Reviews by Rooapalooza

What do you do with the sand when you are done with it? Does it go in the compost?

1) Building your own coop may technically save you money, but unless you know what you are doing, it probably isn't worth the time. If I paid myself minimum wage for all the time I've spent finding the materials and making my own coop out of cheap or free scrap wood, it would cost more than ordering one new, lol.

2) You can't really buy chicken food in bulk since it doesn't store well. Organic is crazy expensive in my area. Obviously if you give your ladies access to the compost/large bug-hunting areas, you will have to buy less feed.

3) It would be better to calculate in terms of at least 4 chickens. Three is too small for a flock.

4) I don't think it actually saves you money to buy chicks instead of pullets. First of all, there is no guarantee that your chicks will be girls, even if they are supposed to be. It takes a long time to know what you've really got.
Second, a lot can happen in the five-six months that you are waiting for them to grow old enough to lay eggs. In my experience, that is the most dangerous time in terms of predators (particularly hawks, who are able to fly off with half-grown chickens, but I've never had one get an adult). Meanwhile you have to buy food that whole time, and at the beginning you even have to pay for a chick heater/the energy it takes to run it. Raising chicks is fun but if it's your first time I would recommend starting with 4 or 5 month old pullets. It's worth paying to get a guarantee of gender, health, less waiting time for eggs, lower danger of predators, etc.

Nice job! That looks very professional and sturdy.

Nice job!

Wow that's very impressive!

Nice job! Around how much did it end up costing?

Looks incredibly solid. How did you protect the interior wood (did you paint/seal it later?) Is that plywood on the inside, with siding on top of it? Also, how are the rafters attached to the walls? Does anyone know, since I'm not sure OP is still active?

My eldest flock member is about to be 4 years old. I'm thinking and hoping she'll make it at least another 4. Thank you to everyone who cares so much for their chickens, to give them a happy life and peaceful death.

I have never thought about separating the bullied and not just the bully! Great advice, hopefully I won't have to use it . Although I prefer thinking of it as "Chicken Rehab Center" over "Chicken Jail" for spoiled little birds.

1) Some of my more annoying relatives steal my eggs every time they visit, but don't want the "poopy" eggs. I tell my hens to keep those feet dirty .

2) A dirty egg reminds me of getting the freshest produce out of my garden. I mistrust overly shiny produce! Why would you want a sterilized egg?

3) Commercial American eggs have to be refrigerated because they've been pasteurized. They had to be pasteurized because hens that are treated poorly are much more likely to have Salmonella. The system created a terrible problem, and had to use a terrible solution to fix it. My hens are happy and healthy so my eggs are happy and healthy!

4) Oversterilization is bad for your immune system!

I'm a vegetarian who raises birds for eggs and as pets. I don't have the stomach to kill animals for meat, which to me means that I won't eat any meat. I have total respect for people who kill their own food though. Every living animal will die anyway, that's not the tragedy. The tragedy is animals that weren't given a good life for the time they did have. It's so sad in the grocery store and at restaurants seeing how many products are made with caged-chicken eggs or mistreated meat and dairy animals. Right now, I buy only pasture-raised dairy products, but even those are hard to find. Someday maybe I'll be able to have my own cow or some goats .

I wish more people were like you! The world would be a much better place if everyone thought about the ethics of what they consume.

Also, any clutch that is hatched by my broodiest hen counts as 1, unless more than 6 chicks make it until they are fully feathered. Then it count as 2. The visible chicks in this photo are being counted 1/7th of a chicken until further notice.