Oh and if you get a rooster and decide to hatch chicks to increase your flock, you have to be prepared for at least half of them to come out roosters. If you are ok dispatching the ones you don't want for a chicken dinner that's ok but if you think you might have a problem with doing that, hatching chicks might not be for you. Rehoming unwanted roosters can be tough and it is never ok to just release them into the wild. Not saying you would, just a general statement.
Thank you for the time spent in response!Hello Bill, and welcome to BYC!Glad you joined.
You truly do NOT have extreme cold there. You may have some cold spells. You need to focus on keeping chickens cool. Breeds with large single combs can keep cool easier.
It all depends on the dogs prey drive and trainability. Its very dependent on the individual dog. I keep my flock behind electrified poultry netting so my dogs steer clear.
A rooster will stay on alert as well as guinea fowl and would likely be less noisy. The flock should be secured in a predator proof coop at night so that should keep them safe from owls. Offering overhead cover from hawks or keeping them in a run with a roof on it is the only way to completely protect from aerial predation.
You can modify a shed into a coop. In your area, I would have large roof overhangs and remove entire walls and cover them with 1/2" hardware cloth over the studs. The studs would need some kind of weather proofing. Or remove the top half of the walls and cover with 1/2" HC. You can cover some/most of the open areas with tarps to winterize.
You should offer 1 linear foot of roost per bird and the roosts should be anywhere from 1 to 4' off the floor. You need one nest box per 4-5 hens. You need 4 sq ft of floor area per bird. Nest boxes need to be positioned lower than the roosts.
Not necessary. I prefer the use of poop boards that get scooped daily. I clean the coop floor bedding out annually.
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From the moment they push the shell off themselves. You can brood directly in the coop with a mama heating pad or brooder plate.
Mediterranean breeds. Flighty.
They can't. They can only run to cover.
He can alert the hens to predators giving them a chance to get to cover. They can and will attempt to protect their hens by fighting a predator but will lose. They were designed to fight off rival roosters, not coyotes.
Well, extreme is relative when talking to far northern peeps, but when I have sub-zero wind chills with a few days in single digit lows, and never getting above freezing for a few days, I consider that "extreme" lows. :^)
Hope this helps!
- I have a barred Rock and she’s great! Sounds like a good start for eggs! How cold/hot does it usually get?
- My dogs cannot be kept with my chickens, I have no experience with this.
- I have heard of guineas being called “watch dogs” but they can’t protect your flock from these predators.
- We have a whole section full of coop designs right here on BYC! https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/chicken-coops.12/
- Whenever they are fully feathered.
- I don’t know about breeds that are more wary. A good rooster will fight for his hens, but a good rooster is not guaranteed. I don’t think you can or should sterilize a rooster.
- I have bees and chickens. The chickens are in a coop and run so the only time they interact is when the bees come and drink from the chickens’ water bucket. I don’t very often (if at all) see the chickens try to eat the bees, but I may have misremembered.
I posted a picture of the poop boards. You sift them with a cat litter scoop and dump the poop into an old cat litter bucket that gets dumped into a compost bin when full.
I would extend roof overhangs then cut the siding off the studs leaving maybe the bottom 4' of siding in place. Then use poultry staples or screws with fender washers to secure the 1/2" hardware cloth on the studs where you removed the siding. Secure 1/2" HC such that every opening is covered and you have no openings greater than 1/2" anywhere when the human and pop doors are closed.
