Knoble Chickens Builds a Coop

[Cntry1958]

The girls look like they are loving it. Your coop looks wonderful.

 

[aart]

That's a great ramp!
A little steep, but the cleat spacing takes care of that.
Excellent job all around on this build...was a joy to watch it come together.

But wait!....what?.....ramp's not painted?!?!

 

[Knoble Chickens]

Not painted. I figured that between chicken talons and scraping it off with a putty knife on occasion that the paint would get beaten up pretty quickly. I did paint the 2x2's for the frame.......lol

 

[aart]

Not painted. I figured that between chicken talons and scraping it off with a putty knife on occasion that the paint would get beaten up pretty quickly. I did paint the 2x2's for the frame.......lol

Good move!

 

[Merrymouse]

Nice job! Very fun to watch your build. It seems like you did it super fast. I really like the big doors, the way the light shines into the coop, the 70's retro style people door, the storage and just the overall size and design. Great job

 

[mobius]

Amazing! You DID it! Love the ramp!

And it doesn't look like it was easy so much as very well thought out! Circular stairs next?

Just in time for the nice weather!

How is everything now? Are the girls going up and down the ramp yet? Putting themselves to bed?

 

[Knoble Chickens]

The girls had the ramp down by the second day of the pop door being open. I had to put them back in the coop the first night, and they automatically have been going into the coop at sundown since. The first evening in the run was accompanied with lots of happy chortling, having to train the dogs not to harass them through the HC and general fun by all. We now have a new definition in the house. "Chicken Salad" is the carrot peelings, lettuce butts, cucumber peelings and so on, left over from making salad. The girls just love it! I have also been giving the dried meal worms, and scratch with organic barley, etc. I am trying to keep their diet as varied and as healthy as I can. Soon will be introducing them to a layer mix, but that is still a month away.

Any suggestions for nesting material? I don't want to buy a whole bale of straw just for three nesting boxes. I don't know anyone with a farm, I am in suburbia.

 

[aart]

Think you're using pine shavings on the floor of coop?....just use some of those in the nests too.

Varied diet is not necessarily the healthiest...are you feeding some kind of starter feed now?
Best to keep anything else(including scratch) to less than 10% of daily volume of chicken feed or you'll dilute the vitamins/minerals/amino acids in the feed.

 

[Knoble Chickens]

I am providing this in the feeder:

https://www.farmstore.com/product/purina-start-and-grow-medicated-18-premium-poultry-feed-25-lb/

 

[aart]

I am providing this in the feeder:

https://www.farmstore.com/product/purina-start-and-grow-medicated-18-premium-poultry-feed-25-lb/

<thumbsup>

How long do you plan on feeding the medicated?
You want them to have the higher protein/lower calcium until they actually start laying.

Or you could go this route:
I like to feed a flock raiser/starter/grower/finisher type feed with 20% protein crumble full time to all ages and genders, as non-layers(chicks, males and molting birds) do not need the extra calcium that is in layer feed and chicks and molters can use the extra protein. Makes life much simpler to store and distribute one type of chow that everyone can eat. I do grind up the crumbles (in the blender) for the chicks for the first week or so.

The higher protein crumble also offsets the 8% protein scratch grains and other kitchen/garden scraps I like to offer. I adjust the amounts of other feeds to get the protein levels desired with varying situations.

Calcium should be available at all times for the layers, I use oyster shell mixed with rinsed, dried, crushed chicken egg shells in a separate container.

Animal protein (a freshly trapped mouse, mealworms, a little cheese - beware the salt content, meat scraps) is provided once in while and during molting and/or if I see any feather eating.