The Rooster Next Door

582 Views 45 Replies 7 Participants Last post by gokoroo, 21 d ago

Gibson

Discussion Starter · 2 mo ago (Edited)

Greetings to the community,

I am new to this chicken stuff, just started last year. Last year was not so good. I lost 3 meat birds to predators, two just up and passed for some reason and one got locked up by my neighbor with her chickens leaving me with only one hen, a Rhode Island.

Eventually I got my chicken back from my neighbor so I have had two over the winter. This year I have 6 meat birds and picked up two Barred Plymouth Rock and one New Hampshire Red. I will be introducing them to the flock of two, probably on Sunday (into the fenced chicken run but not entirely into the coup yet)

I do NOT want to keep my hens confined in a chicken run as I have done all winter. I have two acres for them free range on and my neighbors have about that as well.

My question/ concern is this: My neighbors husband passed away this last year and since then she is letting her 6 hens and Rooster free range and they come into my yard. I am totally fine with that but what worries me that MY hens (and the new little ones) will follow that rooster and leave my coup? I hope not, I really want them to do their thing. Seems like the Rooster might not mind but maybe the other hens would not allow it? I don't know. I am not much interested in getting a Rooster.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

21 - 40 of 46 Posts

NYhillbillies

· #21 · 1 mo ago

dawg53 said:
The 12' long coop had 9 birds in it. It didnt really matter, they always crowded down at one end, silly hens. There was some bickering going on each evening for the best roosting spot when they went to roost for the night, but no knock down drag out fights nor blood lol.
During the hot summer, some of them DID spread out on the roost. It gets real hot here during the summer. I had two fans inside the coop.
If you install a fan inside a coop, make sure the airflow is blowing air OUT the vent. Indirect airflow will come in through the other vents. You dont want direct airflow blowing on your chickens.

I have two other coops as well. A shed coop and a bathroom sink vanity lol.

Regarding the fan- doesn’t it need to be blowing in so it doesn’t get filthy? The fan motor gets black & looks unsafe when it’s blowing the air out of the coop…..

dawg53

· #22 · 1 mo ago

NYhillbillies said:
Regarding the fan- doesn’t it need to be blowing in so it doesn’t get filthy? The fan motor gets black & looks unsafe when it’s blowing the air out of the coop…..

No. You dont want direct airflow blowing on your birds inside the coop at night. With air blowing out the vent, indirect air flow comes in through the other vents, keeping the air moving inside the coop as I mentioned. They cant sleep and might get sick with direct airflow especially if it's hot and humid.

I clean the fans once or twice a year. Yes, they are filthy dirty and I clean them. The screens on the windows needs vacuuming inside and out. The dust and debris collects on the screen blocking the airflow. I vacuum all of them when they need it. A vacuum cleaner is your friend and the chickens wont be in your way because they dont like the noise. (I use a big wet/dry vacuum with the filter installed.)
I have several box fans that are 4 or 5 years old and still in use. I've also had a couple of fans crap out at about 2 years of use. Walmart carries plenty of box fans, I buy the cheapest ones.

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robin416

· #23 · 1 mo ago

@NYhillbillies, @dawg53 isn't kidding when he's telling you what he does to take care of his birds.

Funny, I read just a few years ago that we shouldn't have fans blowing on the birds because it can dehydrate them. You wouldn't think so but I guess that forced air can get past the feathers and cause them to dry out too much. That's just weird to me. But I avoided using direct air current just in case.

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dawg53

· #24 · 1 mo ago

Here are pics of fans inside my coops and pens. Note the small black fan installed in 4'x 2' bathroom vanity coop for two chickens. A large fan is installed in the carport coop and that rascal will move some air! The rest are box fans installed inside the shed coop and pens. The last photo is a box fan located under the carport coop. I hope these pics give you some ideas.

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NYhillbillies

· #25 · 1 mo ago

The fans motor get positively filthy from dust. Isn’t that a fire hazard?

NYhillbillies

· #26 · 1 mo ago

(Thanx for taking the pics!)

dawg53

· #27 · 1 mo ago

When the fans get real dirty from dust and debris, they slow down and then simply stop operating. No smoking/fires whatsoever.
One thing I forgot to mention was that they have to be placed in an area where they cant get wet. No need for fried chicken in the pens lol.

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robin416

· #28 · 1 mo ago

One of the things I did with my fans was use the compressor to blow out as much dust as possible.

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NYhillbillies

· #29 · 1 mo ago

On the same subject of dust in the coop, we use a layer of TSC wood shavings (white bag) on the coops linoleum floor- no deep litter. (See pic)
Dust is a big factor. I read that a shop-vac with filter works well for the dust. Would sand be a cleaner alternative to the chips?

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NYhillbillies

· #30 · 1 mo ago

P.S.
5 hens, 3 nesting boxes & almost 10 feet of perch.
They use 1 box, and maybe 4 feet of perch….

Big Red, our rooster, disappeared several days ago while free~Ranging with the hens. We are heartbroken 😔. The hens seem to have recovered over his absence faster than we have.
we have no intention of replacing him (or any of them).

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dawg53

· #31 · 1 mo ago

NYhillbillies said:
P.S.
5 hens, 3 nesting boxes & almost 10 feet of perch.
They use 1 box, and maybe 4 feet of perch….

Big Red, our rooster, disappeared several days ago while free~Ranging with the hens. We are heartbroken 😔. The hens seem to have recovered over his absence faster than we have.
we have no intention of replacing him (or any of them).

You have a nice set up, hardware cloth included, I like it. Sorry to hear about Big Red. I'm totally against deep litter. It's nothing but a hot bed for capillary worms which can be deadly in chickens.
I like your thermometer inside the coop too. I have one just outside the carport coop and one up on the back porch.

robin416

· #32 · 1 mo ago

Birds give off a whole bunch of feather dander so using shavings or sand won't much change things as far as dust.

Glad to read you're one of those that won't do the deep litter, @NYhillbillies. No one could ever convince me that was a good idea.

NYhillbillies

· #33 · 1 mo ago

Thankyou Dawg & Robin for sharing your thoughts!
Question: do chickens react to a dusty environment? Do they sneeze?
I frequently sneeze when I am in the coop, and have chronic sinus congestion. I now take Claritan nightly. I used to only be this way in winter (indoor heaters) but now year round, since we have had chickens. Don’t know if it is a coincidence or not. I am the daily coop pooper scooper lady, by choice.

so now I’m thinking seriously about the dust issue!

dawg53

· #34 · 1 mo ago

I clean coops early in the morning (20 minutes taking my time) and pens several times daily (about 10-15 minutes). I dont have any allergies. Ease of cleaning coops was a top priority.

Chickens sneeze, as do dogs and cats, and people for whatever reasons. There are many environmental causes for chickens; dust, dander, mold, mildew, pollen, pesticide use, ammonia fumes from soiled bedding, feed dust, dust from dust bathing, inhalation of a feed granule and respiratory diseases.
Consider wearing a mask while in the coop.

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robin416

· #35 · 1 mo ago

NYhillbillies said:
Thankyou Dawg & Robin for sharing your thoughts!
Question: do chickens react to a dusty environment? Do they sneeze?
I frequently sneeze when I am in the coop, and have chronic sinus congestion. I now take Claritan nightly. I used to only be this way in winter (indoor heaters) but now year round, since we have had chickens. Don’t know if it is a coincidence or not. I am the daily coop pooper scooper lady, by choice.

so now I’m thinking seriously about the dust issue!

Slap a mask on. I know, we're all sick of masks but they really help when cleaning the chicken coop. I used N95s when I did total clean outs and dusting everything in sight. Otherwise I'd be coughing my lungs out.

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NYhillbillies

· #36 · 1 mo ago

Re: rats.
I’m asking, dawg!

dawg53

· #37 · 1 mo ago

Do you have a rat or mouse problem?

NYhillbillies

· #38 · 1 mo ago

Rats seem to have migrated to our land. All winter we had issues around ( outside) the coop. We used snap traps, with little success ( they are fast learners). Glue & bucket traps & poison are out - we practice humanity with all of God’s creations. Possums & 2 barn cats which showed up last fall out of the blue are being helpful. Any thoughts?

dawg53

· #39 · 1 mo ago

Yep, I've used all the poison baits, rat traps, glue traps, electronic rat traps etc...I have photos to prove it. Rats are smart and adapt quickly. Rats spread diseases and carry parasites, and they multiply quickly as you know. They can very easily get into a chicken pen. Whether they get into a coop or not depends on how the owner has built the coop.
Nothing can get inside my coops after lock down for the night, not even a mosquito.

Below is a photo of rat poop, it is about one quarter inch long. Mouse poop is smaller and more round in shape.
If you see the poop in your pen or coop, you'll know what you're dealing with.
My next post will tell you how to eliminate the rats and mice.

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dawg53

· #40 · 1 mo ago

Go to any grocery store and buy alot of ammonia jugs. I usually buy about 10-12 jugs. Ammonia is cheap, it wont hurt your purse or wallet. The amount of ammonia jugs will be used up over a 3 night period. The amount of pens depends on how many jugs you buy, just make sure you have enough ammonia jugs for 3 nights use.

You'll need one 5 gallon bucket and then put a bunch of rags in the bucket. Pour 2-3 jugs of ammonia in the bucket in order to completely soak the rags.
Do this procedure after your chickens have gone inside the coop for the night, lock them up. No birds should be outside the coop at night while using ammonia. Do this procedure just after dark. Also remove feeders so that rats wont eat the feed.

Wear disposable gloves and a mask. Take the 5 gallon bucket containing the ammonia soaked rags with you and hang the soaked rags on the OUTSIDE on the pen(s), on the chicken wire. Hang them so that they do not touch the ground, but just a couple of inches above the ground vertically. They should be dripping ammonia, do not wring them out.
(Try not to breathe in the ammonia fumes).
I hang the soaked ammonia rags about every 5 feet all the way around the pens on the chicken wire to get good coverage. You can use clothespins if you wish or just stick it through the chicken wire, just as long as they dont fall on the ground.
Do NOT hang ammonia soaked rags near any coop vents. Keep in mind what direction the wind is blowing. I always hang the soaked rags when there isnt any wind, they are more effective and last longer throughout the night into the next morning because the wind doesnt dry out the rags.

The next morning, remove all the rags from the chicken wire. Dispose of any leftover ammonia in the 5 gallon bucket and put the rags in the bucket for re-use that night and the next night, 3 nights total. Then you can let the chickens out of the coops.
Once you've done this, repeat this procedure the next two nights.

The rats' nose are very sensitive and ammonia fumes severely burn the tissue. They flee from the area. However, there is always one hard headed rat that has to hang around for free food.
The hard headed rat will either have sucuumed to the ammonia fumes or took off and wont be back, because they know what's waiting for them.
It's wise to continue to inspect the pens for rat poop. I do it each morning before letting the birds out.

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