The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[zinia8]

Okay, so what's with your avatar. Going to drive me crazy. Coop? Really? No way!

no its not a coop coop. it is my DBF car 1932 ford three window coupe. Just one of the many side projects that he gets into. He builds cars I play with chickens.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I like your set up Melabella, it's snowing here today and the wind 60-70 mile an hr. no one wanted to come out actually i think some are still in, I can't put food and water inside my houses because of the ducks and geese way too messy. so if they want to eat they will have to come outside. Poor things. Today i am thankful I have their heated dog bowls, suppose to be down around 0 tonight with wind chill, Winter is here.

 

[Bulldogma]

my boyfriend is a carpenter so we built my coop.out of left over materials from various jobs.
some of the chooks waiting for a snack

Your coop is really cute! Nice decorative touches on it!

Our very first hatchling came out to join us in the early hours of today. Even if he is my only hatcher, I am calling it a success...I CAN incubate and hatch correctly

Yey!

Congratulations on your chick!

Sally, it is horrible here,, absolutely horrible. The wind is NorEasterish, yuc. Thinking I have to feed mine indoors too, problem is, my coop isn't very big. I only covered half my run, and thinking of having the man who built my run come back and cover the entire thing. Here is a picture of my setup... not perfect, but it's strong and with the high winds on the elevation I live on.. it had to be windproof.
The feed gets wet out in the run, so I am going to have to put it under the coop I think... rain is blowing sideways! I think I am going to go out and buy some straw bales to put around three sides of the bottom of the coop, to make a little cave that they can get out of the wind, but not be stuck inside the coop.

MB

LOVE your setup, MB!!

Why don't you use the stuff for windows in old houses during the winter on 1/2 your run? It will help keep some of it from being saturated, and that could be your feeding area.

I've heard some good success stories about folks using Visqueen (that plastic for windows). One person sandwiched the Visqueen between the sides of the run and some lattice to keep it from flapping about and tearing.

 

[Bulldogma]

I like your set up Melabella, it's snowing here today and the wind 60-70 mile an hr. no one wanted to come out actually i think some are still in, I can't put food and water inside my houses because of the ducks and geese way too messy. so if they want to eat they will have to come outside. Poor things. Today i am thankful I have their heated dog bowls, suppose to be down around 0 tonight with wind chill, Winter is here.

We're not too far north of you - snowy and windy as heck here too! I opened up the coop so the chooks would have a choice - they're all out under a big pine tree right now - LOL. Yeah - they'd rather be in the freezing 40 MPH wind than in their nice coop. They will go in there if it gets rainy or really, really nasty, but I find my Swedish Flower Hens just love free ranging no matter the weather. If it's wet, I try to feed them early and lock them in so they'll dry before the night time temps drop too much. That's pretty much the only time they are locked in.

 

[Sally8]

I like your set up. Is this before any birds lived in it? Wondering how there is grass in there Mine would eat that in days!

I would skip the straw unless you put tarps around the straw. It will mold.

Why don't you use the stuff for windows in old houses during the winter on 1/2 your run? It will help keep some of it from being saturated, and that could be your feeding area.

Inside the coop will make your job harder. Water inside the coop is not good in my situation, as I have ducks and geese who will get it everywhere. It smells terrible when they do. I am going to toss my heated waterer and get a rubber pan for water. It will come out easily once frozen solid, and I can put it outside without worrying about electrical cords. 

I watch my twin 2 1/2 yr old grand daughters and things get crazy so I think I read that you were going to toss your heated bowl? I just bought one and I think I'd give up my clothes dryer before that bowl. Was it because they got water all over? I remember my parents just watering twice a day and the chickens survived. I KNOW I pamper mine too much. They don't require fresh water all day like we think. lol. We just added on our coop and I saw we had a leak last night. I wanted to bring them all in. Instead I knocked out a couple blocks where the rafters meet the walls and just worried. Today we'll fix that. It's so wet and nasty out. No longer slippery but I think we are due for more. Sue

You did read where I'm doing the snow dance instead of the chicken dance, didn't you?

My coop isn't huge but big enough for them to move around easily separately. Problem is the 2 turkeys. Rosie likes to peck everyone. I have a tarp over the back and they can get under. Hopefully, I have pics this afternoon. It's not painted and doesn't have finishing touches, but will in warmer weather.

 

[Miss Lydia]

We're not too far north of you - snowy and windy as heck here too! I opened up the coop so the chooks would have a choice - they're all out under a big pine tree right now - LOL. Yeah - they'd rather be in the freezing 40 MPH wind than in their nice coop. They will go in there if it gets rainy or really, really nasty, but I find my Swedish Flower Hens just love free ranging no matter the weather. If it's wet, I try to feed them early and lock them in so they'll dry before the night time temps drop too much. That's pretty much the only time they are locked in.

Mine have a choice too, I guess some are just whimps, I know i am when it's like this. lol This is the first real cold since Oct. so it's been pretty mild for them all looks like their goning to have to toughen up from here on out. Some of mine, this years hatches haven't ever seen snow, some of my older who have are not impressed not even my 8yr old ducks.

I even saw 2 of my ducks mating the other day which is a first ever for me at this time of year, I think they thought it was spring.

 

[Melabella]

Sad day in our house on this day, for us, it truly is the longest night. 24 years ago I lost my first cousin Joyce DiMauro in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. We grew up together in the Bronx, and she was more of a sister than a cousin. I will never forget her infectious laugh, and her smile, and the way she made me feel. Till we meet again sweet Joyce.

​

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Sorry for the personal side note. Couldn't say another word without remembering her.

Please say a prayer for everyone who was taken too soon, and those missing from our lives.
Blessings to all,
Carmela

 

[Bulldogma]

24 years ago I lost my first cousin Joyce DiMauro in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. We grew up together in the Bronx, and she was more of a sister than a cousin.

So sorry for your loss!

 

[Sally8]

I'm so sorry also. My prayers are with you and all the others.. Sue

 

[aoxa]

I watch my twin 2 1/2 yr old grand daughters and things get crazy so I think I read that you were going to toss your heated bowl? I just bought one and I think I'd give up my clothes dryer before that bowl. Was it because they got water all over? I remember my parents just watering twice a day and the chickens survived. I KNOW I pamper mine too much. They don't require fresh water all day like we think. lol. We just added on our coop and I saw we had a leak last night. I wanted to bring them all in. Instead I knocked out a couple blocks where the rafters meet the walls and just worried. Today we'll fix that. It's so wet and nasty out. No longer slippery but I think we are due for more. Sue
You did read where I'm doing the snow dance instead of the chicken dance, didn't you?
My coop isn't huge but big enough for them to move around easily separately. Problem is the 2 turkeys. Rosie likes to peck everyone. I have a tarp over the back and they can get under. Hopefully, I have pics this afternoon. It's not painted and doesn't have finishing touches, but will in warmer weather.

It's not a bowl. It's a heated waterer. Maybe 2 gallons? It is annoying and hard to attach to the base. The ducks spill it everywhere, and it mixes with shavings and poop and stinks like you wouldn't believe.

So I want it out of the barn and I can't be running extension cords out in the snow. Especially when my geese love the taste of electrical cords.