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Building a coop...... What were we thinking????? - Page 2

post #11 of 26
6/1/12 at 7:40am
I'd checked sittercity.com a while back wondering if we could get chicken-knowledgeable sitters for vacations. We've used a petsitter for our cats for years but I doubted we'd find poultry sitters. But they were there! I think you can search by type of animals and read people's bios and experience. This is what I plan on using for our getaways. I like our yard and all, but nothing compares to a Caribbean escape when it's chilly and gray for months here. smile.png
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post #12 of 26
6/1/12 at 11:21am
We are new to keeping chickens, too. My four year old son was found to be allergic to cats and dogs, so we thought keeping chickens would be a great alternative for pets with benefits.

After much research into breeds, we chose Australorps, Barnevelders, EEs and Welsummer chicks and kept them in the basement while my chainsaw carpentry skills hammered out a coop. I've got the birds living in it now while I finish up minor details and prepare to wire their run. They spend time in a temporary tractor eating dandelions that my son feeds them during the day.

It's been a great experience to date, along with many challenges as well. We recently had to get rid of two cockerels, due to city regulations and keeping my promise to our neighbors that all roos would go. Unfortunately, my son really loved one of them and it was a real challenge explaining to him that the roo had to go.

My wife has decided I need to build my son some type of outdoor structure thanks to my newly acquired building skills and I'm looking forward to it, whatever it may be. We are also really excited about the upcoming arrival of eggs in about a month as well.

Looking forward to the experiences that lay ahead of us keeping chickens!
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post #13 of 26
6/1/12 at 11:58am

We started a major remodel of the house at the same time as our coop. And you ask what your were thinking?  roll.png

 

Good luck. It will all be worth it.

 

KJF

Two araucanas, two black sex links, a buff orpington, a speckled sussex, a blue cochin and silver cuckoo marans. And two rescue dogs, a rescue cat, two ponds full of goldfish and koi, and a few turtles.
 

http://www.kjf.smugmug.com

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Two araucanas, two black sex links, a buff orpington, a speckled sussex, a blue cochin and silver cuckoo marans. And two rescue dogs, a rescue cat, two ponds full of goldfish and koi, and a few turtles.
 

http://www.kjf.smugmug.com

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post #14 of 26
6/1/12 at 12:22pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the idea to contact "sittercity.com". I will look into it. Right now, we are just working, working, working on the coop and encountering new situations daily.... go figure. But, it's coming along and we hope to have the little ones inside in a few more days. It's getting hotter here each day and I would love to have them out running around in the sunshine, but that would take at least an additional day to make a temporary pen for them. We will see how it all goes, I feel sorry for them being inside a huge cardboard box in our shop right now (during the day, anyway).

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post #15 of 26
6/1/12 at 12:24pm

Hi fricknfricassee....we too have been married for 35 years and honestly found this project has taken so much longer than either of us ever dreamed...one thing leads to another (landscaping, electrical placement., security etc.)  There was a point we sat down and said "this is nuts"!  Where did all our weeknights and weekends go for the past few 3 months...lol   We are ALMOST done at this point...insulation, wall board, and the poop tray/board left to do.  Hopefully, this weekend it will be DONE... Shhh......did I say that or is it really just wishful thinking.    A trip in a couple of weeks is planned to Seattle to bring our grandchildren for a visit and I am panicked thinking WHO will watch our girls!!  hu.gif  We, like you have often wondered "what were we thinking".  At least you are not alone..  Good luck, and I think once it is all complete we can all say it was worth it!

  1 WONDERFUL Hubby, 2 Australorps, 2 Barred Rocks, and 2 Buff Orpington's.   Oh yeah...thousands of bees too!

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  1 WONDERFUL Hubby, 2 Australorps, 2 Barred Rocks, and 2 Buff Orpington's.   Oh yeah...thousands of bees too!

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post #16 of 26
6/1/12 at 8:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kay56 View Post

Hi fricknfricassee....we too have been married for 35 years and honestly found this project has taken so much longer than either of us ever dreamed...one thing leads to another (landscaping, electrical placement., security etc.)  There was a point we sat down and said "this is nuts"!  Where did all our weeknights and weekends go for the past few 3 months...lol   We are ALMOST done at this point...insulation, wall board, and the poop tray/board left to do.  Hopefully, this weekend it will be DONE... Shhh......did I say that or is it really just wishful thinking.    A trip in a couple of weeks is planned to Seattle to bring our grandchildren for a visit and I am panicked thinking WHO will watch our girls!!  hu.gif  We, like you have often wondered "what were we thinking".  At least you are not alone..  Good luck, and I think once it is all complete we can all say it was worth it!

Thanks for the nice reminder. We must be ready to settle down into our "comfortable part of life" and chicken keeping is where we are headed. Being retired for nearly 2 1/2 years, well, it seems like we are just beginning to live, doing what we want instead of what we have to do to make a living. We are close to building our Poop Deck, as well. Each day we begin with lots of energy and each day we can see some headway. This will all be worth it, I'm sure, but it is certainly taking longer than we ever imagined. It is the "finish work" that is tedious and time consuming. We are getting there. Good luck with your project. This is a great community to belong to and share information, ideas. It probably keeps most of us "sane".

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post #17 of 26
6/2/12 at 12:49pm

We almost got divorced just fixing the already present fence. Can't imagine if we had to build the whole coop. lol

Loving my poultry. Have Guineas as well!

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Loving my poultry. Have Guineas as well!

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post #18 of 26
6/2/12 at 7:08pm
Thread Starter 

Well, if we hadn't have gone through a remodel on our home several years ago......... we probably would have divorced over this chicken coop. It's amazing how we

differ on ideas and plans for how things are supposed to come together. Good luck to anyone, and I do mean it, who is venturing into building their own coop. All will

work out in the end. Believe me!

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post #19 of 26
6/2/12 at 7:55pm

vacation? chicken sitter?  LOL, my sister moved to Kentucky and told me the other day to put my dog and crate in the truck and go on a roadtrip.   I told her I would have to bring the chickens too  thumbsup.gif ... I took my parakeets to my mothers and after all, these were just 'big birds'

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post #20 of 26
6/4/12 at 12:27pm
Thread Starter 

I suppose you're right...... no more vacations for us! Today is like a "mini-vacation" because it's raining off and on and we are taking the day off from

working on the coop. It feels GREAT! Some of the "little ones" are out in their temporary pen which is covered with plastic and they seem happy as

larks. Tomorrow is supposed to be dry and we will hit the coop project with new energy. I cannot wait to post our photos of the completed project.

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BackYard Chickens › BYC Forum › Raising BackYard Chickens › Coop & Run - Design, Construction, & Maintenance › Building a coop...... What were we thinking?????