California-Southern

[dadacat]

Thanks for all the great input!

My chicks were going bonkers last night in their brooder. They are ready to explore the world and got rather brave the last few days. They started to use me as a ladder to climb on to even get to higher ground. They are also not afraid of the dogs whatsoever. The dogs seem to be still fine with them and happily lick up all the poop they can find. So far I let them out in the backyard for about 30min in the morning before heading to work and then again from 4 to 6pm. Still, that was not enough for them yesterday and they loudly demanded my attention later in the evening.
This morning I have set them up outside in the run part below the coop. I have put a blanket around two sides and set up a heat lamp shining in from the outside of the run. I hope it is warm enough for them but they had to be outside of the brooder for their own sanity. Tomorrow they will be six weeks old.
Tonight I will put them back into the brooder for night time since it is rather chilly at night in San Diego at the moment. I want to set up a heat lamp in their coop but couldn't figure out how to do it safely this morning.

I have thought more about how to make the coop/run predator safe and my plan for now is get some garden stone tile at home depot and set it up around the coop so no one can dig a whole under it. Hopefully that will keep diggers out. Plan B would be to get hardware cloth, attach it to coop and burrow it down and out like an apron. Stone tile seems easier, you guys think that would be enough? Like 40 inches of tile around it?

Next I am planning to make a chunnel that leads to a bigger run. For that I am planning to use the area (see pictures above) next to my house. Probably set up a fence and then a tarp on top. Hopefully that is safe enough for daytime use?
I decided not to put the whole coop next to the house because I want to be able to see the chickens and their coop and not have them tucked away next to the house. When we are at home I am planning on have them free range and use the run area for during the week and when we are away in general.

Some late night shenanigans:






Their set up for today:

 

[dadacat]

I went home during my lunch break to check up on the chicks and they are loving it out there. The weather also warmed up nicely. They were taking dust baths and chilling

I moved two of the stone tiles to the coop and placed them down. Boy are they heavy!!! I used the AB dolly to move them. HAHA, if not for getting abs, it finally comes in handy...

I am not completely set on the location yet. I may move it more to the other end of the backyard, closer to my bedroom window. Although, I may regret that later on, not sure how loud they will get. Oh well, I guess with the tiles I can also move them again. I am trying to be the least destructive to the backyard. I am renting this house and the landlord was already very nice to allow me to have chickens. I don't want him to regret his decision later on.

I think installing lights that have a movement detector just around the coop would maybe also help keep predators at bay. I live in Mira Mesa, maybe I am paranoid but better safe than sorry.

 

[Sylvester017]

I went home during my lunch break to check up on the chicks and they are loving it out there. The weather also warmed up nicely. They were taking dust baths and chilling

I moved two of the stone tiles to the coop and placed them down. Boy are they heavy!!! I used the AB dolly to move them. HAHA, if not for getting abs, it finally comes in handy...

I am not completely set on the location yet. I may move it more to the other end of the backyard, closer to my bedroom window. Although, I may regret that later on, not sure how loud they will get. Oh well, I guess with the tiles I can also move them again. I am trying to be the least destructive to the backyard. I am renting this house and the landlord was already very nice to allow me to have chickens. I don't want him to regret his decision later on.

I think installing lights that have a movement detector just around the coop would maybe also help keep predators at bay. I live in Mira Mesa, maybe I am paranoid but better safe than sorry.

All good ideas. You can never be paranoid enough where chicken safety is concerned. I saw this youtube video of a chunnel and it cracked me up but apparently it works for this guy!

I saw another video where the chickens left the coop through a chunnel that was built over a driveway and down to a side yard so they didn't have to actually cross the driveway to get to the grassy yard but I couldn't find it again. All the chunnels I've seen just didn't look very sturdy and easy to push in by dogs or big predators. But this idea looked a bit sturdier but I couldn't figure out why he didn't just let the chickens/ducks out into the yard directly from the coop? Cute to watch anyway --

 

[Eva76]

Hi guys, i just joined today, Mission Viejo mom, visiting Big Bear at the moment.

Any local sources of free range, roaming chickens that eat grass, bugs, worms, vegetables, potatoes, and are not fed any grains?

Millet and gluten free oats may be a possibility.

My son has grain, soy, corn ,wheat, sesame, nut allergies.

Also looking for duck and geese eggs with the same requirement.

Any feedback you could give me i would really appreciate.

Thank you. Eva

 

[perchie.girl]

Hi guys, i just joined today, Mission Viejo mom, visiting Big Bear at the moment.

Any local sources of free range, roaming chickens that eat grass, bugs, worms, vegetables, potatoes, and are not fed any grains?

Millet and gluten free oats may be a possibility.

My son has grain, soy, corn ,wheat, sesame, nut allergies.

Also looking for duck and geese eggs with the same requirement.

Any feedback you could give me i would really appreciate.

Thank you. Eva

I am curious do allergic reactions pass from poultry to person? if so i am afraid your chickens will be mal-nurished if fed on the above diet.

deb

 

[UrbanFarmOC]

Hi guys, i just joined today, Mission Viejo mom, visiting Big Bear at the moment.

Any local sources of free range, roaming chickens that eat grass, bugs, worms, vegetables, potatoes, and are not fed any grains? 

Millet and gluten free oats may be a possibility.

My son has grain, soy, corn ,wheat, sesame, nut allergies.

Also looking for duck and geese eggs with the same requirement.

Any feedback you could give me i would really appreciate.

Thank you. Eva 

Eva,

It's my understanding that once the grains are processed through an animal's digestive system, it does not pass onto someone eating the animal, including its eggs. Meaning, the proteins in the food the animals consume does not pass to you.

If you feed your chickens a grain-free diet, you will have malnourished chickens, unless maybe you really make sure you feed them enough bugs, greens and other seeds to complete their nutritional and dietary needs.

I'm sorry to hear about your son's allergies. I suffer from many food, chemical and environmental allergies myself, including a serious wheat/ gluten allergy. My chickens' feed includes wheat and other grains. I also feed them kitchen scraps from a vegetarian cafe. Sometimes the scraps include bread products, which the chickens love. I don't have any allergy problems with their eggs as a result of their diet.

Also, I do eat meat... They've all probably were raised with grains and other things I'm allergic to in their diet.

 

[Sylvester017]

Hi guys, i just joined today, Mission Viejo mom, visiting Big Bear at the moment.

Any local sources of free range, roaming chickens that eat grass, bugs, worms, vegetables, potatoes, and are not fed any grains?

Millet and gluten free oats may be a possibility.

My son has grain, soy, corn ,wheat, sesame, nut allergies.

Also looking for duck and geese eggs with the same requirement.

Any feedback you could give me i would really appreciate.

Thank you. Eva

I have gluten and some nuts sensitivities and have no problems eating the eggs from our organic grain-fed chickens. I get organic 18% no-soy, non-GMO, no corn, chicken feed called Scratch and Peck through my local feed store. Of course if your son is super-sensitive being around organic chicken feed (and I know some people cannot even breathe gluten dust without a reaction) then keeping chickens may not be for you. Otherwise, there is no problem eating the eggs from organic grain-fed chickens - at least, no problems for me. Depends on the intensity of your son's allergic reactions. My sensitivity is in the medium range and I can touch or breathe without reactions - I just can't eat the grains/nuts directly. Also, we feed our chickens more than just the Scratch and Peck. We give them 3-grain scratch, extra Oyster Shell for them to lay sturdy shelled eggs, various produce like cucumbers, lettuces, corn on the cob, cantaloupe, apples, banana, grapes, raisins, craisins, hard-boiled eggs, high protein plain Greek yogurt, quinoa, rolled oats, chia, soaked flax seeds, shelled sunflower seeds, wild bird seed, dried meal worms, smalled cooked shrimp, cooked fish, cat or kitten food with minimum 11% protein, sometimes sardines in olive oil, or albacore in water, cooked turkey, and the list goes on. No onions, avocado, citrus, or potato skins and many other foods that might be toxic to the chicken diet. There are many websites that list the safe vs toxic chicken foods.

 

[niqueie]

I have a chicken tunnel. It runs from my coop that's half way up my hill to my side yard where they have a big run area. They even have an 8' section where they go under ground; under the gate to the side yard area. They all (9 chickens) do it well. We have had a raccoon that's attacked and killed one chicken through the tunnel. But he's been back and the chickens have wised up to him. They now know where to hide. Also a bob cat scratched one of my chickens pretty bad through the tunnel, but it got away and that chicken made a full recovery. It's not the most secure, but none of the predators have been able to break the tunnel. They have just reached into the tunnel.
It's been what we needed as the coop needed to be where it was, but the area for the run we wanted closer to our house.

 

[Amelia Egghart]

I have a chicken tunnel. It runs from my coop that's half way up my hill to my side yard where they have a big run area. They even have an 8' section where they go under ground; under the gate to the side yard area. They all (9 chickens) do it well. We have had a raccoon that's attacked and killed one chicken through the tunnel. But he's been back and the chickens have wised up to him. They now know where to hide. Also a bob cat scratched one of my chickens pretty bad through the tunnel, but it got away and that chicken made a full recovery. It's not the most secure, but none of the predators have been able to break the tunnel. They have just reached into the tunnel.
It's been what we needed as the coop needed to be where it was, but the area for the run we wanted closer to our house.

That's such an awesome idea! I need a chicken tunnel now! Bet it's nice and cool in the hot summer, too. Oooh, imagination time!

 

[Sylvester017]

I have a chicken tunnel. It runs from my coop that's half way up my hill to my side yard where they have a big run area. They even have an 8' section where they go under ground; under the gate to the side yard area. They all (9 chickens) do it well. We have had a raccoon that's attacked and killed one chicken through the tunnel. But he's been back and the chickens have wised up to him. They now know where to hide. Also a bob cat scratched one of my chickens pretty bad through the tunnel, but it got away and that chicken made a full recovery. It's not the most secure, but none of the predators have been able to break the tunnel. They have just reached into the tunnel.
It's been what we needed as the coop needed to be where it was, but the area for the run we wanted closer to our house.

That's such an awesome idea! I need a chicken tunnel now! Bet it's nice and cool in the hot summer, too. Oooh, imagination time!

I watched some interesting chicken tunnels on youtube yesterday - some looked very flimsy and some looked sturdier. Some didn't make sense at all. Still, a good idea if they can be reinforced from predators safely.