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I'm definitely doing 4x4 for the indoors space for the chickens, with the nest boxes sticking out from that so they'll have the full 4x4 to work with when inside. I'm debating keeping the space under the coop open as it is in some styles, or enclosing that area as well but using it for storage...

OOooh, bathing chickens. I'm curious what posts you read that were most useful.

also- what size is appropriate for a pop door for RIRs and BSLs?

I've been looking at pictures and such of coops- I'd love to see inside shots of playhouse coop styled coops, if anyone has some. Particularly how you have the inside set up (feed, water, nestbox, etc.)

I'd worry about the chickens tearing up your seedlings and eating the fruits of your labors with this. That said- I am building a tractor which can fit over our raised beds so that once plants are large enough to withstand some chicken torture, they can go to town on the bugs. I've got this in...

Yeah, I know adding a new bird later in the game will mean they have to re-establish pecking order... I just don't think it would be responsible pet ownership of us to take on three or four right off the bat right now. Do they have as much liklihood of bloodshed if the new bird was reared by one...

I too am planning on insulating my coop against the heat and cold. The local animal rescue center offers free bales of hay as insulation in the wintertime for outdoor dwelling pets, and may well take advantage of that as well to create a breakwind around the run in the wintertime. We get pretty...

I'm about to start building my coop. I like the look of the Playhouse style coops, and am definitely looking to do a coop with the actual henhouse being raised up with run space underneath it. I'll be making a trip to our local building material re-use center to see what I can get that way...

I wish I could find laundry soda in my Giant Eagle- I grew up using it and now I can't find it anywhere!

The biggest differance between pressure CANNERS and pressure COOKERS is the size. In order to be called a canner and safe for canning use, it must be able to hold at least 4 quart jars inside. If it only holds pint jars, it is too small to be used for safe canning. Otherwise, the size will be...

Pumpkin MUST be processed in a pressure canner, as it is very low-acid. Pumpkin is also only safe to home-can as cubes 1" or smaller, hot pack in liquid. Pumpkin puree and pumpkin butter are NOT safe to home can. Another thread recently sidetracked into this discussion here...

Wow, that's my area, but I fear those will be far too large for my yard and my tiny flock (if you can even call it a flock when it'll only be three hens!). Hope someone else in the area can take advantage though!

This thread has been incredibly helpful, as I'm strongly considering getting Wyandottes as my chickens. Is there anything that a newcomer should know specifically about Wyandottes that might not apply to other breeds?

I really like the pull-out floor, though I'd worry that it would end up with bedding in the track area?

I will say that based purely on appearance- Wyandottes seem awesome. Do people recommend single-breed groups or multi-breed?

Quote: Well, exactly. I grew up with them and never found them to be loud per se, but I know that my neighbors would probably prefer a quieter to average breed rather than the real loud ones (I've had crowing hens before... heh)

We're working on researching breeds right now to find ones that might be a good fit for us. We'll be getting chickens in the spring most likely, so we've got some time to dedicate to both choosing breeds as well as choosing a local source (PA tri-state area). What we're looking for...

When canning pumpkin (I do the same for butternut incidentally) you want to remove the seeds and strings from the inside of the pumpkin, as well as the peel. I find it's easiest to peel the pumpkin AFTER I cube it, as the pieces lend themselves to even paring knife peeling much better than a...

you can can cubed pumpkin, but not the puree. Pumpkin puree is too thick to ensure that all possible spores have been destroyed. Here: http://www.fcs.uga.edu/pubs/current/FDNS-E-P.html I can pumpkin in cubes and it works just fine for me. I'll also do up some that are spiced for use in pies...

open kettle canning doesn't evacuate the air and/or kill spores in the same manner that water or pressure processing does. Yes, you can get a seal because it will create a vacuum but a vacuum does not mean no air/spores. Just like we no longer use the inversion method for jams and jellies. If...