[Ag-eq] Dream come true

Wed Apr 4 19:58:26 UTC 2012

Jody:

I don't know what your temperatures are there, but my biggest concern is shade
and air circulation.  I know Florida can get very hot and it is a lot more
humid than Arizona.

I keep my chickens in a 15 by 30 chain link run, with bird netting across the
top.  There's a tree on the outside that gives shade and I have 2 A frame
structures that are open on the ends; these have pirches half way up.  I often
find the hens just pirching on top of them.  I also have a hen coop that looks
like a barn, it's 4 by 4; this is where I keep the nest boxes.  There are also
pirches in there, but I never see them on them.  This structure is about 3 feet
off the ground and the hens like getting under it when it's really hot.  There
are doors on each side of the top part, so I can easily clean it.  There are
also some vents along the edge of the roof for air flow.  The only time I find
the girls roosting in the fancy barn coop is on the few cold nights that we
have!

I tried to choose lighter bodied hens since I think they handle the heat better.
 I have 3 barred rocks and 3 cinnomon queens; they are a little smaller than
Road Island Reds.  These breeds lay brown eggs.  All of mine are quite docile
and seem to have no nesting instincts; this makes gathering the eggs easy!

Please keep us posted on your progress and feel free to ask questions.  I
learned much of what I know from Susan, so she's probably a better resource! 
There is a very good discussion forum at www.backyardchickens.com

Good luck.

Nella

Quoting Susan Roe <dogwoodfarm at verizon.net>:

> I will be more than happy to talk to you till the cows come home about
> chickens!  Inside the coop you will need some sort of nest boxes and a few
> pirches because there will be a few hens and a rooster if you get one, that
> will prefer to pirch at night instead of occupying a nest box.  We have one
> or two windows in each coop for light and air circulation with heavy gage
> screen over them.  I have 3 coops that ar 5 by 12 feet and 6 feet high
> inside.  Each coop has a fenced in run attached to the front that is 12 foot
> squared with chicken wire fencing all around and over the top.  There are
> way too many hunting dogs that pass through our 60 acres and a healthy farel
> cat population that has been here for about 50 years.
>
> Check out your coop and let me know what it looks like.
>
> Does it matter to you if you have brown or white eggs?  It doesn't to me,
> however, my husband and customers only want brown, so needless to say, all
> of my 3 breeds are brown egg layers.
>
> I am hoping to get another 20 hens by the end of the month.  I really want
> to get Red Stars or Rhode Island Reds, but the further April gets the less
> choice I may have.  I will probably end up with a mixed hen assortment, but
> as long as they lay large brown eggs I can't complain too much.
>
> Susan
> dogwoodfarm at verizon.net
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jody W. Ianuzzi" <jody at thewhitehats.com>
> To: "'Agricultural and Equestrean Division List'" <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2012 2:19 PM
> Subject: Re: [Ag-eq] Dream come true
>
>
> > Hello susan,
> >
> > Thank you so much.  You will have to teach me all about chickens and
> > horses.
> > There is a chicken coop there but my mother inlaw who grew up on a farm
> > says
> > it isn't finished.  What does a coop include?
> >
> > JODY
> >
> >
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