Walking down to the coop 2 or 3 times a day sucks in the winter. It's even worse when you have to walk the water up to the house, thaw it, then walk it back down to the coop. Get two waterers to start this way you've always got one full and ready to swap out. Also dont forget, in the mind of a chicken it's perfectly acceptable to poop where you eat (or drink).





Coop location

Remember how I said changing water in the dead of winter sucks... try adding in a long walk. On the other hand, flies and mosquitoes love chicken coops and they have no problem turning your back yard into a playground if the coop is too close to the house. Try to find the happy medium of far enough away but close enough that you wont mind the walk several times a day.





Trees

Sure that tree next to the run is great for providing shade to your girls in the summer but it's also an annoying spot they will fly to at night. The giant cedar by my old coop was a favorite night time hangout any time the wind blew the door shut or when I added new pullets. Have you ever climbed a cedar at night to retrieve several startled squawking chickens?

Fences

Chickens are master escape artists who have nothing but time on their hands when they are in a run. They will find and exploit any weak spot in your fence. Think having top rails to stabilize posts is a good idea, think again. These simply provide a wonderful place for the feathered convicts to land. 6 foot tall fencing? No problem. If free ranging will be an issue maybe consider putting netting over the run.





Gardens whether flowers or vegetables

Chickens love all the wonderful deliscious fruits and veggies that we do. They also enjoy flowers, compost, basically anything we want to keep nice. There have been many onion sets pulled, veggies eaten, lillies stripped of their leaves, oh yea and a few times a 4 foot compost pile leveled and kicked all over. Yes I do have fencing. Go ahead kick the beehive, leave the gate to your garden open while weeding once. Itll look like Jurassic park as soon as the tiny Raptors notice the gates open.









Coop size

Always build it bigger than you think you'll need. See chicken math says if you start with 6 birds within a year your collection will at least double. My first coop was an old repurposed outhouse minus the toilet. It worked out ok for the first year. Chicken math kicked in, tractor supply had buff orpingtons, I had to build a bigger coop.





Roosters dont only crow at dawn

They crow any time of day or night for no apparent reason. Day, night, 3 am, 4 am, rain, snow, moonlight, sunlight. It really doesnt matter to them. If your neighbor happens to have a rooster as well then prepare for war. I somehow always pictured a rooster with his spartan helmet going " THIS IS SPARTA" as the crowing battle commences.





Speaking of roosters...

There are good roosters and bad roosters. I've learned through the years not to waste time on a feathered attack dog. Rhode island reds tend to be the worst of the bunch. I've put two in a soup pot for attacking everyone and everything. Granted I pay them to protect the hens, but when they chase and attack when unprovoked its a different story. I tried to break both of them but it didnt happen. My advice stay away rhode island red roosters and dont waste time trying to break a wicked rooster.





Eggs

Chickens tend to lay either way too many or way too few eggs depending on what will be most inconvenient for you. In the summer time we have 7 dozen or so eggs on any given week. We have to give them away or fry them up for the dogs and chickens because theres just too many eggs. Winter time is another story. The shorter day light hours in winter leads to one or two eggs a day total from a dozen chickens. Weve had to buy eggs more than once in the winter... with a dozen freeloaders running around the yard.





Molting

Hen: nah I'm just gonna wait to molt

Me: well you should probably get molting before it gets too cold

Hen: you dont know me, dont judge me

Me: it's supposed to get down to 8 degrees tonight

Hen: ok now it's time too molt so I can be cold

Me: WTF how are chickens not extinct.



