Recent content by renardsubtil

  1. renardsubtil

    Show us your nest boxes! Ingenous design post it here!

    For a nesting box it was really nice because it made clean up a cinch and I have plentiful junk mail to shred BUT one day I started to notice my hens were eating the paper so I've since then stopped using it. I use sand now. I also added a tray in that main area under the roost stick that's...
  2. renardsubtil

    Heat control

    I'd like to see this actually. Could you snap a photo maybe with the chickens near the bottles at night? Or even just the bottles hanging during the day? I have a bottle I placed in the waterer and one that I randomly place in their run (two story coop with the run underneath) but at the end...
  3. renardsubtil

    Nipple Waterer Help

    I tried those and didn't like them. I tried the cups and will probably not try anything else. I still have the nipples on my waterer and sometimes I do catch the chickens using it, I guess it really depends on how curious/smart the chickens are.
  4. renardsubtil

    chicken ramp ending short of ground?

    Having the ramp not completely on the ground is fine, I have a similar setup. Chickens can/will jump and to make it onto that ramp. I suggest making a step though so that the ramp rests on the "step" and gives the chicken more incentive to use the ramp as sometimes they can get lazy and just...
  5. renardsubtil

    What's the ideal material to use for a roosting bar

    There's no science to the height but make sure it is at least higher than the nesting box or else they chickens will tend to migrate there instead of the roost - they may also go to the nesting box anyways but you can train them not to by just blocking it off temporarily. I've also read that...
  6. renardsubtil

    Post your FIRST EGG pics!

    That's a Kinder Special plastic toy egg next to our hen's first egg...
  7. renardsubtil

    Watering cups with or without brackets???????

    Without. I have a PVC pipe with a nice thick PVC end cap that I've screwed the cups into (with teflon tape around the threads and caulking around the cup to keep it water sealed).
  8. renardsubtil

    Using sand in run AND in coop?

    Sand for the run and coop would be really nice, coupled with a litter box scooper and you'll have a super time cleaning the droppings...depending on the size of the run, you're going to need a lot of sand, I mean a minimum of at least 2" but more is better as the chickens love to dig themselves...
  9. renardsubtil

    What's the ideal material to use for a roosting bar

    Start with a 2x4 with the widest side up and then try a dowel...you'll find out what the chickens like in the first week. I initially used a closet clothing hanging dowel but the chickens didn't like it, I "think" they found it too slippery - anyways, I changed to a fence board I had sitting...
  10. renardsubtil

    Show us your nest boxes! Ingenous design post it here!

    Just a typical side hanging nesting box...I've got shredded junk mail for the nesting box (I've since added a low "lip" to contain the paper in the box).
  11. renardsubtil

    new chickens run size

    Mine is maybe a little bit bigger and I have two 7 month old chickens. I let them out in the little caged run area during the day when no one is home and let the chickens free range whenever my wife or me are doing yard work. They seem to be happy with that arrangement since they've been...
  12. renardsubtil

    post your chicken coop pictures here!

    Wow! nice job, love the paint!
  13. renardsubtil

    Chicken run

    +2 they will uproot and eat almost anything green, especially grass. If you want the chickens to have grass in their run without replanting it for them constantly...you might want to search for designs whereby the grass is grown in a shallow planter box with a netting over it to help protect...
  14. renardsubtil

    Four chickens missing in three days!

    Hard to make a suggestion for what's attacking your flock unless you find out what it is that coming to take them. I suggest maybe a hunting game trail camera. Or for a few bucks less, a motion sensor alarm. The alarm is very easy to setup and you can set the sensitivity low so that you're...
  15. renardsubtil

    Roost too close to vents?

    If they're using it, then it's probably fine where it is. Mine kept using the nesting box until I moved the roost to a place where they liked it...but I don't think they moved because of the draft, I think it was their up bringing in a cage (previous owner) that had no roost to begin with. I...
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