Recent content by duluthmom

  1. duluthmom

    Swollen Crop??

    If her tail feathers are droopy and she is not eating or moving around normally, she may have sour crop. You can hold her, head down, and gently massage the crop to empty all the fermented gunk. Plain yogurt with active yeast cultures will help get the balance back in her crop. Don't let her...
  2. duluthmom

    Floor Ideas?

    We built our coop with a wood framed floor. Over the top of the 2X framing we put down 2" of rigid foam insulation board and over that - 5/8" green treated plywood. Our coop is about 6'X6" and we wanted the floor to be easy to clean so we got a free scrap piece of EPDM rubber roofing membrane...
  3. duluthmom

    Cover over run?

    The chickens probably won't fly out, but many predators will climb in. If your run is chain link, you could add a few light weight tube rails across the top and fasten chicken wire as a roof with cable tie or wire. If the chicken are in the sun - they will need shade - throw a tarp over part...
  4. duluthmom

    Could use guidance from experts

    You sound very competent - even though you don't feel it right now! I have arranged things in my coop so that we don't actually have to step into it to feed, water, and collect eggs. Our floor system - in Northern Minnesota - is wood joist framed with 2" rigid insulation, plywood over that...
  5. duluthmom

    Where should I put the fedder and waterer?

    Hang the feeder and waterer from hooks and chains from the roof framing. They love to stand on EVERYTHING and "look out below!" - you'll have poop in both food and water. Yuk.
  6. duluthmom

    how many nest boxes?

    My six girls have 4 boxes and they all seem to want to lay in the same one. My suggestion is to "bait" with fake eggs the boxes that are within easy reach for egg collection - wooden eggs, golf balls, ceramic. The plastic Easter eggs we baited with at first don't weigh anything so they get...
  7. duluthmom

    Can I use shelving as roosts?

    It is funny how they seem to be more comfortable roosting with their toes wrapped around something. I suggest putting a couple of pieces of split firewood kindling up on the shelves. They don't like unstable roosts so the flat split side down may be enough to keep it from rolling. Chickens...
  8. duluthmom

    Coop Flooring need help

    We were concerned about vermin coming up through the floor system in our new wood framed coop - so when we built, we stapled 1/4" hardware cloth on top of the treated floor joist. Then we put down 1 1/2" of rigid insulation with green treated plywood over that and finally some rubber roofing (...
  9. duluthmom

    Our chicken the mouser?

    I'm happy to have wandered into this conversation! I did not know that chickens were so...carnivorous. We have one chipmunk that creeps into the run to pick corn. I was surprised that one chicken defended the feed and tore after the chipmunk - the other girls were clueless.
  10. duluthmom

    What to plant for forage?

    My girls are over the moon for dandelion greens! We have a shaded section of yard where the leaves grow huge few flowers. Seriously, they love nothing more.
  11. duluthmom

    Cookie Tin water heater

    In engineering speak - there needs to be "thermal mass" to hold the heat. The tin warmers can't concentrate enough focused heat to keep the water ice free. Here is an inexpensive alternative to the cookie tin heater: I made a coop water heater that seems to be working very well. Today it is...
  12. duluthmom

    Concrete Block Water Heater

    How do you tell if the light bulb has burnt out, other than seeing frozen water? Every once in a while I peek under the tin lid - but the block is warm to the touch. I'm using a 40 W halogen bulb now. Keeps the chill out of the coop too.
  13. duluthmom

    Concrete Block Water Heater

    In engineering speak - there needs to be "thermal mass" to hold the heat. The tin warmers can't concentrate enough focused heat to keep the water ice free. Here is an inexpensive alternative to the cookie tin heater: I made a coop water heater that seems to be working very well. Today it is...
  14. duluthmom

    So this cookie tin heater....

    I made a coop water heater that seems to be working very well. Today it is 0F outside and it was 20F in the coop. I bought a standard base cleat light socket from the hardware store and screwed it onto the center of a board about 12"x12". I attached a length of lamp cord to the cleat socket...
  15. duluthmom

    Heated Waterer

    I made a coop water heater that seems to be working very well. Today it is 0F outside and it was 20F in the coop. I bought a standard base cleat light socket from the hardware store and screwed it onto the center of a board about 12"x12". I attached a length of lamp cord to the cleat socket...
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