Keebler box truck run.

[DingDingChickenKing]

So I'm kind of a hill Billy.
Long story short I was a butcher for 10 years. Got 20(-1) chicks 3 weeks old (10 black Australorps and 9 white leghorns)
They are gonna be free roaming free range.
Can y'all take a look at my keebleers coop and let me know what y'all think?
The run is for the winter and I didn't plan on topping it because they are gonna be exposed daily anyway.

The door to the coop opens to a wire window with heavy guage wire behind chicken wire for air flow during the summer months.

They are gonna be a mix of meat and egg birds. Y'all see anything I might be missing? Being new to all of it.
I got food and waters for the coop just don't want mice in there till chickens are in there.

I also may have 3 silkie chicks who need a home in a few weeks who would be roughly 6 weeks behind my current flock.


Looking to be belittled with information <3. Lecture me please.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

Where, in general, are you located? Climate matters, so if you put your general location into your profile we can give you better targeted advice. For example, if you get a lot of snow you'll want to cover that run so you don't have to shovel it, but if not then you needn't (except that there is Avian Flu in the US right now so a lot of us are covering our runs to keep wild birds and their poop away from our chickens).

Here's the basics on sizes:

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

20 hens

• 80 square feet in the coop. 8'x10' is the most practical because 7'x12' or 6'x14' require a lot of weird cuts.
• 20 feet of roost
• 200 square feet in the run. 10'x20', 12'x16' or 8'x25' as suits the land available.
• 20 square feet of ventilation.
• 5 nest boxes.

My concern with your photos there is that I don't see any upper-level ventilation. Heat and ammonia both rise so you need to vent them at roof peak level.

I have Australorps (blue), and I love them. To my mind they're what I automatically think of when someone says the word "chicken".

 

[DingDingChickenKing]

Welcome to BYC.

Where, in general, are you located? Climate matters, so if you put your general location into your profile we can give you better targeted advice. For example, if you get a lot of snow you'll want to cover that run so you don't have to shovel it, but if not then you needn't (except that there is Avian Flu in the US right now so a lot of us are covering our runs to keep wild birds and their poop away from our chickens).

Here's the basics on sizes:

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

20 hens

• 80 square feet in the coop. 8'x10' is the most practical because 7'x12' or 6'x14' require a lot of weird cuts.
• 20 feet of roost
• 200 square feet in the run. 10'x20', 12'x16' or 8'x25' as suits the land available.
• 20 square feet of ventilation.
• 5 nest boxes.

My concern with your photos there is that I don't see any upper-level ventilation. Heat and ammonia both rise so you need to vent them at roof peak level.

View attachment 3066533


I have Australorps (blue), and I love them. To my mind they're what I automatically think of when someone says the word "chicken".

The old truck has a 6 inch circular hole in the top below the roof i can access if i take off that wood block i put on the ceiling in the photo. I could wire it and have airflow leading through the front window up and out. I was hoping that the large window, the side window (the white on to the right) would have enough of a pass through to get fresh air in along with the idea that they will only really be in there over night.

It tends to be very very windy here, im on top of a hill in northern Kentucky.

Im not doing much today and will be back in a few minutes with pictures of the windows as I'm better at showing than explaining.

I'll have to do some measurements to make sure my spacing is right, with them free roaming you would still need that type of spacing? I was under the impression they would only really sleep in there and i had expectation of losing 1 or 2 before my dog and me got a security system up.

No real air predators aside from owls, all chicken hawks are miles away and we have crows around to kinda push em back. Coyotes,foxes,racoons are some of my concerns, but you see the type of vantage i have. I have calibers from 22 to 12 gauge slugs and everything in between.

So of everything the air flow would be the concern and spacing?

(Edited to add pics)

 

[3KillerBs]

a 6 inch circular hole

You need to be thinking square feet of ventilation rather than square inches. ~20 square feet total of 24/7/365 ventilation that is never closed up.

Some people use fans or those roof turbines to actively move air rather than just relying on passive airflow, but if you use a fan be sure that it's rated for barn use because, at best, the dust from the bedding and the feather dander will destroy the motor and it's not unlikely that it would start a fire.

The thumb rule is that the temperature and humidity inside the coop should be the same as outside and that there should be absolutely NO ammonia odor. We don't try to keep chickens warm. We keep them dry and out of the wind and they keep themselves warm.

im on top of a hill in northern Kentucky.

I used to live up in Boone, NC. There's no wind like mountain wind!

You'll want to put some windblocks into your run so that they can get into shelter on bad days.

I'll have to do some measurements to make sure my spacing is right, with them free roaming you would still need that type of spacing?

This is from an article I'm writing:

But I free range/have a huge run and my chickens only use the coop to sleep and lay eggs! Why do I need all that space inside?​

​

You might not. As I've said, these are guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules.​

​

If you never close the pop door so that your coop and run function together as a fully integrated system that is the equivalent of a huge, open-air coop, then your flock might be just fine for years, even decades.​

​

If you are always out there to open the pop door at the crack of dawn or you have an ultra-reliable automatic door so that your chickens never lack access to their free range territory during the daylight hours, then your flock might be just fine for years, even decades.​

​

If you live in a mild climate where chickens can always go out into their run/range and are never kept in by snow or storms, then your flock might be just fine for decades. People who keep chickens in places with tropical and subtropical climates do successfully go without a coop at all, just offering a covered roost and some nestboxes.​

​

But when something happens ...​

​

When a determined predator moves in and breaks through the fencing so that you have to confine the flock to the coop itself so that you can fix the run,​

​

When an extreme weather event prevents your chickens from leaving shelter for days,​

​

When an emergency calls you out of town and you can't find someone willing to be there at the crack of dawn to open the pop door,​

​

Then you could have a mess on your hands.​

​

Which brings us back to the issue of flexibility and options. Any time you push a system hard against it's limits you have to count on everything remaining stable -- exactly as it is without any changes. How well that's likely to work depends on your specific circumstances. You may never encounter an unfortunate circumstance -- some people DO hit the lottery, after all.​

There is also some slop in the guideline numbers when you get to large flocks in large facilities because each individual bird has so much more space to work out the flock social issues.

The guidelines are rules of thumb that give people a baseline to start from -- especially if they were inclined to believe the manufacturer's claims that a dollhouse prefab so small that an adult hen can barely turn around will hold 8-10 birds. Here's an excellent article on the whys of chickens' space needs: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-much-room-do-chickens-need.66180/

So of everything the air flow would be the concern and spacing?

Yes, especially airflow. Good food and plenty of fresh air are the primary keys to chicken health.

 

[DingDingChickenKing]

You need to be thinking square feet of ventilation rather than square inches. ~20 square feet total of 24/7/365 ventilation that is never closed up.

Some people use fans or those roof turbines to actively move air rather than just relying on passive airflow, but if you use a fan be sure that it's rated for barn use because, at best, the dust from the bedding and the feather dander will destroy the motor and it's not unlikely that it would start a fire.

The thumb rule is that the temperature and humidity inside the coop should be the same as outside and that there should be absolutely NO ammonia odor. We don't try to keep chickens warm. We keep them dry and out of the wind and they keep themselves warm.



I used to live up in Boone, NC. There's no wind like mountain wind!

You'll want to put some windblocks into your run so that they can get into shelter on bad days.



This is from an article I'm writing:

But I free range/have a huge run and my chickens only use the coop to sleep and lay eggs! Why do I need all that space inside?​

​

You might not. As I've said, these are guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules.​

​

If you never close the pop door so that your coop and run function together as a fully integrated system that is the equivalent of a huge, open-air coop, then your flock might be just fine for years, even decades.​

​

If you are always out there to open the pop door at the crack of dawn or you have an ultra-reliable automatic door so that your chickens never lack access to their free range territory during the daylight hours, then your flock might be just fine for years, even decades.​

​

If you live in a mild climate where chickens can always go out into their run/range and are never kept in by snow or storms, then your flock might be just fine for decades. People who keep chickens in places with tropical and subtropical climates do successfully go without a coop at all, just offering a covered roost and some nestboxes.​

​

But when something happens ...​

​

When a determined predator moves in and breaks through the fencing so that you have to confine the flock to the coop itself so that you can fix the run,​

​

When an extreme weather event prevents your chickens from leaving shelter for days,​

​

When an emergency calls you out of town and you can't find someone willing to be there at the crack of dawn to open the pop door,​

​

Then you could have a mess on your hands.​

​

Which brings us back to the issue of flexibility and options. Any time you push a system hard against it's limits you have to count on everything remaining stable -- exactly as it is without any changes. How well that's likely to work depends on your specific circumstances. You may never encounter an unfortunate circumstance -- some people DO hit the lottery, after all.​

There is also some slop in the guideline numbers when you get to large flocks in large facilities because each individual bird has so much more space to work out the flock social issues.

The guidelines are rules of thumb that give people a baseline to start from -- especially if they were inclined to believe the manufacturer's claims that a dollhouse prefab so small that an adult hen can barely turn around will hold 8-10 birds. Here's an excellent article on the whys of chickens' space needs: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-much-room-do-chickens-need.66180/



Yes, especially airflow. Good food and plenty of fresh air are the primary keys to chicken health.

I heard you.
I always been kind of a fail safe individual. I have a large metal building that if the coop fails or something dramatic happens I could house unironically 80 chickens with ventilation. It was a constructed metal barn. It's secure enough but ultimately is my workshop unless something happens.

As far as determined predators. I live with my wife and don't work a conventional job. I'm up around 3-4am and in bed around 7pm. I will be manually caring for them every morning same as with my dogs and mouser cat

I plan on shooting and eating anything that might be determined so predators tend to go to the back of my head.

I have bottle rockets for if I ever see a chicken hawk and some shotgun shells designed to scare birds off since hawks are protected.

The truck has no leaks and I can close up all drafts.
There is a wind break leading out of the coop into the run so they have roof and walling outside to get out of the wind.
My house has alot of over hangs for them to get away from predators or feel secure I feel too and is around 40 feet away from the coop


The ventilation seems to be where I'm lacking. I can climb up between the roof and metal truck top and cut as big of holes I need in the top to vent up to and out.

 

[3KillerBs]

Sounds like you've got solid plans.

And a nice brooder there in that photo.

 

[DingDingChickenKing]

thank you, threw it together real quick inside the shop cause i underestimated their growth and space vs when they can go outside.

 

[3KillerBs]

thank you, threw it together real quick inside the shop cause i underestimated their growth and space vs when they can go outside.

They grow SO fast!

I brood outdoors and they get crowded in a hurry anyway.

 

[DingDingChickenKing]

They grow SO fast!

I brood outdoors and they get crowded in a hurry anyway.

I had some fears of brooding outside along with the current temps being a little too low, they are stinky, but i wanted them to be on their feet before being exposed to dangers or "at risk".

It was a good decision cause the light i had in there, even though it was a heat light, melted and fell out in front of my face and they'd probably be gone if i wasnt standing right there. Gonna move over to a artificial chicken plate thing eventually, that gave me kinda a fright.

Been using lights like this for years and that was a first.

 

[3KillerBs]

I had some fears of brooding outside along with the current temps being a little too low, they are stinky, but i wanted them to be on their feet before being exposed to dangers or "at risk".

It was a good decision cause the light i had in there, even though it was a heat light, melted and fell out in front of my face and they'd probably be gone if i wasnt standing right there. Gonna move over to a artificial chicken plate thing eventually, that gave me kinda a fright.

Been using lights like this for years and that was a first.

Yikes!

Being in central NC I mostly have mild temperatures and worry more about heat than cold, but occasionally get crazy weather -- including this week when I'm going to have day-old babies outside!

The solution members here helped me come up with last time this happened was to use my Big Red Bulb to keep the ambient temperature at a level that the heat plate could operate effectively.