Recent content by Ironclay

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    Structural question regarding 2x4's

    Yep! It's a completely open design. The most coverage is east facing, which is where the majority of my heat comes from. The west is already shielded by a tree line. I will have a semi-enclosed roost area but that's about it. It's more like a..big gazebo with hardware cloth sides.
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    Structural question regarding 2x4's

    I'm in a hot area. The ones I'm looking at let in light but are not the ones you see used on greenhouses. They are the patio kind.
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    Structural question regarding 2x4's

    Well, the design limitation is that it needs to be a "no dig" coop. I am building it by myself entirely so every single section has to be something I can lift or drag on my own. I have clay soil and there are parts of my yard I can't break with a shovel, so cannot rely on 4x4 proper posts...
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    Structural question regarding 2x4's

    I had to evict my incubators and baby chicks. I've got 3 cats and they all love to go touchy touchy on the babies, through any means they can manage.
  5. I

    Structural question regarding 2x4's

    That's where I've ended up. My last design features the load bearing set up but the wire is framed using 2x2's between the 2x4's. Ends up looking pretty nice, can bear weight, and wire should withstand abuse from any predators that I tend to get. Haven't built it yet because my septic system...
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    Structural question regarding 2x4's

    Thank you so much! I am definitely going with the "ugly" way, and will just dress it up with non-load-bearing trim.
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    Structural question regarding 2x4's

    Thank you for the pitch recommendation! You are also correct that this is a segment of a run. I am trying to avoid vertical 4x4 posts, as this is a solo build and it is extremely hard for me to get a sharpshooter into my ground (post hole digger is out of the question, I've tried). With wall...
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    Structural question regarding 2x4's

    So maybe I'm overthinking things... I have looked at lots of coop+run examples to see how people build their walls. I see many people are installing 2x4's with the wide face out, so they can install the wire on the inside-facing side of the board to hide seems. This is very aesthetic, and I...
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    "Double Breast" appearance on chicks - desirable or problem?

    They're absolutely barred. One of the boys in this group has grey barring between the shoulders that's clear as day. I believe that the downy differences will be pretty noticeable, but that will be something I can't report back on until next year when these babies are grown. At least 3 of...
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    "Double Breast" appearance on chicks - desirable or problem?

    It lasts them until about 5-6pm. I will usually see a small amount left in the pan when I go out to check on everyone at sundown, but it's gone by the time I check in the morning. I am leaning more towards this because I am not seeing wounds or irritation. They're just naked/thin-feathered...
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    "Double Breast" appearance on chicks - desirable or problem?

    They get fed around 10am once a day. They usually get 1 to 2 scoops. I went to the shop to figure out how much a scoop of crumble was and it comes out to 2.4 pounds per scoop. They go through just a little more than 2 gallons of water a day.
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    "Double Breast" appearance on chicks - desirable or problem?

    Thank you. I've never worked with a broiler chicken before, so I'll need to look into what a "broiler enhanced" Delaware is how it differs from a typical Delaware. I will up their feed intake and start mixing it with game starter to bump the protein up. Clearly the DuMor Chick Starter isn't...
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    "Double Breast" appearance on chicks - desirable or problem?

    I thought they were broilers, too! But now they're getting their delaware colors so I don't know what to think. There's 9 chicks in here, and this is an 8 ft x 2.5 ft brooder, when an enclosed box on one side containing a heating plate. I do agree that they are nearing the point of needing to...
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    "Double Breast" appearance on chicks - desirable or problem?

    I heard delawares can lay XL eggs, so I picked up some straight from TSC just for a trial run before I went and dropped "breeder money". I normally raise and breed Marans for SOP, but I'm looking for a good fit for me for a dedicated "egg layer only" flock. Well, besides from discovering that...
  15. I

    Bizarre thick white ooze feces in week-old chick

    This stuff isn't hardening and it was steadily oozing. The chick had more of it on it after I checked on him before going to bed. As of this morning, he's eating and running around just like all the others, he just has a white smeared butt.
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