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@FunClucks I know the lack of cage dilemma. Working my way to resolution through a new 14' x 16' pole shed to house cages. Will end up with 3 big (4'x8'x6'high) and the 3 small we are discussing

Thank you both. I have 10 cockerels in cages, I moved one, he was getting ganged, and carefully chose his mate; they get along. That is my only aggression issue with cockerels isolated in cages, thus far. I will have a closer look at removing the divider; not horrible but awkward I think.

I keep excess cockerels in cages. I have 3 cages on two levels - upper level has two 30" by 5' cages, bottom has one 30" by 10'. Each cage has 2 cockerels. Is it better to remove the divider on the upper level and house 3 on each level?

@HowIsItDone Thank you. There are many folks on this site who give great advice, freely. Each has their areas of interest/focus that collectively cover everything a chicken geek needs. I took more than a year getting serious about bird life before I built. Taking one's time to get what you...

I thought an update was in order. I have successfully broken the nest sleeper habit by moving the hen to the roosts just after dusk, took 7 evenings. All eggs now roll into the box without getting hung up on waste. However, I am still getting a few eggs broken. I was gathering eggs and saw one...

LOL perhaps I should have written "coop/run". Both the run and the coop/run are L shaped.

A L-shaped coop: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-coop-page.65912/

Pennsylvania's winter runs from November to April, snow falls vary from "18 to 150 inches of snowfall" depending on location. Temperatures are typically below freezing sometimes reaching -5F or lower.

I agree with the comment above regarding size vs number of chickens however, will try to answer some of your questions. I have been through overcrowding in a coop - you and your chickens will not be happy!! "deciding if food is kept in or out. What's better?" Everything you put inside the coop...

Thank you, good advice. The two elevated levels are very easy to service & to inspect the birds. I have like breeds together so comparison is much easier. Now starting to look closely at my six Chantecler cockerels/roos to chose which I will use for my June hatch. I had thought grow out would...

Not always. I thought it was related but I have moved the offending hen each night for the past five and got an egg eaten. This evening she was on the roosts.

Yes, would recommend to anyone with egg eaters. They ladies carry trash in so weekly maintenance probably a good idea. The hens now only use the new nests; only one divider but they spread out evenly; 95%+ eggs roll to the front; mornings have 5-7 nests in use; production increasing (probably...

Rattle can red...

I am extending my run & coop to include a pole shed to host cages including a bachelor grow out pen. I am thinking about providing access to an area that is only protected by electrical netting? Mostly concerned about foot based predators... How effective is electrical netting? Thank you.

Have you specifically gone to either a farm show (best imho) or to a good farm supply store/source? I looked for a few years before I stumbled on a "local" source.

I have read/thought about hemp in lieu of straw in nest boxes; recently rebuilt my nest boxes to be roll away and now use artificial grass (deep bedding using pine chips in coop). I searched for something affordable but with shipping too much. Then I went to a farm show and found it "down the...

"...saturated..." is worry some - year round? particular location? There is a current thread that came to mind of a coop & run build in a wet location. Worth a read: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-coop-design-and-build-blog.1612130/page-7

I have had a few instances of eggs being eaten while in the new nests. I also have two pullets that sleep in the new nests and their waste will stop the egg from rolling. I am moving these two from nests to roosts each evening until they are no longer in the nests.

As of an hour ago I have 10 cockerels in cages outside the main coop/run. Two Chantecler males left, one very subservient; I may move the dominant one to join two others in the larger of the new cages... I did not realize how many males I had but then they became teenaged; I previously moved 5...

Peak vents can get blocked by snow in the winter and you no longer have that ventilation.