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  1. coopdeville15

    Infestation - mice / pack rats

    I too have had a dirt floor coop for about 5 years, but didn't have a problem until about 4 months ago. Got a couple with rat traps placed where the chickens couldn't get to them. But the rats got wise. I flooded their tunnels with a hose then shot them with .22 bird shot as they scrambled out...
  2. coopdeville15

    Why am I getting fragile eggs?

    My birds are eating well and have plenty of water available. I bought some "Feather Fixer" 18% protein and mixed it in with my usual 16% 50:50 and added some Manna Pro Omega Egg Builder vitamin mix with the above feeds. I don't feel that my birds are sick in anyway or not eating well.
  3. coopdeville15

    Why am I getting fragile eggs?

    Actually, I think some of the fragile eggs are from some of the younger hens (second season layers) , many of them are the largest eggs.
  4. coopdeville15

    Why am I getting fragile eggs?

    I feed Natures Best or Dumor Organic layer pellets. I've always had crushed oyster shell available as free choice. The egg shells became fragile before the heat of summer. Not all of the eggs have fragile shell, I have several varieties of chicken breeds. What sort of vitamins/electrolytes do...
  5. coopdeville15

    Why am I getting fragile eggs?

    When I first started with chickens a few years ago, all the eggs were very hard shelled. Almost never had a broken egg. Now I'm losing eggs to breakage like crazy and several are thin shelled. I have always had free choice oyster crushed shell and feed a good quality organic layer pellet feed...
  6. coopdeville15

    How many nesting boxes for 20 hens?

    When I built my coop a few years ago, I built it with four nesting boxes and started out with 8 hens. Of course the laying hens only wanted to use one or on occasion, two of the available boxes. I never had a problem with eggs laid outside of the nesting boxes or in the run. I now have 20 hens...
  7. coopdeville15

    What are these and are they bad in a coop

    Looks like chicken food to me! But your litter should be dryer. Add more litter. Actually the whole idea behind deep liter is to have a healthy biomass of decomposing litter with creepy crawlies living in it for the chickens to eat and help decompose things and mitigate odors. It should not be...
  8. coopdeville15

    Racoons

    We have outdoor cats, so the foot trap is out for my use. And another reason not to use poisons.
  9. coopdeville15

    Colossal Egg

    Had one once like that. Not too common but not so rare either.
  10. coopdeville15

    Racoons

    I agree with "hunting", in my case trapping and shooting, so not really hunting in a sporting sense. I am also against poisoning for the same reasons you cite, but I don't believe in relocation, to me it is just passing on your problems to someone else and may be illegal in some instances.
  11. coopdeville15

    Coop Cleaning

    What is this "coop cleaning" you speak of? I use the deep litter method. At most I help turn the litter with a hoe every once in a while, when adding additional litter material. I remove most of the litter, but not all, once or twice a year and add it to the compost pile.
  12. coopdeville15

    Racoons

    My coop stays open 24/7 these days since I have had it surrounded with electric netting fencing. I have live trapped numerous possums and coons and dispatch them with a .22, so there are plenty of predators in the area, but none have ventured past the electric netting so far.
  13. coopdeville15

    Free Ranging?

    The other problem with free ranging is them getting into places you don't want them, eating garden or ornamental plants, pooping every where, dust bathing in flower or garden beds, etc. Particularly around the patio, courtyards and the pool.
  14. coopdeville15

    Pullet or roo?

    Looks like it could be a roo, hard to tell without seeing it's age mates. It will stand a little taller with a longer neck, have a bit flashier feathers, longer feathers on it's neck and tail feathers.. Did it develop a comb and wattles before it's age mates? My first roo did that, it is a...
  15. coopdeville15

    Free Ranging?

    I free ranged when home until I lost one to a predator. At that time I only had 7 hens. I now have twenty with a young rooster. Currently they stay within 200 feet of electric netting. When my roo gets a little older, I may try free ranging again.
  16. coopdeville15

    Our new coop and run

    Looks great!
  17. coopdeville15

    PVC Pipe for roosts?

    I would think that it would be rather slippery and hard to get a grip. Have you had a problem with mites or lice associated with the roosts? What about painting the roosts poles to seal them but still have enough texture to hang on to?
  18. coopdeville15

    corrugated metal or plastic for coop/run roof?

    Not shown in the above pics, taken just after construction, is the deep litter method used inside the coop. That grass inside on the dirt "floor" was gone in a matter of days upon introducing my chicks to their new home. Also not shown is the 200 ft of electric netting that now fences in the...
  19. coopdeville15

    corrugated metal or plastic for coop/run roof?

    I live in southern Louisiana where I have to worry more with heat than with cold. I used polycarbonate roofing in a "Solar Gray" tint. I was worried that it might get too hot, but there is a vented ridge line and my overall design is very airy, probably too open for northern climes. My coop is...
  20. coopdeville15

    Comment by 'coopdeville15' in article 'Keeping a Rooster (A Personal Journey)'

    This spring when we bought 16 chicks, we thought they would all be pullets, but one has turned out to be a roo. This will be my first rooster. He crowed for the first time today, at least as far as I know, and has started mounting the young hens his age. My older hens do not seem interested in...
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