I would paint inside if it were me. Clearly you put a lot of effort into your coop, so painting with antifungal Killz (there's at least one other brand but I can't remember it) would help preserve it.
That picture is one I cropped but it looks like you were talking about the soffit ventilation...
Sorry I was slow to edit the image in my last post but it's there now.
I don't think I would be able to spot the stuff in a pic if we didn't deal with it so often irl. Not healthy for the birds delicate lungs but if you address it before it gets worse it shouldn't be at a level yet to cause...
One sure way to lower humidity in the coop below the exterior percentage, is horse pine pellets as bedding.
They are super dry and help the whole coop climate. In FL we get rain so often my coops would mold without them.
@ChickenShepherd_6116 I actually see some mold on the particle board in...
The flaw I see is the idea you will keep all of them, if I read that right.
I myself have a multi-year breeding project (still underway), and I've rehomed many more than I kept, yet I still have too many.
Sometimes birds come along that we bond with and they get a forever ticket. But necessity...
Yeah it looks like he's growing a whole fresh new tail in judging by the shorter feathers below. It might be his last juvenile molt, or not...
Rooster before this one, well he matured rather quickly and looked full grown. He was breeding, had fathered 2 batches of chicks by 5 months old. So I...
One thing I would definitely do with any inherited coop is paint inside and out, thoroughly.
That helps with any lingering pests or pathogens. Mites tend to hide in the woodwork, emerging to bite birds at night, and they can stay dormant a long time.
I would also address the floor. If it's just...
Couple years ago, we drove to Louisiana from Central FL. 12 hours there and 12 back.
To buy a rooster.
Was he the most amazing rare breed? Nope.
He had a lot of purple sheen in his feathers and I wanted to try to replicate that.
Before the trip I had an attack of logic that convinced me to back...
If "them" is one, then yes. Hehe. Have you ever noticed some roos have really great night vision? It's not all of them, to be sure. And I've never met a hen who could fly around in the dark. But I turned my flashlight off before I got all the way to the coop.
Anyway your prior point stands...
I'm curious about the coordination you witnessed. What was their methodology?
Having lost a large pullet once to rat(s) a few years back in a supposedly secure coop. I always wondered how the creeps approach chickens in a way that doesn't startle them, or do they simply overwhelm them. But I...
Truly interesting!
Would it be possible you might have links or do you recall the specific wording about each shell aspect?
For instance, how do they describe the perfect shape? How did they decide what was best?
Personally, I have a hen who adds deposits, some amusing like a squiggly drop of...
I wonder which breed(s) they used for those sorts of traits?
In all my time on BYC, I have never read of positive shell quality being genetic (unless regarding a defective producer).
Interesting.
Okay I see I never updated this thread, oops.
That attempt failed due to health of the chicks (genetic). They started showing the same symptoms as the WFBS father, despite my other breeds remaining healthy.
However, I started again with new stock.
@NatJ I don't know which thread we were...
It's those rocks that chickens hate. The advertising is SO deceptive, it really should come to a class action lawsuit.
It might not sound that serious, but actually how many chicken keepers have wasted money on that stuff that reads "Oyster Shell" only to watch it tread into the ground and...
Umm, I think it's reasonable if the nests get dirty or if there's still a mite problem.
Personally I wouldn't throw those next pads away so quickly due to the expense, but if it's fine by you that's what matters!
If you wanted the changes to be on a schedule just so the sitter isn't trying to...
See my rough drawing on your picture in my post before last. It's not exact, as you can leave some at the sides for structural support and make decisions looking at the actual surface in real life.
I'll repost it...
I noticed in your most recent post with pictures that the one showing that...
The nesting pads are easiest to use, so a good option for a pet sitter. Being quick to change raises the chance they will actually get changed. Lol
If I were going away my chief obsession would be making sure they have redundant water sources. Maybe backups for the backups.
Can you return it? It's too small.
Just some HW cloth over a sizeable ventilation cutout does just fine.
The goal is to have enough ventilation up high that ammonia never builds up to a level that would harm materials, OR bird lungs. The airways of chickens are very delicate. If we can smell...