 |
| A length of 4 x 4 holds the door shut during the night. |
Fencing a pastured area with a 6 foot fence will keep your chickens confined and many land predators outside. You may need to bury the bottom of your fence a foot or more if your area is prone to predators who dig underneath fences.
If you find that your chickens can fly over your fence you can trim an inch off their wing feathers which will keep them inside your enclosure.
Weather Protection
Protection from the extremes of weather will also need to be taken into consideration. Our Minnesotan winters can get very cold, so we need a shelter that is warm enough so the chickens and their eggs will not freeze during the cold winter months.
Consider if you will be heating the coop and if so, plan to include a layer of insulation in the walls and ceiling. Insulation is helpful even if you do not heat the structure as it will help maintain the warmth generated through body heat or deep bedding. Insulation will also help moderate temperature spikes.
 |
| Insulation was added to the walls. |
If you live in a snowy climate consider building a "run in" next to your coop. Our run-in has a metal roof and the sides and bottom are fenced with hardware cloth. Hardware cloth is wire fencing with small squares. These openings are much smaller than those found in chicken wire fencing and provide security against small predators like weasels.
 |
| Hardware cloth fencing surrounds the run in on all sides. |
A run-in will provide protection from both rain and predators. Chickens keep clean by taking dust baths. The roof of a run-in will keep the ground underneath free from snow build up and create a place where chickens can scratch in the winter.
If your chickens are confined to a pasture try to include a tree. When the weather gets hot, chickens will congregate in the shade to keep cool. Providing an environment where chickens can stay comfortable by following their instincts will eliminate the need to figure out how to keep them safe from the sun during the scorching days of summer.
 |
| Chickens pasturing under a tree in the fall. |
Electrical Needs
If you plan to use overhead lights or plug in heaters in your coop you will need a source of electricity. We find it very convenient to have an overhead light, an outdoor sensor light, and an outlet to plug in a space heater. We also use a timer to provide supplemental light, to encourage egg production, in the fall and winter when the days are short. If electricity is desired you will need to see if it is possible to trench a line to your building site. If not, consider battery operated lights, solar lights, and solar heating devices.
Windows provide sunlight and ventilation and should be included in your design if possible.
Ventilation
Ventilation is a must as chickens create significant amounts of moisture from breathing and defecating. Moisture build up in a coop can lead to frost bite in the cold months and respiratory disease year round. Chickens need a supply of fresh air and a dry moisture level to stay healthy.
The build up of manure in the coop can lead to high ammonia levels in the air which can be damaging to the lungs. Windows spaced across from each other will create cross ventilation when opened. The door that the chickens use to access the outdoors will also provide fresh air.
 |
| We keep the door open when the forecast is for 20 degrees or above. |
Ventilation is needed in the summer and is surprisingly necessary in the winter as well. If the level of humidity is high in a coop during freezing weather the chickens are prone to frost bite. At the same temperature a coop low in humidity would pose no frost bite danger.
Storage Needs
Meeting your chickens daily needs are easier when the feed, grit, wood shavings, egg baskets, and cleaning supplies are in the same building. A space separated by a wall will keep your supplies clean and safe.
Free Range vs Pastured
The terms free range and pastured are often bandied about when eggs and chickens are the subject of conversation. If you purchase eggs these terms can be hard to interpret as definitions are fairly broad. A great resource for decoding language on an egg carton can be found at;
http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/how-to-decode-egg-cartons.aspx#axzz3HNjlYOPa
Free range (in industrial terms) means that the chickens have access to an outdoor area. This could simply be a small concrete covered space and whether the chickens actually go outside is not regulated.
Chickens that roam freely outdoors throughout the day are called free range by those who homestead.
Pastured on the other hand refers to chickens who spend the day outdoors, but are in some way confined to a given area of land.
Whether you decide to give your chickens free range of your property or fence them in, the important factor for optimal egg nutrition is that they eat grass, weeds, and insects. Mother Earth News did a study comparing the nutritional value of eggs produced industrially (in buildings with no access to the outdoors) to those who ate grass, weeds, and insects and found eggs from free range chickens to be far superior. Check out the study results here;
http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/free-range-eggs-zmaz07onzgoe.aspx#axzz3HNjlYOPa
If you decide to free range your chickens be aware that they do not respect property lines. Be a good neighbor and make sure your chickens stay on your property.
Be aware that chickens scratch to find worms and other insects and to take dust baths. If you have gardens that are not fenced in they can kill seedlings and toss mulching materials all about. They can dig up and kill grass in your lawn and eat your garden produce, especially tomatoes and berries.
Pasture Management
If you need to protect your gardens from the scratching or your chickens from predators by fencing them in, try to give them as much space as you can. Chicken pastures often end up looking like barren waste lands as the chickens peck every scrap of vegetation as they scratch the ground looking for worms and insects. You can offset this ongoing damage a bit by designing your pasture with zones so one area can rest while another is being used.
We do this by having two doors in our run-in that each lead to a different pasture. We also have a small area where we can isolate the chickens leaving both pastures free from use. I have found that the weeds that the chickens do not like to eat will grow tall and need to be periodically cut down. For this reason it is good to create a gate in the surrounding fence to allow for lawn mower access.
Feeding
In addition to the vegetation and insects that chickens can forage from a pasture or from free ranging, you will also need to provide feed. Once your chickens are 4 to 6 months old you can change their feed from "grower" to "layer". I usually give my eighteen hens a 2 pound coffee can full of feed each morning. Since organic feed is around $25 for a 50 lb bag, I limit the feed in the summer months when the chickens have access to plant material. In the winter I need to provide more feed to make up for the lack of grass and insects.
 |
| Chicken feed on a storage room shelf stays dry and clean. |
Chicken feeders hung 6 to 8 inches off the ground will reduce food waste as the chickens will be unable to scratch the food out of the feeder and on to the floor. You will see chickens using their beaks to knock some of the food out of the feeder, but they will be unable to scratch it out as well. Having the feeder off the ground also serves to keep bedding and feces out of the feed.
 |
| In the summer our chicken feeder is placed outside in the run-in. |
Chickens can benefit from a number of food scraps including, mash from apple cider making. vegetable and fruit scraps from your kitchen, and weeds pulled from a garden. If my sauerkraut gets too soft, it is also given to the chickens. My chickens love the insides of squash and the rinds of melons.
 |
| Weeding time is also chicken feeding time. |
 |
| An Americana enjoying a late season Big Rainbow tomato. |
Egg creation requires tremendous amounts of calcium. You can supplement your chickens calcium needs with oyster shell grit or by feeding them crushed egg shells. Oyster shell grit is available at feed mills. Egg shells are free, just save the shells, crush them when they are dry and feed them back to your birds.
 |
| Oyster shell grit is tossed on the ground for the chickens to eat. |
Water Supply
Your hens will need a constant supply of fresh water. Waterers are available in many sizes. We use a plastic 5 gallon automatic waterer that fills the trough from the center storage unit as the water level is lowered. This unit works well when temperatures are above freezing. We refill the waterer every 4 days or as needed.
 |
| The black cap of this waterer is placed on the bottom when filling and then on a knob near the top when the screw top lid is secure. |
When the temperature gauge dips below 32 F, you have the choice of refilling the water several times a day, heating the coop to keep the temperature above freezing, or using a heated waterer base. If you opt for the heated base you will need an electrical source and a metal waterer.
Nest Boxes
Chickens need a quiet, out of the flow of traffic, space to lay their eggs. Strategically placed nest boxes serve this purpose. In the coop my husband constructed he placed 6 nest boxes in the wall that divides the living space from the storage area. The boxes are across from the wall with the chicken door that leads outside. This location provides the solitude that chickens prefer when laying eggs.
Having the boxes in the wall allows access for egg collection from the inside of both rooms. Those who live in a temperate climate can place the nest boxes in an outside wall and retrieve the eggs from outside the coop.
 |
| Six nest boxes build into the wall separating the living area from the storage area. |
The number of nest boxes needed will depend on how many chickens you plan to have. You should provide 1 nest box for every 4 birds. The chickens will take turns using the box.
The nest box should provide about 1 square foot of space and be enclosed on all sides accept the front. A wooden lip should be placed on the front to keep the the wood shavings and eggs inside the box. To help chickens get in and out of the box an rail can be placed on the outside of the box as shown in the photo above. If the nest box will protrude into another room or outside the coop a hinged door can be attached to the back for easy egg collection.
 |
| The back of the nest boxes have simple hinges and slide locks and are eggs are easily accessed from the storage room. |
Wood shavings inside the box will cushion the eggs and help keep them clean. Refresh or replace the shavings if they get soiled by droppings or broken eggs.
Egg Production
For most people the objective of owning laying hens is to have fresh nutritious eggs from ethically raised chickens. Some publications state that you can get an egg a day from each chicken. I have found this to be overly optimistic based on my own experience.
 |
| Eggs of many colors. |
During the sunny summer months chickens over 6 months of age can and sometimes do lay an egg every day. But in the fall as the days get shorter, you will find fewer eggs in your nest boxes.
 |
| A Buff Orpington molting a bit. |
Egg laying is also interrupted during molting. I have not observed any specific time period when molting occurs, but when you see lots of feathers strewn about the ground and chickens looking a bit ragged you will know they are molting.
 |
| A Buff Orpington molting A LOT. |
 |
| Finding this many feathers on the bedding indicate several chickens are molting. |
If you notice that the shells of the eggs are getting thin, increase the amount of grit or egg shells in the feed.
Roost/Perch
Chickens naturally group together off the ground on a roost or perch as the sun goes down. You will need to provide a roost in your coop. This can be as simple as a tree branch placed horizontally over two upright supports or as complex as a custom made perch. Ideally no chicken should be directly under another chicken. Chickens defecate while roosting and being underneath another chicken is not the ideal position. Roosts should allow chickens to perch side by side allowing roughly 6 inches per bird.
 |
| Chickens naturally roost up as the sunlight fades. |
Our roost is a less than perfect and constructed from an old wooden ladder. When it is time for a new perch, we will make it shorter so less poop gets on the walls and have the horizontal boards staggered so no chicken is directly above another.
 |
| An old wooden ladder serves as a roost. |
Plan on constructing your roost from wood. Metal is not appropriate as it gets too cold. The area where the chickens feet grasp the wood should be smooth with rounded edges and easy for the chickens to wrap their feet around. The roost should be placed several feet off the floor.
Manure Management
When we began our chicken adventure I was amazed at how much manure chickens create. To be frank, they poop a lot! If you have a garden, chicken waste is a valuable fertilizer. But until it is time to move it out of the coop, a system must be created to effectively manage the manure to reduce the build up of ammonia gases and create a reasonably sanitary environment.
To absorb the moisture and odor, some form of carbon based material needs to be spread on the floor of your coop. This can be wood shavings, straw, hay, leaves or any other dried plant material. When the ratio of manure to carbon gets too high it will be time to add more bedding or scoop out the debris and add it to a compost heap.
In the book; Holy Shit: Managing Manure to Save Mankind, the author Gene Logsdon describes a "deep bedding" system that can eliminate the need for weekly cleanings, accelerate the composting of chicken waste, and generate heat.
He suggests putting down a layer of straw and then adding additional layers as needed to keep the manure covered until the bedding is 1 to 2 feet deep. Then tossing it with a pitch fork frequently to mix the manure with the carbon bedding. This process distributes the manure equally with the dried plant material, creating an environment where the ingredients break down similar to the process that takes place in a compost pile. He also suggests adding corn to the layers to encourage the chickens to scratch the bedding and do some of the work for you. Kitchen scraps are added to the top and what is not eaten is composted as well.
 |
| A thick layer of hay to begin the fall/winter season. |
As the break down of bedding and manure is occurring, heat is being generated. For those living in cold climates, using a deep bedding system during the winter can add supplemental heat.
Logsdon goes on to say that "Science discovered that the chickens also stayed healthier, even derived vitamins and minerals from their composting bedding and manure."
Chicken manure is very high in nitrogen and when thoroughly composted will greatly enhance the fertility of your garden. When we diversify our homesteads to include food animals we create a nature based interdependence. Our garden weeds and vegetable scraps are fed to the chickens, which in turn create manure, which is used to increase the fertility of our gardens. In this circular system there is no waste as everything benefits the whole.
This is our first winter using the deep bedding system. If I were to redesign our coop I would have the openings placed higher to accommodate the deep bedding.
Cleaning Needs
Chicken coops will need to be thoroughly cleaned several times a year. I have found it most convenient to scoop out all the debris and then take a hose and spray it down. To do this the walls have to be finished with a non-porous product that can withstand scrubbing and spraying. We opted to cover the interior of the coop with white gloss hardboard wall panels we purchased at Menards. The hardboard was installed on both the walls and the ceilings. I am always amazed that chickens can somehow get poop on the ceiling!
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| Walls and ceiling covered in white gloss hardboard, light in a protective fixture, adjustable red strap holds feeder above the floor. |
In Conclusion
I hope you have found this information helpful and that you will explore books and other Internet resources to find tips helpful for your specific climate and lifestyle.
Raising laying hens can be enjoyable when you create an environment where your chickens can thrive and you can enjoy an ongoing supply of healthy eggs from happy hens.
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