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  1. MVchickens

    4x8 coop

    Here is my 4'x8' coop. Roof is 4' in front dropping down to 3' in rear. The interior Pics are from the back access door. Food and water on left, roosts and nesting boxes on right, and pop door straight ahead. The floor cut out for the water is 16" square. The nesting boxes are exterior so not...
  2. MVchickens

    PRO’s and CON’s of feeder/water in coop

    Food and water in the coop for me. As others have mentioned, moisture can be a problem when keeping water in the coop, but great ventilation and a place for the water to drain if spilled solves that problem. Since you are building new I highly recommend building a mesh floor under the waterer if...
  3. MVchickens

    How to Move a Giant Chicken Coop!

    I have moved my coop three times now... It is no fun! I was able to lift mine with a bobcat and flatbed trailer (4'x8' coop with 8'x12' attached run). I had to remove and replace fences to make it into/out of the last place, but that was the easiest route. If you cannot access with a machine, I...
  4. MVchickens

    Meat Ducks in Chicken Tractors?

    A local farm here raises Pekins in 8'x8' tractors with electro net. They seem to have been pretty successful with it as they have done it this way for a few years now. I would assume its not much different then chickens other than the fact the will not scratch their manure in. They will probably...
  5. MVchickens

    Non Flying Turkey does it exists?

    The midget white I had was a fantastic flyer and always the first out. She would soon be followed by the Royal Palms and White Holland.
  6. MVchickens

    Hardware cloth under run?

    I have 1/2" hardware cloth under my run as well. I just add regular topsoil and woodchips as needed, but I have not run into the issue of them reaching the bottom. How deep is the hardware cloth under the run? I used 2x12 lumber to frame the base and have about 8" of soil before the wire.
  7. MVchickens

    My turkeys are dumb

    The birds were growing rapidly between 12-24 weeks and were on high protein feed (22%). I would expect that once full grown and on a maintainer feed I wouldn't have to clip much. The birds have already made it to the freezer so now I don't have to worry about it!
  8. MVchickens

    Chickens Over Septic Field?

    If I had the space to avoid the area I would, but I would also not hesitate if it was the best location. A lot of people on smaller lots have no choice but to go over them. I have not personally heard of any septic issues in my area because of this. I doubt chickens could damage the system, but...
  9. MVchickens

    My turkeys are dumb

    I have to clip a wing of my Royal Palms (and other heritage breeds) about every three weeks. As much as I like the concept of heritage breeds and the birds themselves, I am planning on doing broad breasted next year to save on frustration. I only have a 1/3 of an acre lot so they are always...
  10. MVchickens

    Advice wanted! Electric netting and protection from threats from above!

    As others have mentioned, the electric netting will protect against the land bound predators, but it will be useless against ariel predators. It will be very tricky to rig any netting over the electro net as its not very sturdy. As the above commenter mentioned, best bet would be to provide...
  11. MVchickens

    2x2 construction or 2x4 construction??

    2x2 and 2x3 are perfectly adequate for coop construction. I built my main 4'x8' coop with 2x3 lumber 16" on center and its incredibly heavy and overly sturdy. I built my 4x8 tractor out of 2x2 (Ripped 2x4's) to keep the weight down and I am very happy with it. The only reason I would build with...
  12. MVchickens

    Moveable Coops, i.e. Tractors

    Electric poultry net surrounding the tractors. Gives the birds extra day space to range and protection from predators at night.
  13. MVchickens

    Racoon-proof chicken tractor plans needed

    Electro net is the way to go. You can buy short sections and solar chargers to make life easy. I have a 4x8 tractor and 50' length of poultry net plus. I can move the tractor 4 times before moving the fence, and moving the fence takes about 10min total. It is important to make sure you have a...
  14. MVchickens

    WARNING: "Poultry safe electric fence IS NOT SAFE FOR CHICKENS!!!"

    Had the chickens been trained to the electro net and supervised with it before? Plenty of people have great luck with it, but the birds need to learn that it is not to be touched first (This goes for any livestock and electro net). I am sorry for your loss.
  15. MVchickens

    Hen over breeding other hens?

    I have a flock of 8 mixed breed hens that are 4 going on 5 years old and have been together since day-olds. The Black Australorp in the last couple months has become the alpha of the flock after the passing of one of my buff's. All is stable in the coop, but she is "breeding" two of the hens to...
  16. MVchickens

    Will an electric fence keep the chicks IN?

    I have Poultry net plus 12/48/3 by 50' that I use to move some of my layers around the yard. I have not electrified it yet, because I am usually out there with them, but I would not worry about the shock. My two EE's regularly fly over the fence, but their wings are not clipped.
  17. MVchickens

    Will domestic turkeys leave with wild turkeys?

    Thanks for the input! I think Ill plan on playing it safe and moving them to the hoop house come late summer. For future reference would broad breasted birds be less likely to take off? I guess they wouldn't even be able to get past the deer fence in the first place.
  18. MVchickens

    Will domestic turkeys leave with wild turkeys?

    I know this question has been asked a lot, but I could not find any definitive answers in my search of threads. Will domestic turkeys walk off with the flocks of feral or "wild" turkeys that pass through? We often have flocks of 30+ turkeys of mixed heritage (some look wild, some have coloring...
  19. MVchickens

    Predator Proofing Rural Mass- trench vs. skirt/flare

    1/2" is easier to work with and cheaper. I have used it for my whole run (top, bottom and walls) and have had no mice. If you only plan on using it to skirt the run then mice can still climb in anyway. As far as skirting vs trenching I am no help!
  20. MVchickens

    Should we put Hardware cloth floor of RUN???

    I highly recommend hardware cloth on the floor of the run! I covered the floor (and the walls and roof) of my 8x12 run with 1/2" hardware cloth and it has been great! No predator concerns, no rats, no mice. It is no problem to clean out with a shovel as the wire is tight enough for it to glide...
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