Articles by LynneP

One of the most important aspects of hygiene is providing adequate ventilation. Since we have lots of space overhead in the coop (8') and can vent moist air into a loft space then outdoors, this part is covered. Otherwise, you will need vents at the top of the coop, preferably the kind that...

Think Like a Weasel Pretend you have beady eyes, sensitive whiskers and can squeeze through any gap the size of a hot dog- not the bbq size either- the measly ordinary kind. Imagine you can smell chicken from a mile away. Look up at the eaves and roof of your coop or barn. Are there any...

Our Second Coop and Run Now that we have experience with one flock, which is aging, it's time to prepared for another in our red barn. The birds will be alongside but we are taking into account biosecurity and predator concerns. We are predator-rich at the edge of the woods in Nova Scotia...

Predation This is my house cat 'Bee' (short for Bumblebee) staring at the chicks in the brooder. Because it's plexiglass, she can see everything the chicks do, and she stays with me when I allow it, her eyes glazed and her jaw often clicking. The lust in her eyes is obvious, and I'm glad hubby...

Is My Hen Sick? -by LynneP I am not a veterinarian or animal tech. I'm a first-time flock owner and as time passes I plan to document any medical experience I have had with my hens. When they were chicks I had two day-olds with pasty butts, cleaned with a wet Q-tip as the chicks were given...

Lynne P's Chicken Run Hens at the livestock bowl drinking in November 2009 When it was dry enough and warm enough in the spring of 2008 we worked. With the predator situation as challenging as it is in Nova Scotia, we have to create suitable biosecurity and have a base that won't heave...

Insulating for a Nova Scotian Winter We live exactly in the middle of the northern temperate zone and enjoy four distinct seasons. We're enduring a particularly long winter, longest since 1971 they say. It's a good time to build a coop, and we decided on a tried-and-true method using...

Chickenspeak ~by LynneP Zipfi Zipfi has been my first broody and gave me a scare in February of 2008, just after Valentine's. I had been noticing loose feathers around the coop and in the end nest box near the outer door to the run. Then on the 15th when she bent over with the others to...

Peepville: LynneP's Brooder, 2008 Handling the Birds- scroll to bottom. May 16 May 17 May 18 May 19 May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 25 May 26 May 27 May 28 May 29 May 30 May 31 (in coop) June 01 June 02 June 04 June 06 June07 June 10 We've purchased a...

Winter-Wise Chickenry by LynneP Lynne is a retired science teacher, writer and farm hobbyist in rural Nova Scotia, Canada. She and her husband care for a colony of feral cats and twelve golden comets. They constructed a coop in their red barn last February to accommodate 12-hour-old chicks...

LynneP's DIY Hopper Feeder David and I have been wanting a feeder to back up feed our system in the coop, in case of an emergency (such as a snowstorm) that might delay us from getting to the coop. After seeing Sterling Hatcheries feed solutions and researching on-line, we decided to use ABS...

Equipment and Emergency List This is what I've accumulated so far, the hens are now 20 months old- Brooder Lamp with extra infrared bulb (250 W to start, then 175W) Timer for light set to go on at 4 am electric heated dog bowl up on patio block supported by cinder blocks medium-sized wire...

The Coop Within the Red Barn ~Nova Scotia, Canada~ This coop is adapted for long, hard winters in the Rawdon Hills of Nova Scotia, Canada. It's insulated and set up for biosecurity and predator protection. The 12 hens in the photos are golden comets hatched May 15 2008 and obtained when less...