At 10 months old, your chickens are just getting in the swing of things by laying almost every day through their first winter, but at the end of 2012, expect a heavy molt just as winter starts and a significant drop in production compared to this winter....this is normal.
Our first year...
First timers having chickens, it all started May 2009, my thoughtful daughter thought it wise to buy her mom four chicks to refill the "Empty Nest" void that occurred when she moved off to college in 2006 and left her mom with all boys at home. The little chicks were a pleasant surprise to all...
So another one of my so-so ideas bites the dust, but you never know if an idea will work until you try it. This idea failed because my coop floor square footage is too small, only 4' x 7' = 28 sq ft for 5 hens. If my coop were 2x as big or bigger, I think it would have worked as planned.
The...
The other day as I was letting my 5 hens out of the coop, one of them let out a crow that sounded like a rooster crow but much shorter and weaker than a real rooster. It sounded good, but that was it, one crow from the girls in 2 years.
When I still had Little Ricky (our Cochin rooster), he...
Not cheap, but I love love love my 12v Dewalt Impact Driver and Drill set (includes two batteries, charger, bag and flashlight for $199). Drill can also be a screw gun with multiple settings for speed, Impact driver is just variable speed using the trigger (a little loud too, so I use ear muffs...
The uncovered part of my run is loaded with dry leaves (3"-5") and detaches from the permanent run with only two screws. I like how the poop, leaves and food scraps all become a healthy composting pile which then get fed to my composting redworms. It has been a very dry fall this year in my area...
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Hi
I'm about to build a similar size coop. I would love it if you wanted to share your design plans. We are going to be using it for 6 free-ranging guineas, so it's mostly going to be used as sleeping quarters. We are getting some chickens in the spring and will be building another coop...
I have a painted plywood coop floor that has only a couple of scratches though the paint. Deep litter method works great. Nothing has stuck to the painted floor in two years time.
The small coop that I am building right now (4'x4'x4') will have an unpainted plywood floor.
Our neighbors at the back of our property have been hand-feeding racoons for years, I dispatched a few, but they continue to be there every year.
Last year, my wife turned them into the Department of Fish and Game and their officer talked to our irresponsible neighbors and then the officer had...
2/3 of my run is shaded (built permanent) and 1/3 is open (portable or at least detachable). My hens really like the open run, but they spend more time resting in the shaded area.
The 1/3 open run is easy to disconnect with two screws on both sides and I can remove the portable end run for...
My new rotational Deep Litter method (three sections)
Section #1: Nest boxes - always the cleanest area
Section #2: 1/3 of coop floor in front of nest boxes - pretty clean
Section #3: 2/3 of coop floor under roost bars - poopiest area that requires deep litter method
---------- 9" divider...
I plan to cut out a "poop" door out the back of Section #3, so when it comes time to clean that section out, I can rake it out the back door into my wheel barrow.
Right now, my coop has a dutch door (man door) and a pop door for the chickies.
--Hugh
I forgot to mention that I installed a 9" divider between Sections #2 and #3 and so far, nothing has made it over the divider.
Also, when section #3 gets to have 8-10" of shavings added to it, it will really compress down to a lower level. The shavings in Section #3 won't get too high to make...
Right now is a great time to clean out your coop floor completely, just rake it out, then add 4" of clean wood shavings and sprinkle with DE. Throw a small amount of scratch on the coop floor every week and you can mix or rake as needed. 4'x4' coop is very small. It is good that your dirty...
This weekend, I installed a 9" tall divider between the roosting side and the nest box side, this will be easier to clean out the poopy side (roost area) and then transfer the nest box shavings over and add fresh shavings to the nest box area...improved coop clean out
I started out with 2" of...
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You say you're going to cut a low door into your playhouse coop so that you can more easily sweep out the old shavings. I too have a playhouse coop (Little Tike's plastic playhouse for little kids) and it's so lightweight, I simply tilt it forward until it's resting on the exterior...