I’ve finally finished my forest chicken shelter by building a stand and attaching the nesting box my son made for me. I added a perch they can fly up to to them step inside and also put a stump nearby. Later I’ll build some simpler boxes to attach to trees nearby. I covered the HC apron with...
On Friday, in the middle of my workday, I heard something outside and went to check. No chickens out and about, but I thought I heard some up on the west ridge. I found two cowering in the dust bath inside the run and several more hiding under he coop. That was worrisome. I walked back up...
This is how I'm planning to do it with my forest chickens. I really want to try to be as hands-off as possible. I've got enough managing to do with the coop chickens!
Got the doors on this weekend and finished caulking the roof. I think the shelter is raccoon-proof when the doors are latched, but of course they’ll mostly stay open. I put some peanuts on the roof (and also near the coop chicken’s place) in the hopes of attracting crows after a hawk attacked...
I installed the door into the run swinging inwards and it is almost as wide as that part of the run so you have to step in, swing it part-way back, and squeeze around it. It's is a regular house door and installed in a way that will not allow it to be modified, so I'm stuck with it.
Wow, this discussion got heated (ahem). Full disclosure, I'm a novice chicken-keeper although I did grow up on a farm raising pigs and cattle. My brothers had a couple of ducks but I didn't take care of them. (Fun story: one of the dogs grabbed a duck by the neck and ran off into the woods with...
Our builder, who lives on a similar property, had us go out to the land after a heavy storm and send him photos of the water run-off from the mountain. We have a wet weather creek, so they just dug it deeper to handle what comes down the ravine and also the overflow from our artesian well. Also...