I bought this a few months ago for chicks and do not need it anymore. (had it set up in my garage)I paid over 110- for it. There might be a few screws missing but it can be assembled as is and is set up now but empty. We are in central TX close to Hillsboro, Waco and Temple and only an hour from...
You said your vacation is in August? Well, then you have plenty of time to make a friend and meet neighbors! My neighbor feeds and waters and collects eggs and I watch their dog.
I'm sure by then you'll find somebody to do it for you :-) Have fun, I heard the Cape is beautiful.
Someone told me a long long time ago to sprinkle moth balls around the coop area. They said snakes will not cross over them. I never tried it so don't know if it works.
We made a little "staircase" up to the nest boxes inside the coop on one wall. But, before that was added on (when we realized they couldn't get up lol) we used a wooden box.
I'm sure you have something safe for them to climb up on?? Good luck
Yes, they are way too young to be able to get into the coop on their own now, nor should they be outside yet.
When they are older, confining them to the coop for 4-5 days will help let them know where to go at dusk
Going way back to an earlier reply to this post:
I agree, leghorns are lunatics. Well my two hens are anyhow. They are small little hyper chickens but lay BIG eggs
Mine love the grass clippings from my mulching blade. Also, I don't know if it is important or not, but my lawn is never fertilized! I am not sure if that would harm them or not, but be careful.
Two nest boxes should be enough for 4-5 hens. If you use the chain link kennel, you might be able to put a wooden rabbit hutch in it as their "coop" or safety place at night. (add a little ramp)The wire buried around the chain link is a good idea.
My horse does that daily and he kicks his front and rear feet up (like a dog) while rolling around on his back. First time I saw him do it, I thought he was dying!
It also scared me when I saw my chickens dust bathing for the first time. It looked like a dead flock of chickens in a heap!