Recent content by RRM

  1. RRM

    Texas

    Here NE of Houston it only got to 41 here yesterday morning and 44 this morning, with a breeze blowing that makes it feel a little cooler than that. We have 25 five week old Australorp chicks out in the transition pen inside the run, they were all fluffed up but we’re enjoying the cool temps...
  2. RRM

    Texas

    Will do, thank you!
  3. RRM

    Texas

    Hey all y’all! Been on this forum for a few months but never noticed this “TEXAS” thread till today. We live between Splendora and Cleveland, northeast of Houston.
  4. RRM

    Black chicken... Australorp?

    As others have said, yes it’s an Australorp. Our Australorp pullets typically start laying at 22-24 weeks. Based on the red color of her comb and wattles, she is close to laying.
  5. RRM

    Is it ok for my hens to be evicted from the brooder?

    We live in SE Texas, so cold usually isn’t an issue for us. Our latest batch of 25 Australorp chicks were hatched September 22 and we moved them from the brooder pen in the house out to the transition pen inside the big run at 23 days old. Had a few nights in the upper 50’s but they are fine...
  6. RRM

    Where to order chicks?: Hoover Hatchery Vs. Ideal Poultry?

    We have ordered sexed pullets twice from Hoover’s, and are very satisfied with the results. The first order of 25 Australorp chicks were hatched/shipped July 22. One chick from this batch was a very small runt that died at 5 days old but Hoover’s credited our account and applied the refund to...
  7. RRM

    Roost design

    For the roosts in our coop we ripped 2x4’s to 3” wide, chamfered the edges, sanded any rough spots with a belt sander, and installed three of them with the 3” side up. Our chickens seem to like them, but they haven’t had anything else to roost on besides those boards.
  8. RRM

    Coop bedding/litter - which is best?

    Not really sure what you mean by sand seeming so “unfriendly” and not cozy. Our chickens are only in the coop at night to sleep and immediately get up on the roost bars when they go in right before dark, then are back out in the run at daylight till we let them out to free range for the day...
  9. RRM

    Full crop

    Yes it’s normal. It’s possible you just hadn’t noticed it before.
  10. RRM

    Can I see photos of your roosts?

    We used 2x4’s ripped to 3” wide with chamfered edges. Here is a picture of ours.
  11. RRM

    oyster shell

    Pecking at half shells isn’t going to give them any calcium as they can’t eat the half shells. Oyster shell supplement is ground up in rather fine pieces so they can eat it.
  12. RRM

    Full crop

    Do you still have them in a brooder under a heat lamp or have the area continuously lit at night, or is it dark where they are all night long? If it’s dark they aren’t going to eat, but if it’s light enough for them to see they will move to the feeder and eat if/when they wake up at night. Also...
  13. RRM

    Help with ventilation

    Personally I would extend the gable ends to provide 16” of overhang, then cut the triangle out of each gable end and cover with HC for more ventilation. Reference our coop page and you’ll see what I’m talking about as that’s what I did with our coop.
  14. RRM

    Pullets moving from Starter-Grower to Grower Feed

    At our place, chicks start out with rectangular Rubbermaid containers fitted with six modified 2” PVC elbows as their feeder. At about 8 weeks old we switch them over to 5 gallon buckets with four modified 3” PVC elbows in each bucket. There may be some waste with our homemade feeders, but if...
  15. RRM

    Show Off Your Coops!

    Here is ours https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/nana-papa%E2%80%99s-chicken-barn.75841/
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