newbie looking for identification help and advice

Hi Phill98, I am in Vukomerić :)

It will be really lucky if it turns out to be true (that Mijo is the only guy), but I noticed today that mišo's crest has started to grow...still not pink though :) We'll see...

We are still building our coop, totally improvising since it is on a slope and we are trying to recycle as much materials as possible, but the wire itself cost us more than we wanted to spend :)) It took us a week to do the foundations and we are thinking up the design as we go along, so we spend a lot of time sitting inside the future coop and wandering what to do next :D We have a lot of predators here and want to secure them as good as we can, although nothing is really secure. Just last week a weasel was snooping around the mini coop in the middle of day, and local cats and dogs are getting any chance to come and check out if there is any possibility of a quick snack...also there are fox burrows right under our yard in the forest and martens are notorious - they killed 13 birds in one night this winter at our neighbours. Also the birds of prey are abundant and like to eat chicken :D

We are going to try the deep litter method, since we are compost lovers, so we are keeping the dirt floors and see how it goes... I will post pictures...when we finally finish...

I have another question. A friend asked if we would adopt a pair of indian runner ducks.. we plan to have a pair of ducks with the chickens someday, but I am worried if it is to soon to put them together since the ducks are grown up and the chickens are still young? Or maybe it would be a god idea to introduce the ducks when we move the chicks to the big coop? Or we should wait for the chicks to grow up? Any ideas are welcome...


Oh then we are not so far away from each other. I live near Dugo Selo.

I realy like our coop, it's enough for about 8 chickens I would say, but we only have 4 hens and rooster right now. I think that only mistake is that there is no ventilation, we have brick coop with big doors, no windows or anything, I will picture it tomorrow if you want.

About the ducks.. About ten years ago we had 10 pullets, four adult hens, cockerel and four ducks. Didn't went well. Ducks, beeing ducks, made a mud in whole run, and lot of chickens died of desease from the mud and ducks. Also one duck was sick because of the chickens. I wouldn't recommend it exept if you have huuuuge place for them to freerange.

About cleaning, I clean our coop every two weeks, right now I don't put any bedding because one hen loves to sleep on cold concrete floor in hot nights. In about a month and a half I will put bedding, I will try shavings, never used them.
 
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Hi!
Since yesterday night the chicks are in their new coop, it took us a really long time to build it because we were all the time being pulled away to other, more urgent chores. I will post some pics when I get my camera back...
Of course, I have another question :) I've read here that I should keep the chicks locked inside the coop for some days (some even say a couple weeks!) to get them used to their new home. Still I am reluctant to do this since they've already been free ranging for weeks from their mini coop. It seems to me they would go crazy if I try to keep them inside now :/ Also, they have been hanging around the new coop since before we finished it (could be because I've spread the leftovers from last years compost around the coop and run as an inoculant for the deep bedding method and it was crawling with bugs and worms, hehe). It is morning here, and I am thinking what to do...let them out or keep them in...
 
Hi!
Since yesterday night the chicks are in their new coop, it took us a really long time to build it because we were all the time being pulled away to other, more urgent chores. I will post some pics when I get my camera back...
Of course, I have another question :) I've read here that I should keep the chicks locked inside the coop for some days (some even say a couple weeks!) to get them used to their new home. Still I am reluctant to do this since they've already been free ranging for weeks from their mini coop. It seems to me they would go crazy if I try to keep them inside now :/ Also, they have been hanging around the new coop since before we finished it (could be because I've spread the leftovers from last years compost around the coop and run as an inoculant for the deep bedding method and it was crawling with bugs and worms, hehe). It is morning here, and I am thinking what to do...let them out or keep them in...


If they yesterday got into coop with no problem, you can let them out. But if you have to run for them and herd them in, you should keep them inside. Just one or two days and then they will come into the coop all by themselves.

Do you have a run? How big? If you have smaller run you can let them only there, not to free-range.

Also when you get your camera back, get us updated pics of chicks!
 
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hi! sorry for not updating for so long. I could never find the time to take my camera and do the job... so yesterday I gave up and took some pictures of the chickens and the coop with my phone. It is not cleaned or prepared for photos in any way (I was just getting them some kitchen scraps and decided to do a quick photoshoot
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). The coop is still not totaly finished, although it has been in use for months and I don't really clean it, I am doing a deep litter, so I just add more stuff and that's it
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So here is the coop, it is made from the leftover wood from our old roof, so it is definitely not fancy
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*everything is repurposed, there is a window on the door that is closed here

*we did 30 cm deep cement blocks foundations around and there is additional netting on the floor of the coop to keep the chickens more safe at night

*this is the yard, just dirt and composting on top


*this is their ash spa...


*outside reach for the eggs (someday)

*inside of the coop (you can see the little door with a string we use to open and close them from outside...also the gaps in between the planks... the winter is coming and we are still deciding wether to close them or not, any suggestions welcome!)

*the top openings, also there are openings also near the bottom, covered in netting

*the nesting boxes, not finished yet...


So, that's it guys...
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hi! sorry for not updating for so long. I could never find the time to take my camera and do the job... so yesterday I gave up and took some pictures of the chickens and the coop with my phone. It is not cleaned or prepared for photos in any way (I was just getting them some kitchen scraps and decided to do a quick photoshoot :rolleyes: ). The coop is still not totaly finished, although it has been in use for months and I don't really clean it, I am doing a deep litter, so I just add more stuff and that's it :confused: So here is the coop, it is made from the leftover wood from our old roof, so it is definitely not fancy :idunno *everything is repurposed, there is a window on the door that is closed here *we did 30 cm deep cement blocks foundations around and there is additional netting on the floor of the coop to keep the chickens more safe at night *this is the yard, just dirt and composting on top *this is their ash spa... *outside reach for the eggs (someday) *inside of the coop (you can see the little door with a string we use to open and close them from outside...also the gaps in between the planks... the winter is coming and we are still deciding wether to close them or not, any suggestions welcome!) *the top openings, also there are openings also near the bottom, covered in netting *the nesting boxes, not finished yet... So, that's it guys... :frow
Beautiful and big coop. I have a lot smaller. If I were you, I wouldn't close that gaps. Good job!
 
And now the chikens. I thought I knew the boys from the girls, but I am not sure again, so comments welcome
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*this is mijo, the guy of the group. He was developing as expected, until a month ago, when the other chicken outgrew him and became dominant and he just withdraw...he was even spending time by himself during the day and generaly he is not the boss anymore. I think he is going through identity crisis
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He didn't even want to get up for this picture...


*this is mokoš, the currently dominant one. she even tries to crook...so I am starting to think I have a big black rooster.. you can't see here but she is bigger than all the rest

*here you can see mišo (the one that was extra small, he really developed and is as big as all of the others...still the bravest one <3)

*perla and cica (with mokoš in between)

*bijela...stealing dogs food

*mala...smaller than the rest
 
Hey Phill98, I almost missed your post inbetween all the photos
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I almos forgot to mention, in the meantime I went to the market and came home with 4 "italians", then a month and a half old. They made their own little flock, the older ones were shunning them so they set up in one nesting box. I am sorry to say that they probably were not used to such freedom as my birds and didn't have the experience of open space, in the last month a bird (I think it is a buzzard) took two of them. Also a weasel killed Annika, the chick that hatched on my birthday and was developing so well... that was really sad, and it took me some days to recover
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My dog is fighting with this weasel all the time, even during the day, but we can't do much, we live far from town and next to a forest...

Also, there are currently 8 wyandottes in my house, waiting to get full feathers to go out to the coop...

Also next week we are getting 30 one day australorps, but that is totally another adventure - we plan to try pasture raising them, with a mobile chicken coop and moving their fence every few days and a donkey or/and pig to guard them...but that story is for another thread
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Hey Phill98, I almost missed your post inbetween all the photos :lol:
I almos forgot to mention, in the meantime I went to the market and came home with 4 "italians", then a month and a half old. They made their own little flock, the older ones were shunning them so they set up in one nesting box. I am sorry to say that they probably were not used to such freedom as my birds and didn't have the experience of open space, in the last month a bird (I think it is a buzzard) took two of them. Also a weasel killed Annika, the chick that hatched on my birthday and was developing so well... that was really sad, and it took me some days to recover :( My dog is fighting with this weasel all the time, even during the day, but we can't do much, we live far from town and next to a forest...

Also, there are currently 8 wyandottes in my house, waiting to get full feathers to go out to the coop...

Also next week we are getting 30 one day australorps, but that is totally another adventure - we plan to try pasture raising them, with a mobile chicken coop and moving their fence  every few days and a donkey or/and pig to guard them...but that story is for another thread :frow


Oh you have lot of things going on! Love your chickens and their names. So I guess Mišo and Mokoš are boys. I am not sure about the red one in the photo of three of them, but I think it is maybe also a rooster. All the rest are girls
 

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