Best chicken method. Debate/Share ideas

[whiskeyneat97]

The best method for making money/eliminating stress for chickens? Mine is 1 medium coop, 1 big coop, 1 premium coop. I use the big coop as my 'shag shack' (6 of each color chicken, 2 roosters) It auto filters unfertilized eggs to the drawers, and leaves fertile eggs in the shack. I use the premium coop as my 'hen house', 20 hens will never get mad at me for taking infertile eggs. The only work I do is once I see a chick in the shag shack I move it to my medium coop until it grows up, in which I exchange it for older chickens and sell them off/ kill the roosters. I will not be attacked by a chicken again, nor will I spend unnecessary time tending to them. I heard people say the big chicken coop is for hens only... they are completely wrong. If you disagree, let me know, if you are newer, maybe take this advice... Idk, let me know your thoughts.

[Ethetun]

i started with a medium and big coop. The big coop makes it easy on the fertile/infertile eggs. I haven't tried the premium yet. My friend has the premium, but it doesn't appear to have an auto feeder/water (which the description says the premium one does. ...so am confused by that. I'm going to experiment with that next.

[Zamitor]

I am using custom fenced non-coop approach.

CONS:

• eggs-hunt.
  
• multiple water bucket need (to better cover the area and avoid chicken not finding water.

PROS:

• easy cleaning
  
• have not lost a single chicken due to water/food issue since using this approach

[Ethetun]

Originally posted by Zamitor:

I am using custom fenced non-coop approach.

CONS:

• eggs-hunt.
  
• multiple water bucket need (to better cover the area and avoid chicken not finding water.

PROS:

• easy cleaning
  
• have not lost a single chicken due to water/food issue since using this approach

not sure what you mean by "custom", but if you were to do that around a small or medium pen, and just left it open, they would lay the eggs inside still. It would at least eliminate the egg hunt. They can still eat off the ground vs the feeder.

[Zamitor]

Originally posted by Ethetun:

Originally posted by Zamitor:

I am using custom fenced non-coop approach.

CONS:

• eggs-hunt.
  
• multiple water bucket need (to better cover the area and avoid chicken not finding water.

PROS:

• easy cleaning
  
• have not lost a single chicken due to water/food issue since using this approach

not sure what you mean by "custom", but if you were to do that around a small or medium pen, and just left it open, they would lay the eggs inside still. It would at least eliminate the egg hunt. They can still eat off the ground vs the feeder.

What I meant with custom is a log fenced area only. No pre-built coops.

[gotchagain]

Originally posted by Zamitor:

Originally posted by Ethetun:

not sure what you mean by "custom", but if you were to do that around a small or medium pen, and just left it open, they would lay the eggs inside still. It would at least eliminate the egg hunt. They can still eat off the ground vs the feeder.

What I meant with custom is a log fenced area only. No pre-built coops.

this sounds like a great idea! i wonder if i could use the shed with the fridge as a coop, i havent tried yet.

i have a premium, big, and med coop currently so i could test the 2 types and the med for storage of baby chicks.

ive found that the big coop is nice for easily getting laid eggs, but is harder to clean. crouch and first person seems to be easiest to clean with, but i often have to move most of the chickens outside to be able to see the poop. the eggs inside seem to usually be fertilized. (almost always) i have found some near the drawers that are not. also i have found a couple out of the drawers to be fertilized, but only a few out of hundreds. anyways the feeders are currently no different between the 2 larger houses. the auto feeder function dose not work at least in my game.

the premium coop is still better in my opinion, even with the broke autofeed. it does suck to have to crouch to go into or under the coop to feed, water, clean, and collect eggs , but it is so much easier to clean. i do all maintaining of the coops at night (9 pm- 8 am). most of the chickens are asleep and you can leave the doors open if you want. also you can move the chickens in the way to collect eggs and poop. in the premium coop the fertilized eggs seem to go on the floor inside and on the ground underneath. so the ones on the hay inside are almost always good to collect without checking. the chickens never attack me when i grab from the hay bed even if they are fertilized. i just collect the eggs and let the basket sit for a couple days in the empty med coop and the fertilized ones hatch and the reg ones stay inside the basket. i use a different basket every day to collect the eggs.

i have found a glitch with the eggs in the basket though. if you collect the eggs by picking up the egg then placing it in the basket, they the eggs seem to work fine after a save/reload. if you carry the basket and collect the eggs directly, those eggs despawn after a save/reload.

[Ethetun]

I have the same setup now. 1 premium, 1 big, and 1 medium pen. I did take out all my yellow hens, and put them in the egg gathering only pen. This way I have a higher proc rate on hatching a rooster (since there isn't a yellow rooster). ..this phased out all my yellow chick hatches, but that is fine with me - as the roosters sell for 100 each.

[gotchagain]

Originally posted by Ethetun:

I have the same setup now. 1 premium, 1 big, and 1 medium pen. I did take out all my yellow hens, and put them in the egg gathering only pen. This way I have a higher proc rate on hatching a rooster (since there isn't a yellow rooster). ..this phased out all my yellow chick hatches, but that is fine with me - as the roosters sell for 100 each.

120 if you kill it first. ;)

[Ethetun]

oh really, didn't know that. Dang. thanks for info.

[Bluntman]

Still effective? im not getting any fertilized eggs for some reason.

[76561198183875966]

I have 1 big & 1 premium coops with wooden fence & gate around them. Fence & gates are lower into the ground so no space under them for the chicks to get out.. I use the big coop for eggs production. All chicks are move to the premium coop. When the premium coop is full I butcher the adults. I don't have worry about feed & water, because I built Granary & Water/Wind Mill, which keeps feeders & waters full when empty. I have feeders & water bowls outside of my coops. With my fence set up I can clean coops during the day where it is easier to see the poop. Hope this helps!

[tomjo66]

The big coop seem not to seperate eggs anymore in my game, all eggs drops into the drawers. Is it something the Devs have change?

[Bluntman]

Originally posted by tomjo66:

The big coop seem not to seperate eggs anymore in my game, all eggs drops into the drawers. Is it something the Devs have change?

Yea same in mine.

[Ambreon]

We did change this for a mix of reasons - like the fertile eggs that were inside the coop couldn't be reached anymore, say if you didn't want them to hatch or needed them to sell