Recent content by papschmitty

Thanks for the suggestions. Ours is just a backyard flock in a neighborhood and we like most of our neighbors so we can't have a roo. I hadn't thought about making the run more interesting so I'll definitely try that. The drama seems to be minimal when they have access to the entire yard so this...

We are very new to raising chickens. We have 4 Black Sex Links that we've raised since 10 days old. They just started laying in early July. The coop is 16 square feet and the run is 40 square feet. They spend several hours free ranging in our fenced back yard on most days. They usually don't...

I'm always amazed at how busy this WA thread is - what a great chicken-loving community! I have a couple newbie questions. First, I live about 20 miles south of Seattle and am wondering if there is anywhere local that sells food grade DE. I'm planning on doing the deep litter method in our 4x4...

Our brooder is outside on the deck. It has a roof that flips up for accessing the inside of the coop. I go out there twice a day to clean out poop and freshen the food and water when needed. My girls are about 4-1/2 weeks old and have been trying to fly out for almost 2 weeks now. Several...

I think my husband is planning to try something similar. We have a few more pressing things to build for the coop first since our girls will be feathered out enough for the great outdoors in a couple weeks. I'll ask if he's worked anything out in his head yet and post details if he does.

Quote: Thanks! I'm pretty proud of my husband considering we're total chicken newbies & he was just making it up as he went along. We call it The Peep Show

We had originally planned to brood inside but after reading about the mess and smell, my hubby threw together an outdoor brooder at the last minute using materials we had in the garage. We set it on our patio table on the back deck and pushed it up to the windows in the living room. You can't...

Will they get too cold if we bring them inside to cuddle? They wouldn't be under the heat lamp that way. I've brought them in a few times but it's always just a quick visit. My kids are little (4 and 2) and I'm paranoid that they're gonna squish the chicks. My 4 yr old daughter is pretty good...

Thanks everyone! They survived another night and still seem to happy girls. They're trying to fly now. A couple will back up to one of the brooder walls, getting a running start and jump and flap their wings. So cute! We have family coming from out of town so the girls will get to hang out...

We are totally new to chickens and just brought our girls home last Sunday. We have 4 black sex links that are 15 days old today. We have them in a brooder outside and I'm so worried about them being at a comfortable temperature. Our brooder is a plywood box with a flip-top lid that we only open...

Last Sunday, we loaded up the kids and took a little road trip to go pick up our chicks from a nearby farm. We brought home 4 Black Sex Links. I'm totally new to chickens so I was really nervous about bringing them home. It was a freezing day and I was so worried that they were going to be too...

We're in the process of converting a wooden playhouse to a coop right now. We're nowhere near done but I've been posting pictures as we go. Here's the link: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=446554&p=1

We haven't started predator-proofing yet. I know that the spaces in the cattle panel are too big by themselves. I asked DH about the crib slats and he thinks they're pretty strong. They seem to be a wood/plastic resin. We'll be lining the entire run with some level of welded wire. We have quite...

Today, DH sealed the roof and used an old crib to build the human access door to the run. It's spring loaded to stay closed. That way if one of the kids forgets to close the door, the chickens won't escape. So creative! My 2 year old son loves shutting himself in the run.

My dad has these disc things that he used in his dog houses during the winter. You heat them up in the microwave and they're supposed to stay warm all day. I bet those would work! Should I bring food or water in the carrier or is the trip short enough that they wouldn't need it? Is there...