Recent content by Utard

It went great and better than I thought it would. I had the two big boxes with holes in them. I put a little pine shavings in them. I really think they would have been fine stuffed in one box? The hard part was catching them. Back then I didn't know about getting them in the dark so i spent...

Easiest way to catch and move a chicken is at night when they are roosting. Just walk up with a very dim light and just grab them with your hands over the wings with the head away from you if you can. They may make some noise but just hold firmly. Then just take them to where you want them and...

Yeah I wish I could put some chicken wire around them but she is on a tarp on some hay behind some chairs. Just a dandy spot she found.

So I have kind of a weird situation. I have a hen that laid and got broody in a part of the barn I did not want it to happen. So today the chicks are hatching. It is kind of up high about 5 feet. I am concerned the cats will get the chicks if they jump down without the hen. So my question...

It is a free book on google you can download. http://books.google.com/books/about/Open_air_Poultry_Houses_for_All_Climates.html?id=o08PAAAAYAAJ

Ok sounds good I will be doing this so I know what are the oldest ones to be able to cull them as they get older. What size do you use? Small, Medium or large?

And here the other day I thought I came up with a novel idea to leg bands? NOT! LOL Ok so was thinking this same thing. But my concern is after you put one on and clip it on has anyone had one get tighter all by itself? I was thinking to sand off some of the ribs that hold it on close the the...

Well she is still alive. She has been very slowly improving. She still can't perch with the others. I will just let it ride and see how it goes? On a side note one of the other hens went missing Monday afternoon. I looked and looked all over. But never found an sign. I figured a hawk flew off...

So is there anything else that resembles egg bound? I tried to feel for an egg but didn't feel one. How far would your finger go? What ever her problem is it has been going on for over a week. First sign was a funny walk. Kind of a waddle. I noticed this start over a week ago. Now her legs...

Can anything be done for an egg bound hen?

Could that be hard on their beaks if they peck the cement? If you are thinking of cement to make it easier to clean you really don't need to sanitize the coop. I think some people go a little overboard sometimes. If you have lots of trees around then set the coop on the ground with a dirt...

LOL Heck no I got a framing nailer just for this job. Plus I will have a lot of uses at the new farm for it also. Goat and sheep pens and corrals and whatnot. Hum.....I was under the impression an 8 x 12 size would be good for 40-50 hens? Plus the reason for that size was just the simplicity...

I am just going to make it 12'x8'. It will be 41 2x4's for the bottom deck. I will just get from Home Depot or wherever is cheapest. I wish I had a mill that would be fun.

No I am a proven over builder :) I will use 2x8 joists and then lay 2x4's flat as a decking and lots of 3 1/4 galvanized nails. That should make for one heck of a sturdy floor. I guess the only thing I am really thinking of doing different is instead of asphalt shingles to use metal...

Compost=decay=rot Not a good thing to have in your living enviroment