Questions about Roost & Root? Questions about our products? Questions about chickens or gardens? We want to help! Here are a few of our frequently asked questions. We also invite you to check out our blog for more information.
We also welcome you to call (877-741-2667) or email (support@roostandroot.com) with any questions you might have. We’d love to chat with you!
General (5)
I'm new. Can you help?
Absolutely! We want to support all aspects of your backyard farming journey. While we aren’t experts in all aspects of chicken keeping or gardening, WE ARE experts in our products and have many many years of experience in keeping chickens and gardening. Sometimes we even have the local vets calling us to answer chicken questions! Give us a call…we’re confident we can help you no matter the stage of your journey.
We also help after the sale. We love the fact that our customers see us as a continuing resource and enjoy keeping in touch with customers over the years.
Why Roost & Root?
We know you have options when it comes to purchasing your new chicken coop, greenhouse or garden products, but we’re confident that we’ll meet or exceed your expectations, and here’s why:
#1 We’re real people!
Our company is made up of real outdoor-loving people, like you, and we’re excited to share our knowledge. We don’t just sell products, we use them ourselves every day. We do what we do every day of the week, and we love answering questions about what we sell.
#2 We’re not just a .com
We’re not just another drop-shipping pop-up site that someone started in their basement to make money. We started our business the old-fashioned way using friends and family and with hard work and great customer service we have grown into something that not only supports our family, but supports dozens of other families too.
#3 We take it personally
We make what we sell and truly do take it personally if you’re not 100% satisfied with your experience. We want to earn your business, not just for today, but for many years to come. We understand the power of good relationships and the trust that can only be rated from following through on the big and little things alike. We’re still human and we make mistakes, but it’s how we handle them that makes us different.
Do you have a storefront?
We build all of our products in Dripping Springs, Texas. While we do not operate a traditional storefront, we do have everything we sell set up on site. Our product display area is a great way for us to continually test and refine the products we build, prototype new products and also allows our awesome employees to see their hard work in action. Also, there is nothing better than grabbing a couple of tomatoes for dinner your way to your car afterwork or taking home some fresh eggs for breakfast!
If you’re in the Austin, Texas area and interested in seeing our products in person, feel free to contact us. We’ll probably even have some fresh eggs to share!
Product Warranty
All of our products come with a full 2 year warranty. However, that doesn’t mean that our support stops after 2 years. We take great pride in what we build and strive for customer satisfaction. Have an issue after the “official” warranty period has ended? Contact us and we’ll do our very best to make things right.
Do you use your products?
Oh boy do we! We have anywhere from 50-100 chickens at our place at any one time, a full garden growing and tons of plants in our greenhouses. We are heavy users of our products. Using our coops, greenhouses and garden beds on a daily basis is one of the things we think makes a great product.
Even before a new product is introduced we build a prototype that we put into immediate use and then refine from there based on daily use. Are the latches secure? Do the birds sleep where they are supposed to? Does the design stand up to predators? Is the material easy to keep clean? Are the ventilation windows in the right place? Do the raised beds drain well? These are all really important questions that we figure out from early use of prototypes.
After a product is put into production we continue to use them heavily. This helps us refine what we build and come up with product improvements.
Chicken Keeping (11)
How do I teach my chicken to use the waterer?
It’s pretty easy to teach the chickens to use the waterer. You can either activate the nipple and cause it to drip when the chickens are near or hold a chicken and gently tap it’s beak against the waterer. Either one is usually enough enough to teach them what to do. Once one chicken figures it out, they all follow suit. They figure it out pretty quickly. You will also want to remove any other waterers while they are learning.
Are chickens noisy?
Generally, hens are not noisy. They will sometimes “sing” when they lay an egg, but it doesn’t last long and isn’t very noisy at all. Just fun! Roosters can be noisy and can start crowing really early in the morning. You do not need to have a rooster to get eggs…just hens!
Where do I buy chickens?
Baby chicks can be found in the springtime at feed stores and big box stores like Tractor Supply. Older birds – called started pullets – can often be purchased from breeders in your area. Craigslist and Facebook are good places to look for breeders in your area. You can also buy birds from online hatcheries. A Google search will bring up several. Hatchery websites are also a great place to research chicken breeds.
What chicken breeds do you recommend?
Personally, we really enjoy the following breeds for their temperament and good egg laying qualities:
Rhode Island Reds, Orpingtons, Barred Rocks and Australorps. These birds make up the majority of our flock. We also love a colorful egg basket and always have a few Easter Eggers in our flock for colorful eggs. You really can’t go wrong with a chicken. They are all pretty awesome! Hatchery websites are a great source of information on the literally 100’s of breeds out there. They do a great job of giving an accurate estimate of their rate of lay, temperament and other characteristics.How do I clean my coop?
All of our coops are designed to clean using a regular rake. You can also hose down the coop using a regular hose (no pressure washer) periodically if you desire. A little regular white household vinegar also works well to clean the waterer and the feeder.
What do I feed my chicken?
From hatching to about 12-15 weeks you will feed a chick starter feed formulated for chicks. After about 15 weeks of age you will switch to an all purpose layer feed.
Where should I put my coop?
The first consideration when placing your coop in your yard is to pick a spot that drains well – you do not want to place your coop in a low spot in your yard. Standing water in your coop can make for a stinky coop. High ground is dry ground! The second consideration is to position it in a place that makes it most convenient to water and feed your chickens. Pick a spot near a hose bib so you aren’t having to drag a hose across your yard to water your chickens. A reasonably sunny spot is also good as it will help dry up your coop.
Here is a great blog article on this topic: Where to Build Your Chicken CoopAre your coops easy to assemble?
Yes, we certainly hope so! Because our coops are shipped as kits with final the assembly to be done by the customer we put a LOT of thought in to making all of our coops assembly friendly by ordinary people. No need to be a master builder! All of our coops come standard with a DIY toolkit neatly packaged in a plastic toolbox that includes everything you need to put them together – except for a cordless drill and for the taller coops, you’ll also need a ladder. Detailed instructions with pictures and words are also included in the toolkit. We have also worked to create assembly over videos for each of our products to give you a general idea of steps and procedures. We also have builders standing by via phone (877-741-2667 x 3) or text (512-596-5200) that can help you if you run in to an issue during assembly.
Check out our assembly support page for instruction sets & videos.Do I have to have roosters to get eggs?
We get asked this question …. a lot! You do not need a rooster to get eggs. A hen will still lay eggs without a rooster, the eggs just will not be fertile. To have fertile eggs for hatching you should keep 1 rooster per every 8-10 hens.
How much time each week does it take to care for hens?
Let’s say you own 6 hens (enough for several dozen eggs per week) and you have a good watering and feeding setup. On average you might feed and water twice a week and spend an hours or so every 10 days to 2 weeks raking out the coop. Walk-In coops are easier to rake out for obvious reasons… they’re more accessible. If your chickens free range in the daytime, you will both feed less and have to clean out the coop less.
How often will my chickens lay eggs?
This depends on five main factors… (1) age (2) breed (3) nutrition (4) health and (5) where you live.
Age: Chickens start laying at about 18-24 weeks of age and will be fully productive for 2-3 years.
Breed: The most highly productive breeds (like a Leghorn) can lay up to 300 eggs per year, most common backyard chicken breeds are in the 200 to 240 range. Some specialty breeds will lay fewer.
Nutrition: “Layer Feed” either pelleted or crumbled has the optimum balance of nutrition for layers and optimizes the number of eggs laid. Hens that do not receive adequate high quality feed will divert nutrition to life support, and egg production will be reduced.
Location: Chickens molt (shed or take on more feathers) twice each year and during that time, energy is diverted to the molting process not egg production. In colder climates, hens take longer to molt which cuts into egg production. In mild climates, chickens might molt in 2-4 weeks each cycle and in colder climates as much as 4-6 weeks.
Greenhouse Gardening (2)
What about wind?
This is a really important thing to consider with a greenhouse. Every greenhouse order comes with D-ring brackets and mounting hardware needed to stake your greenhouse with ground anchors. Ground anchors appropriate to the ground conditions in your area can be purchased on Amazon. Here we have gathered a variety for you to choose from. For additional guidance on which ground anchoring method is best for your area, refer to our How to Tie Down Your Slant-Roof Greenhouse video.
Another very important thing to keep in mind is that until fully assembled and staked down, your greenhouse is vulnerable to high winds. If you’re planning to assemble your greenhouse over multiple days, reach out to us so we can help you plan to make sure everything goes great!
Where do I put my greenhouse?
We have a great blog article on Where to Build Your Slant-Roof Greenhouse, but basically you want to keep these three things in mind:
Sunlight. Direct sun is best for optimal plant growth.
Access to water. You want to make it easy to and other items needed to care for the plants in your greenhouse.
Positioning. Position the longest part of the greenhouse East to West to allow for optimal light.