Recent content by JaTexas

One of our hens is "Cock-a-Doodle-Doing" Not often usually once in the morning. Hoping she is not a "he".

Hens are doing well getting into the coop at sunset. We still have to coach the 4 youngest but all of the 13 march up the ramp about 10 minutes before the door closes. They are waiting for the door to open at sunrise for sure. The artificial light goes on at sunset for about an hour to make...

Chickens are near 3 months old. My chickens enter the coop at sundown (amazing as it seems) the coop light stays on for about 30 minutes then turns off. Just before the timer turns off the light they all get on one of the ample roosting spots. Shortly after that the light goes off. At...

We have a second food and water source in the run. I put in an electric door that can be set to open at a specific time or at "sunrise" and close at "sunset". It took our chicks three days to figure out when sunset was and what that meant. Now, about 20 minutes before the door closes they get...

To my surprise they did learn when to come out of the run into the coop. The door closes at sunset and all but the first night they were in the coop before the door closed. Mornings it is a "dash for the RUN". Since we live on the Gulf Coast I put a chunk of ice in the coop and run water...

I found some on Amazon that do NOT have the little valve device in them. They fill with water and when the chicks drink it refills without input from the chickens. Very effective in my limited experience. They could not manage the kind that they have to peck to get more water out.

High Island TX, less than a mile from the water. 10:45 AM, Sunny and 86 (feels like 100) Nice 8-10 mph wind. Fan in the coop is on, hens are in the run mostly in the shade at this hour. They evacuated as soon as the door opened to the run. I do put a chunk of ice from a plastic 2 quart jug in...

Hen went AWOL! Hope she finds her way home!!!

Sounds like a nice plan much like we devised. Ours is fully covered with chicken wire, sides, top and I purchased a 2 mile (smallest we could find) electric fence which will be about 4 inches off the ground around the entire run and coop which should keep digging critters from eating our flock...

Almost finished the Coop and Run. Speaking of "Running"....last evening around sunset a "Blue Runner" snake came thru my cyclone fence, across the yard in earshot of my cursing into the neighbors yard. It was about 350 feet long and very fast...I did not measure it but it seemed 350 feet long...

Moved the first 9 of 10 *(one did not make it after arrival from the hatchery due to a scissor beak, one empty eye socket, lived only about 4 days even with our efforts. The last 4 will be ready to move in about 2 weeks. Photo of the (feeding end) of our new coop. Run almost complete.

There is help out there. Do not panic. Local agencies like school 4H Clubs, FFA (Future Farmers of America), Eagles, our Boy Scout Troup did projects like this in our tiny town in Texas. Even try your county Agriculture Department. Don't keep your "light" under the basket...open it and let...

Coop is 99% ready. However I still have to install the laying boxes as time permits. One more week and the oldest move out into the coop. I will try to install the "RUN" on Wednesday of this week.

We are wrapping our run (sides and top) with chicken wire...Our critters seem to be tough so I am installing a small electric fence about 10" off the ground just outside the run wire about 4 inches or so. Our critters are cat size that use the armadillo holes dug under the cyclone fence to...