Moving chickens out to outside coop

[BlueEggsAndHens]

Hi, my father spent some time in South Africa, and he said it was Really hot, do you have your coop positioned in the shade ?

Hi, the coop is an old cubby house so it's completely enclosed.

 

[bharris0426]

My girls only use 2 of the 3 nesting boxes they have. They actually start with one and move to the 2nd when the first has 3 or more eggs already. I have 10 laying Hens at the moment. And 3 laying ducks. They do prefer the area to be enclosed. Oh and our entire coop is covered. We have our coop inside of a Large dog pen covered by a Tarp. So that is a good point. Being in a hot dry area. You do not want them to over heat in a closed off area. My neighbor just brings hers out to use their coop for about a week prior to bringing them out for good. So if it is in a direct sun area. Just bring them out there when you can keep an eye on them once per day for a good 4 or so days. Is your Coop fenced in? Does it have an attached run? Or is it just out in the open for them to free range then go into the coop?

 

[BDutch]

Ok so I'm going to have a nesting box for each of my 5 girls, should I be getting an extra nesting box for a spare. Or just one each.

5 girls only need 2 nest boxes.

How big should they be. If you could attach a photo of your nesting boxes or just estimated measurements would be amazing.

Depends on the size of your chickens. For bantams about 1x 1,2 x 1,2” is enough.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Would also like to say that we live in sa and the nest few days are going to be really hot. Will it still be fine for them to spend all that time in their coop does have air flow.

When I first saw SA it was thinking South America, not South Africa, but both are south of the equator so it is summer. What temperature do you consider "very hot"? That can be so subjective, what is hot to some people is not to others. The actual numbers matter.

They are 9 weeks old,
They coming from a brooder in my house
No chickens in there

With your information I generally agree with the others. Move them into the coop and leave them locked in the coop for a week or so to get them used to it being their home. Then open the door to give them access to outside.

so I'm going to have a nesting box for each of my 5 girls, should I be getting an extra nesting box for a spare. Or just one each.

The rule of thumb is one nest for every four hens but I like a minimum of two even with fewer hens to give you some flexibility. It will not hurt to have more but all you need is two nests.

How big should they be.

The minimum recommended size is 30 cm x 30 cm. This should fit any size hen, from a tiny Sebright that might weigh less than 1 kg to a Jersey Giant that might weigh 5 kg. I made mine 40 cm x 40 cm because that fit my coop framing.

When they lay the hens "stand up". Not much but a little bit. When they lay a small section of the plumbing extends out of the vent a small amount, maybe 6 mm. So they raise up enough to keep that exposed part out of the nesting materials. If you put a cover on the nest 30 cm should be plenty high, even with a lot of nesting material in the nest.

If you could attach a photo of your nesting boxes or just estimated measurements would be amazing.

How about this instead. These are old threads but they show you some of the things we have done. As you can see there are no rules as far as the chickens go. Some people have a lot of flexibility and a sense of humor. Mine are in the first thread, post #64.

Nest boxes
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/41108/show-us-your-nest-boxes-ingenous-design-post-it-here/220

Nest Boxes
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-your-creative-nesting-boxes/80#post_12395882

Good luck!

 

[BlueEggsAndHens]

When I first saw SA it was thinking South America, not South Africa, but both are south of the equator so it is summer. What temperature do you consider "very hot"? That can be so subjective, what is hot to some people is not to others. The actual numbers matter.


With your information I generally agree with the others. Move them into the coop and leave them locked in the coop for a week or so to get them used to it being their home. Then open the door to give them access to outside.


The rule of thumb is one nest for every four hens but I like a minimum of two even with fewer hens to give you some flexibility. It will not hurt to have more but all you need is two nests.


The minimum recommended size is 30 cm x 30 cm. This should fit any size hen, from a tiny Sebright that might weigh less than 1 kg to a Jersey Giant that might weigh 5 kg. I made mine 40 cm x 40 cm because that fit my coop framing.

When they lay the hens "stand up". Not much but a little bit. When they lay a small section of the plumbing extends out of the vent a small amount, maybe 6 mm. So they raise up enough to keep that exposed part out of the nesting materials. If you put a cover on the nest 30 cm should be plenty high, even with a lot of nesting material in the nest.


How about this instead. These are old threads but they show you some of the things we have done. As you can see there are no rules as far as the chickens go. Some people have a lot of flexibility and a sense of humor. Mine are in the first thread, post #64.

Nest boxes
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/41108/show-us-your-nest-boxes-ingenous-design-post-it-here/220

Nest Boxes
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-your-creative-nesting-boxes/80#post_12395882

Good luck!

This is so helpful omg your a life saver thank you so much!

 

[BlueEggsAndHens]

My girls only use 2 of the 3 nesting boxes they have. They actually start with one and move to the 2nd when the first has 3 or more eggs already. I have 10 laying Hens at the moment. And 3 laying ducks. They do prefer the area to be enclosed. Oh and our entire coop is covered. We have our coop inside of a Large dog pen covered by a Tarp. So that is a good point. Being in a hot dry area. You do not want them to over heat in a closed off area. My neighbor just brings hers out to use their coop for about a week prior to bringing them out for good. So if it is in a direct sun area. Just bring them out there when you can keep an eye on them once per day for a good 4 or so days. Is your Coop fenced in? Does it have an attached run? Or is it just out in the open for them to free range then go into the coop?

The open for them to free range

 

[BlueEggsAndHens]

Hi again,
What should I put down for bedding
I have shell grit but it's not suitable for their coop. Should I just let them go without bedding for now. As I been told hay is not good to use for bedding. And what bedding should I use for their nesting boxes.

If I were to use shell grit which is the best to use.

Thanks a lot sorry for all the questions but I do very much appreciate the responses and help!

 

[bharris0426]

I use Pine Shavings in the coop and these paper bag things in the nesting boxes. I use Pine Mulch in the run area. In a pinch I have used shredded cardboard in the coop. You can use the same bedding in the coop and nesting area. If you do not use bedding you will have a bigger mess and have to clean more often. I use the deep litter method so I don't have to clean clean too often.

 

[BlueEggsAndHens]

Th

I use Pine Shavings in the coop and these paper bag things in the nesting boxes. I use Pine Mulch in the run area. In a pinch I have used shredded cardboard in the coop. You can use the same bedding in the coop and nesting area. If you do not use bedding you will have a bigger mess and have to clean more often. I use the deep litter method so I don't have to clean clean too often.

Thanks a lot.
We will pick up some pine shavings tomorrow. So tonight they will just got without they do have a box of shell grit to lay in for tonight. Thanks a lot. What do you mean bag thingies? Could I just use pine shavings in the nesting boxes.

 

[BlueEggsAndHens]

Ok, so they are currently in their coop and we have finished.

What can I expect in their behavior tonight, obviously seeing as it's colder outside then inside. Other than that what are some things I should expect