Chicken Pens
 

We are fixing to start work on our chicken pen for about 6 chickens.

We are planning a 6 foot high fence around the coup. But we are debating whether or not to try to put wire on top of the pen, fully enclosing it.

What are you guys doing? Are you enclosing the top?

We live in a subdivision of multi acre lots, but would be considered in the 'country'.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

Ours is about 6 foot tall. We don't have wire over the top.

We've had the coop and chicken yard for about four years. Chickens almost never fly out. The only time we've had an issue is when we had juvenile birds and we let the fence get "saggy"--slumping to about 4 1/2 foot tall.

The only other considerations are (1) if you are concerned about bird flu from wild birds flying in and (2) predators scaling the fence.

We lock the chickens in at night, so predators are not a problem. Avian flu is improbable, and just wire over the top would not ensure isolation.

We don't have wire over the top, the state comes and checks our chickens for avian influenza every year for free, and we're perfectly happy with the arrangement.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

The chickens aren't likely to get out but hawks or possibly climbing varmints might get in. If you raise bantams or some smaller breeds they might be able to fly over a six ft fence, but regular home raised chickens are generally too fat, content and lazy.
My concern was with the hot overhead sun, so I stapled aluminet shade cloth over the top to give them some shade. I also let them out into a 1/4 acre fenced yard to forage and eat bugs during the daytime. We have several dogs and there was initial fear the dogs might go after them, but now I have my doubts. Seems the dogs only apparent interest is in eating the chicken droppings. The dogs are lazier than the hens.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

I think my daughter's got a chicken pen ... what with the chicken scratches she claims is her homework .....

OK, it wasn't funny. I tried. Sue me.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread but I bet I'm not the only one who thought that when they saw the thread title

Re: Chicken Pens
 

My thoughts exactly. We haven't had a problem since the chickens reached full size, but hawks got one when they were about half-grown, and my neighbor lost a bunch to hawks and one (he thinks) to a skunk. I'd recommend at least using bird netting over the top until they're grown, or permanent covering if you're getting bantams. I'm assuming you'll have a predator proof coop for nights, so during the day your main worry is pretty much just hawks.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

OT but... on the same level as the pen...

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/epa1038l.jpg

Re: Chicken Pens
 

Hens are awesome.

Roosters pretty cool, too, but they don't lay eggs.

I think chickens are very noble creatures.

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I doubt we are getting a rooster. We will prob get RI Red hens.

We had them growing up, and they were easy to keep and really docile. Good layers too.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

Yes, chickens are pretty amazing. I'm trying to be more like my chickens. I miss my little rooster we had to give away; I would love to be able to hatch a bunch of chicks!

Techguy, here's a thread on BYC that might give you some ideas. http://www.backyardchickens.com/foru....php?id=127870. Their whole "coop & run design & construction" topic is a wealth of information.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

Thanks. I have been visiting the site a lot.

I was considering use 8ft fence posts for the corners of the pen and using 8ft T-posts for the posts in between. We have VERY bad clay soil and the fewer post holes I have to dig the better.

I was figuring 6 feet or so high and be done with it. BUT if I use the T-posts, putting a cover on later will be a little harder.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

My favorite so far is Black Australorps. They're docile, good layers, brown eggs, and the hens are good moms.

Out of about 10 hens we get two that get broody once or twice a year.

I don't like trying to rear a bunch of our own chicks--the hens do it so much better.

As soon as the hen gets broody I order a batch of day-old chicks. Usually takes almost three weeks (backorder) from McMurray, which is appropriate timing with egg biology.

When the chicks arrive they get food and water. Then a couple of the strongest get sneaked under the broody hen. Within about 24 hours her instincts change from sitting on eggs to rearing chicks. The rest of the chicks are given to momma over the course of ~24 hours.

From then on momma takes care of them. We have a four-year-old hen we call "Big Momma." She rears up to 30 chicks at a time. Worth her weight in silver, we figure. We'll keep her until she dies of old age.

I love the Black Australorps, but I should be able to comment on some of the other breeds here soon. The last batch we ordered in last year was a mix of pullets. We also saved two roos from a previous batch--one buff orphington and a barred Wyandotte with an independent streak (He attacked me in defense of a comrade and later tried to flee the area. I argued with myself about the wisdom of saving a smart chicken, but I respect him. He hasn't attacked me since. Then he would be supper.)

We keep a rooster or two in case we need viable eggs for the next generation.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

I may have to order a few of those as well. I have heard LOTS of good things about them.

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I've had a bunch of different ones over the years. The barred rock were real cool customers and not real aggressive. I'll have to get chickens again this year. It's been a few years. I have a dog kennel I'll use for them. It is nice to let them free range during the day and eat insects. Nothing like the taste of a free range hen. The eggs are great too. When I kept them in my barn they defecated on everything and made a mess. I'll not do that again.

Most dogs aren't a problem with chickens. Some are. Most just get pissed when the chickens try to eat their food. Dogs are very protective of the chickens but even more protective of their own food supply.

My wife's grandma had a huge rooster named Herman who was bad to the bone and kept the neighbor's dog at bay.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

If a dog does kill a chicken,you beat the dog with the chicken,then tie it around its neck for a few days.

Although the last dog i did this to still killed chickens.

A very stubbern boxer dog.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

I built a nice one from scratch last year and have a 14' X 25' run area that they stay in. The 8' high chicken run has a plastic fencing top along with some chicken wire. I ordered 25 pullets and received 29 with 1 actually being a rooster. Did not know it for the first few months. I have 12 Rhode Island Red's, 11 Barred Rock and 6 Arucanon which lay greenish-blue eggs. They started laying eggs when they were 17 weeks old. I get around 25 eggs a day - The RI Reds have the best brown eggs (size and color wise) The Barr Rock are a little more docile and lay a lighter brown egg with decent size. The arucanon lay mostly greenish-blue eggs which are a little smaller or oblong than the other eggs but taste richer. Their yolks are a darker orange than the Brown eggs. The rooster is one of the Arucanon's and is absolutely a stud (he has all 28 hens laying every day)
He has pecked at my shoes just once. All I did was turn to face him and flapped my overjacket like they were wings. That sure got every chicken flying towards the roof. I just told him who was boss:36_1_30:

I am amazed at how much dirt they have removed from the chicken run. It's 3 to 4 inches lower. I have removed 6 wheelbarrel full of chicken shit and covered my gardens with it (thin since it's high in ammonium nitrate - 47-0-0)
and added some lime. I hope to get better corn production this year. Wow - drop in a husked ear of corn and in about 2 minutes it is picked clean:ok:
I used to call them my piranha chickens (actually saw one catch a mole and slam it to death and then they tore it up and ate it) - Since the snow and Ice, I noticed when they are out of the coop - they stand around on one leg with the other one tucked up out of sight. They looked like a flock of flamingo's....no kidding - it looked like every one of them had their right foot tucked.
I have sliding windows on the chicken coop which is 3 ft off the ground with electric and a nice shingled roof.
I thinking of selling about 6 of them to give them more room but have no idea how much a good laying 7 month old hen would sell for. Any ideas?

Re: Chicken Pens
 

I'd check out http://www.the-coop.org/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi for price ideas on young laying hens. It's my favorite chicken board. (Yes, I have a favorite chicken board.)

As far as aggressive roosters, a peck at your shoes isn't what I would consider aggression. He was probably looking for food. Aggression is a rooster flying at you to spur you. A few years ago our chosen roo did that to me when I had the baby on my back. Out of nowhere there was an explosion of feathers and he spurred me in the leg. It could have been my baby's leg, who was hanging from my back. I HAD shown him on multiple occasions who was boss, fluffing and chasing him around the yard 'til he hid his head. After that spurring incident he was crockpot chicken stew.

All the regulars on the my chicken board have the same view. A truly aggressive rooster cannot be re-educated. And a truly aggressive rooster is also a danger to children. Spurs have caused lost eyesight.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

We have lots of different breeds. One thing I've found about the RIRs is that they are somewhat louder than most of the other hens. They're the first ones squawking to get let out in the morning, and they want everybody to know about it when they lay. But they're definitely our most reliable and productive egg-layers. Great birds. We also love our buff orpingtons, which are very quiet and also productive and gentle, and also our silver laced wyandottes. The little cockerel we had to rehome was a barred rock. I would definitely get another BR roo when/if we move to a place where we can keep one. The BR hens are also pretty loud, though, but otherwise they're great birds. I don't know if noise is a factor for you, but I always worry that my loud ones will annoy my uptight neighbor.

One of my German Shepherds got one of our chickens early on. We corrected her severely, but I hadn't heard about the thing where you tie the dead bird around the dog's neck so I didn't try that. We keep them diligently separated now. Neighbors' dogs are also a problem for a lot of people; I've heard many horror stories. Our many feral cats don't bother the birds at all, but I certainly wouldn't trust a cat around a young chick or even a banty unless the chickens outnumbered the cats.

Aaaargh! Not another chicken board! I'm already online way too much when I should be outside cleaning coops or pruning trees! Well...one quick peek can't hurt, can it? :wink: :bear_w00t:

Re: Chicken Pens
 

If I had an uncovered chicken pen I would be cleared out in one night!
In between dogs, coyotes, bobcat, possum, skunk, and raccoon I would have nothing but feathers and memories.
I am a big advocate of chicken tractors, the nice movable pens as the birds get to eat weeds and bugs and it cuts down on my feed bill

Re: Chicken Pens
 

The problem we have now is the sparrows coming inside the coop and eating the feed. We were going through a 50 lb bag in less than 2 weeks. Now we feed them their daily ration in the evening after they are locked up. They finish eating it in the a.m. We are in the process of making a new chicken coop and will put wire over the outside to block those little sparrows. You have to use 1/2" chicken wire or that square wire so the sparrows can not get in.

We have Buff Orphingtons. I love the breed. They are a good layer and started laying at 14 weeks old. They are a heavy bird and and make for good butcher. My Buff O's are very friendly, my red star's are more flighty. Getting a rooster is a good idea, your hens will slow down on egg production every year. Usually, they lay thru the first winter, then the next winter they molt and stop laying. I think the egg production drops about 25% every year (don't quote me). Raising a bunch of chicks every year will help feed you and give you a steady supply of eggs.
If you are ordering chickens, order a few extra. Unless you get a red star or sex linx, (the hens are born one color and the roosters another color) You will almost always get rooster in your batch.
Last year we ordered 10 buffs and 10 red star and ended up with 3 buff roosters 7 buff pullets and 10 red star pullets.

We have a 60 x60 fenced in area that we keep our trailer in and the chicken coop. The coop has a small pen attached to it. During the day, we let the chickens in the big area. We planted it in grass last spring. They keep it mowed down. We also planted some apricot trees for feed and shade.
Today we found a round solar yard light, it has a little solar panel on the top of it. Anyway, I thought we could put the solar part outside the wall and the light part inside the coop and have some light in it. Dont know if it will work, but its worth a try. The light was a whoppin' 5.99!
Our new chicken coop will be a 12 x12 building, half of it will be the coop and the other side will be a goat milking station and feed storage area.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

I started with 20 chicks two years ago and am down to 11 hens. We gave a rooster away and the rest have been prey to predators, mostly hawks. The hawks are worse in the winter when there is no tree cover. I don't have a chicken pen, I just open the coop in the morning and let them run around the homestead all day. I used to keep them fenced in with chicken wire, but they would get out. They also stripped the pen down to bare dirt. Now they are older and fatter and probably would not escape a 6ft fence, but they are used to having the run of the place now. Besides I get a kick out of having them run up to me everytime I go outside. I will have to replenish my flock eventually, but I will just buy day-old chicks again and forego the whole rooster thing. The hens never did seem to enjoy the rooster's attention. He was quite vigorous.

p.s. I was very angry the first few times I caught a hawk eating one of my hens, so I did some research to learn how to get rid of hawks. I learned that a hawk only lays one or two eggs per year, while a chicken lays almost daily. Hawks were endangered because they were being killed because of their predatory ways. Hawks cannot help being birds of prey. It is easier to replace a chicken than a hawk. A hawk prefers smaller prey like mice, but will attempt to kill a grown chicken when it is very hungry. It will make several meals from a single chicken. Also, if you remove the dead chicken before the hawk is finished, it will kill another almost immediately.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

Cover it. Mine is, propped up with posts like a circus tent.
This spring the container garden project will be completed, same thing.
Used hog rings to make all connections, good so far. Very quickly done and quite strong. Lined the bottom with old hop poles and used 4' garden fencing along with an overlay of chicken wire. Coyotes and hawks threaten the birds, chucks and squirrels....magpies hit the garden. Will have only to contend with bugs and gophers.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

One other thing some people may not be aware of is that meat chickens and laying hens are two totally different animals.

Do not over feed meat chickens.They are designed to get fat quick.They will get so fat they will just roll around and have heart attacks.

I enjoy raising turkeys over meat chickens.They need more help at the start but soon get large and easier to raise.

Re: Chicken Pens
 

I have a 6 foot fence, but I added a strong welded wire fence against the chicken wire on the bottom 3 feet and run treated 2x6s along the bottom to nail the fence to. I did not do that the first time and 2 stray/wild dogs got in the pen and killed all of my chickens. I took the next 2 days off work and waiting on them to come back looking for more chickens and they both ate 12 gauge slugs on day 2.

I have never covered the top.