Reviews by Chipmunk Chicks

I don't see myself getting emus, but I learned a lot from your experience!

The coop looks great! I am always doubtful of the estimated chicken counts. By my math, fifteen feet of coop space and forty feet of run space is better suited to four chickens. Even high end numbers of 2' of coop space per chicken puts a cap of 7-8 chickens *maybe*, and possibly only if you were also letting them free range so that were not their only run space. Anywho! I like the spring loaded casters idea and would have liked to see that closer up. Otherwise very detailed plans!

This is not a bad start and the article could prove quite interesting if it were to continue with the next incubator iterations, i.e. showing the 2.0 version with the changes and how the next hatch results went etc. I think it's a great teachable moment for anyone who may want to try to build their own, but there is much more to be gained here from seeing the process through to success. I don't know if you eventually got your build to work? Or gave up and spent $$ on a commercially available incubator? But I believe seeing how the rest of the story plays out is where the payoff is.

There are a lot of these lists out there, and most of them include more or less the same chickens. What I found frustrating when trying to choose breeds was having to rely on information from various sources, and so not feeling sure I was making a true apples to apples comparison. I would appreciate a point by point description of each chicken so I can easily compare pros and cons or see whatever attributes I want to look at. For example, you mention Australorps will lay over winter, and then say that Welsummers are cold-hardy, but that's not the same thing, and a beginner may not understand the difference. I would have to go now to a different source to find out if a Welsummer lays over winter or not, if that's a consideration for me, vs. a one-stop article that addresses all the same considerations for each bird. I do appreciate mentioning that Easter Eggers are not a true breed, because I think they get recommended a lot these days, and I probably would have been disappointed if I had purchased them from tractor supply, only to realize after the fact. While Buff Orpingtons are probably the easiest Orpingtons to get one's hands on, a brief mention that the Orpington breed comes in a variety of colors and that the Buff variety specifically doesn't have any bearing on temperament, might be worth pointing out to a beginner audience as well. Overall it's not a bad article, if nothing earth shattering presented, but fixing broken images and presenting the information in a uniform easy-to-compare format would be great! Always a good reminder that chickens are chickens, a lot depends on how they are raised, and ymmv from one individual bird to the next.

Great information and creative solutions! Formatting could be improved to be more uniform.

Wonderful information that is sensitive to the characteristics of flighty breeds. I believe it is important to understand your birds and respect their temperament in order to have the best possible relationship with them.

Nice job! I have also seen recommended cutting part of the lid out of a low plastic food storage or takeout container for water, so they can drink and dip their faces in, but prevents them from swimming in it (too much). After starting with puppy pads and a towel, I have switched to pelletized corn cob bedding, with puppy pads underneath, and that's been working quite well! I really appreciate having such a straightforward and easy to follow duckling brooder setup resource.

Looks good! How has it gone with your chickens now, two years later?

Brief but informative. I wish I had known about cecal poop before I got my first chicks! I was one of those highly alarmed new chicken owners who eventually learned about it out of concern for my chickens' health. I would like to ask however, if runniness of cecal poop problematic, so long as there is no blood, and other regular poops seem normal? My chickens' cecal poops do tend to look more runny. Thanks!

I love how you made good use of what you had and got creative! More pictures of the inside would be nice to see, too. I think that will be nice to access the eggs from the outside, and good you have your dogs keeping watch! Lol

Your coop is adorable and the plans are so thorough! I love the winterizing ideas as well, and I appreciate seeing how it's held up for you over time. Nice work!