Recent content by Breifne

Thanks a million for all the suggestions so far, guys. Keep them coming! Wondering how our hens are going to like the brutal Connemara winds. Gusts up to 140 km/h (87 mph) overnight tonight. Just another day in the west of Ireland.

Quote: We get at least SOME rain on perhaps 300 days of the year in the west of Ireland. Maybe more. We burn a LOT of turf (from the bogs, not grass), so we can save some of the ash and use that to spread under the floor of the house to help keep it dry. What is this "dry weather" of which...

Fantastic suggestions so far! In addition to D.E., what will best keep the pests (lice & mites) at bay?

Quote: We've decided on a Black Rock, a Bluebell, a Copper Star, a Fenton Blue, and a Speckledy Maran (one of each).

Thanks for that very helpful information, WoodlandWoman! More advice from others would be greatly appreciated...

Quote: Already have Keeping Chickens for Dummies on the way!

Hey, guys... Our coop / run will be in-place by this upcoming weekend, and we'll bringing our five hens home the following Tuesday. In the meantime, I want to be sure I have acquired all the essential items to get started...from a feeder to the right pellets for POL hens to diatomaceous earth...

We live in Connemara in the west of Ireland. Our property backs looks out onto the Atlantic Ocean, and we regularly have intense wind. It isn't unusual to have gusts up to 130 km/h (85 mph). As we're new to the idea of chickens (don't have any yet), I was wondering if it may be too windy here...

It's strange...I've looked at probably 50 or more coops on the internet in Ireland (some of them from very reputable and highly-recommended companies), and almost none of them have windows.