Recent content by arcatamarcia

In my experience fencing (about 6 feet tall) is your only option.

I agree it depends on your predator situation. My girls free range during the day and go to roost on their own. I go close the door to their secure run later. But I live in a suburb, have dogs that protect the girls and don't have that many predators. If you're in the country with a lot of...

My four chickens all slowed down in their egg laying quite a bit in the fall and through the winter. I actually had to buy eggs in January, I was getting three a week. One of them didn't give me an egg from mid-October until about two weeks ago. And then she just started back up and is now...

Are they the same breed? How old is "way past egg laying age"? My Americauna laid her first egg weeks before my Brahma did.

I think what the chickens need is light, not necessarily sunshine. My girls don't like being in bright sun. They mostly cluster in the shady spots in my yard. Really deep dark shade constantly might cut a bit into your egg production, but it doesn't sound like that's what you've got.

If you are going to plant flowers in your run you need to protect them from the chickens until they get big enough to actually flower. Otherwise the chickens will eat the fresh little shoots and the plant will never get big enough to actually flower. I planted nasturtiums in my run last year...

I put a fence cut from 2X4 welded wire, around all my mulched beds. I tried a number of other options, but this was the only thing that worked. The fence doesn't have to be very tall. I do think an upright fence would be better than laying chicken wire over the mulch. I would worry about the...

My four chickens free range in my back yard all day every day while I'm at work. But you do have to worry about predators. My yard is small, fully fenced, and has several trees and shrubs where the chickens can take cover from hawks. But I also have dogs who protect them from neighborhood cats...

I'm also in the PNW. I think the straw would wick up water and then mildew. Mold wouldn't be good for your chickens. Personally, I'd do a coop with a wood floor if you want to do deep litter and then sand over gravel in your run.

I agree. Just swap out the sprinkler head that hits the nest box. And yes, I would put the coop floor directly on the dirt and not float it. If you float it, it will be harder on the chicken's feet and your girls won't be able to peck at any bugs in the dirt which is their all time favorite thing.

Depends on if you are worried about rodents. They will tunnel under the walls to get to any food in the run. If you put hardware cloth under the sand, that will keep them out. Or you can bring the food in at night. If the area is wet when it rains, you can put gravel under the sand which will...

My back yard was subdivided with a four foot fence. The girls had no problem going over that fence. When they discovered the garden on the other side, there was no way I could keep them from flying over until I made the fence taller. And I have some calm, heavy bodied birds. The entire yard is...

X2. I socialized mine with black oil sunflower seeds. Now they are underfoot every time I go into the backyard.:)

I have four hens and one nest box. It works fine. But I agree, with 5 hens, two boxes would probably be better. But they'll work it out. From time to time, I've even had two hens at once in my nest box.

C2Chicks, how long had you had chickens in your run when this picture was taken? I ask because I can't imagine how you do or will keep the wood chips in their place and the sand in its. I tried having separate areas like this in my run and my birds first covered the nice little planted areas...