Coop Project: Maken the Plunge & Getting Chickens

[Rock Home Isle]

We have apple trees and I'm introducing the chickens to apples. In the fall when the apples drop off the trees, the chickens will clean up anything that we don't harvest for our own needs. My kids love apples and they have been giving the cores from their apples to the chicks. If I find an apple in the fruit basket that has gone soft and no one else wants, I'll quarter it up and mash it with a board or step on it to mush it...then offer it to the chicks. They're getting to develop a nice taste for apples.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Each day I fill the waterers and feed dispencers and place them under the coop in the backyad. Then I take the chicks and the ducks out and turn them loose for the day. They get very excited in the mornings as they watch the waterers being taken out and feed being topped off for the day. The more energetic chicks have started jumping up and sitting on the rim of the aquarium waiting to be taken outside...the ducks just do their whislte/quak in an increasing volume as they wait their turn.

 

[yakibert]

Too cute!!

The ducks that we have are Kaki Campbells. The Campbell is a good egg breed of duck, unfortunately these were strait-run, so I'm hoping that at least one of them is a hen. They have been a real hit with the kids. The darker one is named "Gerty" and the lighter one is named "Other Duck"...The intent was that "Other Duck" would be a temporary name, but it seems to have stuck.

 

[Fowl-hearted]

How Awesome!! Keep posting... the pictures are great! I look forward to seeing the finished coop.

My husband and I are about to begin building our coop. Our chicks won't be arriving until mid May.

Best of luck!

 

[WaldensRidge]

 

[99Peeps]

Hello Rock Home Isle,

I was enjoying reading the forums here on BYC's and ran across your posts. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that you are from Johnstown, CO just 2 miles west of where we live in Milliken, CO. Small world!

My family and I just started our adventure into raising chickens. We currently have 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Delaware, 1 Ameraucana, 2 Buff Laced Polish, 2 Golden Laced Polish, 1 White Crested Black Polish, 1 Silver Laced Polish.

All of our girls have provided my husband, son and myself with hours of great entertainment and I hope yours do the same for you and your family.

I just wanted to say hello and tell you how much I have enjoyed your posts.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Wow...very nice. Thank you all very much for the feed back on my project. It is much appreciated. I hope that your chickens do well after they arrive in May...And I have a neighbor (Milliken is like right in my backyard) that shares my interest in poultry...very cool.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I worked some more on my coop project today after work.



I started wiring the thermostat for the coop. I bought a commercial thermostat designed for use with electric inhouse heat. And I'm wiring it to control the temperature inside the coop during the winter months by turning a heat lamp on and off as it is needed in the coop. I'll use this device to maintain a temperature of about 55 degrees +/- 5 degrees. That should be pleanty warm for the Buff Orpingtons, this breed generally does well with the cold.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I took the thermostat a part and remounted so that I can seal it into the powerbox inside the coop (there is a previous photo of this earlier in the thread).



Here is a side view of the thermostat mounted to the lid of the powerbox. In this photo (lower) I have not screwed the thermostat to the box as yet, I'll do this with a pair of 1/2 inch sheet metal screws

 

[Rock Home Isle]

After the inside of the coop has been painted and weather sealed, I'll mount the thermostat to this powerbox located just inside my access door to the coop. That way it will fairly easy for me to set the temerature and make any adjustments that I need. I don't want to have to enter the coop unless I'm cleaning it or doing regualr maintenance, etc.