Recent content by pyaresquared

  1. pyaresquared

    Official BYC Poll: How Do You Protect Your Chickens From Predators?

    Our regular visitors include raccoons, foxes, coyotes, great horned owls, and hawks. There is also a few feral cats. All windows and doors on the coop have security mesh. The coop has a small attached steel-mesh covered run with a steel gate on a photocell. Both coop and run are bolted to a...
  2. pyaresquared

    Official BYC Poll: How Is Your Run Covered?

  3. pyaresquared

    How to Keep Chickens Cool in Upcoming Heat Wave?

  4. pyaresquared

    What shape of roosts do you use in your chicken coop?

    I use a limb that is about 3” in diameter. It’s from an orange tree so the bark is smooth. It got even smoother after a few months of use. I wrapped part of it with neoprene (wetsuit material) so they could grab hold. They definitely prefer the neoprene part over the unwrapped part. There is...
  5. pyaresquared

    What treats do you give your chickens?

    Blueberries, watermelon, lettuce, pomegranates (from our bushes--no one else likes them), canned corn (salt free), clabbered milk, bugs, worms, cheese.
  6. pyaresquared

    Comment by 'pyaresquared' in article 'Daily to weekly chicken maintenance.'

    Our coop has a floor area of about 4’ x 4’ and is about 5’ tall. The floor is about 30” off the ground, so the hens have access to the always dry and dusty area under it. A small varmint-proof run that is 4’ x 6’ is attached to one side of the coop, and unless it is really cold, the door between...
  7. pyaresquared

    Is it ok if my chicken crop is empty?

    I just looked on Amazon.ca for “chicken layer mix” and found some feed. It’s pricey, though.
  8. pyaresquared

    Where to find buyers

    There are always pullets and chicks for sale on Craigslist in Phoenix. That’s where I first look when I’m buying, and that’s where I’d post a for-sale listing. Include pictures.
  9. pyaresquared

    Can a dog and chickens safely coexist in a small backyard?

    We have two dogs and four chickens. They share our backyard quite peacefully. One of the dogs (a mutt) chases the pigeons and doves that come to eat chicken feed, but he leaves the chickens alone. The other, a beagle, is very lazy and has no interest in either the birds or the chickens. We...
  10. pyaresquared

    Experienced chicken people!

    I have four hens in Tempe. I have a small, (4x4x4’) elevated coop with 3 attached nest boxes for sleeping and nesting with an attached 4x6x6’ metal varmint proof cage with dirt floor for safe confinement. It has a 12” deep concrete footing to discourage digging varmints. The coop and cage are...
  11. pyaresquared

    Comment by 'pyaresquared' in article 'Chickens & Winter Egg Laying and Lighting'

    I have a low-intensity (12 volt) red light that stays on for about 2 hours after chicken bedtime. They easily sleep with it on and it seems to soothe them. I don’t use it to boost production.
  12. pyaresquared

    Official BYC Poll: How do you keep your flock warm in the winter?

    We’re in Central AZ, so sub-freezing temps are unusual. Nevertheless, our hens are acclimated to 100°-plus summer days, so when it’s below 50°, I close all the vents and doors to the coop at night and add extra bedding. There’s still plenty of ventilation; none of the vents or doors have...
  13. pyaresquared

    Beware Of Tunneling Skunks!!! (Graphic Pictures)

    I put my coop on a 12” deep concrete footing to prevent this. It also allowed me to anchor the coop, which has very wide overhangs, against our sometimes strong winds. I built my daughters coop on 6x6 sleepers, without a footing, but I stretched galvanized hardware cloth across the bottom of...
  14. pyaresquared

    Should i make my chickens go in their coop at night now that is getting colder?

    The coop has 5 screened vents, a double door (“French door”) for cleaning, and an entrance door for the hens. The entrance door leads to a varmint-proof cage equipped with misters, which in turn opens to their fenced pen (which is not varmint proof). One of the screened vents in the coop has a...
  15. pyaresquared

    Should i make my chickens go in their coop at night now that is getting colder?

    We have an enclosed coop in central AZ. The hens only go in at night. We button it up completely when it gets below about 50° F. It’s about 4x4x4’ and we have 4 hens. Even though the coop is by no means airtight, the temperature stays a few degrees warmer than outdoors just from the body heat of...
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