Recent content by Chad Duncan

  1. Chad Duncan

    Chicken Coop 6 Hens

    I built a 10x10 coop w/run for a friend of mine last summer. It was basically a 10x10 x8 feet tall cube with hardware cloth on all six sides and a covered protected roosting area in one corner. It is very basic and cost a little over $400 (Canadian $) in materials to build and took me two full...
  2. Chad Duncan

    Two hens sitting on eggs

    You have two choices. Let the hen continue sitting on the eggs until they hatch or steal the eggs out from under her regardless of her opinion on the subject. She will briefly leave to eat and poop. Her behavior is called being 'broody'.
  3. Chad Duncan

    Minimum Angle of Coop Entry Ramp

    I put some 3/4" slats on my too steep ramp (45 degree slope) and the chickens have no trouble climbing it. In my brooder cage the ramp is even steeper and the little chicks have no difficulty climbing with the slats.
  4. Chad Duncan

    Morning Chicken Massacre

    Ravens will often eat the breast meat right off of the living bird. I don't think they would attack a flock and scatter chicken parts all around. I think you are probably dealing with a mammal predator.
  5. Chad Duncan

    Floor or No Floor?

    A chicken coop doesn't need to have a floor but if you require security then security will likely involve a floor. In the case you have described, it seems like you need a floor. If you have a fully secure predator proof run with the coop in the middle away from any edges of the run, you...
  6. Chad Duncan

    Can you keep a Canadian goose as a pet in California?

    I have a few embden geese that are pretty ferocious when it comes to defending their turf and their chickens and turkeys. Embdens are much larger than my largest turkey. The wild canadian geese around here are smaller than my turkeys and I couldn't see one of them defending against anything...
  7. Chad Duncan

    Coop design advice needed

    Incidentally, if you want to use a single sheet of plywood for the roof then don't forget to make the coop a little smaller than 4x8. For example my coop is 3x7 with a 4x8 roof.
  8. Chad Duncan

    Coop design advice needed

    My small coop was built 3 years ago. It is made of typical 2x4 and 2x6 pine. The 2x6 is the bottom perimeter board and I keep the bottom full of sand up to the height of the 2x6. None of the coop is painted or stained and the bottom 3' is only covered in hardware cloth so the sand gets wet if...
  9. Chad Duncan

    New to chickens but is this the ugly age ?

    Still cute. When they get 'ugly' you will know it. Half of their feathers will be missing and the ones coming in will look like a bunch of small straws. They get quite ugly for a week or two.
  10. Chad Duncan

    Little chick is chirping so loudly, is she okay?

    I usually use pine shavings but my favorite is straw with sand. The straw/sand combo makes a really solid surface to walk on that also has good water draining properties.
  11. Chad Duncan

    Ecoglow50 anyone..?

    I have an ecoglow 50 and I love it. I also have two heating pads and I find that the ecoglow is hotter underneath.(no thermometer, just my hand). The heating pad makes a nice warm cave because the pad touches the ground and stops any drafts but the ecoglow seems to put out more btu.
  12. Chad Duncan

    Mama heating pad

  13. Chad Duncan

    Mama heating pad

    They say that a picture is worth a thousand words...
  14. Chad Duncan

    Unusual pupils on my chickens, recently had a chicken lose mobility as well.

    The chickens have not been vaccinated.
  15. Chad Duncan

    Unusual pupils on my chickens, recently had a chicken lose mobility as well.

    Both legs were generally forward, I guess. She had use of them from the knee up and could move around by walking on her knees. I tried tickling her feet but got no response. I refer to them as 'my birds' but they really aren't. I am co-owner of a farm and pay more attention to them then the...
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