Humes Chicken Coop
Started June 13, 2009
Hello, we are the Humes' family and I had been wanting chickens for awhile. Our neighbor received 12 RIR's from our other neighbor that he decided they were tearing out every blade of grass he had and was going to cull them! So neighbor #1 took them as she already had a Rooster (Joe) and hen that had escaped from still another neighbor. What a neighborhood! Well, long story short something slowly began to destroy her hens as they were in an open barn at night and ended up 8 months later with only poor Joe and the orginal hen. She kept asking us to take them as she knew of my desire to have chickens. So we went to work in June and finished in the middle of July, just in time for the good ole' Texas heat wave to begin!! We took Joe and Sandra and started buying other hens from local people and as we researched BYC discovered the many different kinds and so when Bertha came along, well we could not resist and she rode home in my lap, purring!!! So our journey has begun and our days of checking out the girls and seeing what they will eat has been the best of times!!! Hope you enjoy the pictures. Will add more as things develope!!
Update March 28, 2010
Well, we have a very good year of learning and loving our girls and Joe. We had one hawk attach, one injury and one sickness that took three of the girls and have added 3 more. I decided to start selling the eggs as we could not keep up with them and now I can not keep up with the sales. We are thinking of adding another yard for raising babies. We made it thr the winter just great and they are doing a fine job of bug control in the yard and garden although they do have to be watched or my salad will be their salad! As far as the humans we have gone through sickeness and birth and are ready for the spring to revive us.
Here are some of my chickens.
Joe the Roo!! Big Bertha Oh My!!! Scratch!!! Sweet Myrtle
Ages range from 18 weeks to 31 weeks.
how many chickens: 26 hens and Joe
Here is our chicken coop....
We had alot of fun making this for our new chickens. It became a community project consiting of family and friends.
Well, we have lost Big Joe but I did keep the chick - Samson his son from lsat years hatch. I am now up to 35 girls. Mixed flock. Welsummer, Chochins, White Rocks, Marans, EE's. RIR's, Brahmas, Speckled Sussex. We have had some set backs with illness - cancer, but have managed to build a really nice broody house and add an awnig over the layer coop. I have given the yard over to the hens and they seem so happy for that. I did have to fence off the garden as they really thought that should be theirs as well. Most of my hatchlings last year did not make it, mostly to dogs and three hawk kills. I hope that I have manage to get this fixed and this years hatch will survive to become part of our family. Our Big Bertha is such a swetheart and the best momma I have ever seen. She stayed with her babies til I finally took her away from them at ten weeks. She has the sweetest sounds. I have put 12 eggs under her this year. Hoping for my first hatch on May 6th. My granddaughters are so excited but have a hard time understanding that we just can't put all the eggs under her so as to have even more babies to play with. Myrtle still gives herself up to the doll clothes and wagon rides and never being put down. Such a good bird!
Started June 13, 2009
Hello, we are the Humes' family and I had been wanting chickens for awhile. Our neighbor received 12 RIR's from our other neighbor that he decided they were tearing out every blade of grass he had and was going to cull them! So neighbor #1 took them as she already had a Rooster (Joe) and hen that had escaped from still another neighbor. What a neighborhood! Well, long story short something slowly began to destroy her hens as they were in an open barn at night and ended up 8 months later with only poor Joe and the orginal hen. She kept asking us to take them as she knew of my desire to have chickens. So we went to work in June and finished in the middle of July, just in time for the good ole' Texas heat wave to begin!! We took Joe and Sandra and started buying other hens from local people and as we researched BYC discovered the many different kinds and so when Bertha came along, well we could not resist and she rode home in my lap, purring!!! So our journey has begun and our days of checking out the girls and seeing what they will eat has been the best of times!!! Hope you enjoy the pictures. Will add more as things develope!!
Update March 28, 2010
Well, we have a very good year of learning and loving our girls and Joe. We had one hawk attach, one injury and one sickness that took three of the girls and have added 3 more. I decided to start selling the eggs as we could not keep up with them and now I can not keep up with the sales. We are thinking of adding another yard for raising babies. We made it thr the winter just great and they are doing a fine job of bug control in the yard and garden although they do have to be watched or my salad will be their salad! As far as the humans we have gone through sickeness and birth and are ready for the spring to revive us.
Here are some of my chickens.
Joe the Roo!! Big Bertha Oh My!!! Scratch!!! Sweet Myrtle
Ages range from 18 weeks to 31 weeks.
how many chickens: 26 hens and Joe
Here is our chicken coop....
We had alot of fun making this for our new chickens. It became a community project consiting of family and friends.
Well, we have lost Big Joe but I did keep the chick - Samson his son from lsat years hatch. I am now up to 35 girls. Mixed flock. Welsummer, Chochins, White Rocks, Marans, EE's. RIR's, Brahmas, Speckled Sussex. We have had some set backs with illness - cancer, but have managed to build a really nice broody house and add an awnig over the layer coop. I have given the yard over to the hens and they seem so happy for that. I did have to fence off the garden as they really thought that should be theirs as well. Most of my hatchlings last year did not make it, mostly to dogs and three hawk kills. I hope that I have manage to get this fixed and this years hatch will survive to become part of our family. Our Big Bertha is such a swetheart and the best momma I have ever seen. She stayed with her babies til I finally took her away from them at ten weeks. She has the sweetest sounds. I have put 12 eggs under her this year. Hoping for my first hatch on May 6th. My granddaughters are so excited but have a hard time understanding that we just can't put all the eggs under her so as to have even more babies to play with. Myrtle still gives herself up to the doll clothes and wagon rides and never being put down. Such a good bird!
