I used corrugated plastic patio roof panels, cheapest ones were clear. I could install them myself. I held them in place with long strips of 1x2’s across near the top and bottom of the panels, screwed into the run frame. Blocked wind, rain, and snow , but let in the sunshine. The panels left...
I used sand in my run, and in winter I would put a flake of straw in. The chooks had a ball tearing it apart and spread it all over the sand, they didn’t have to. Walk on cold damp sand. It was easy to rake out in spring. I used chips in the coop, and stall sweet under the roosts. Easy to clean...
There is someone whose screen name is Nautica's Naughty Nestery on facebook. She posts on the Facebook group Toledo Area Backyard Chickens as well as having the Nestery page.
No! I still need to winterize the coop. But I’m secretly wishing I could give my chickens away as it’s hard to find time to keep up with all that needs to be done.
Happy to say that we managed to cure a hen of pasty butt! I learned from this site to alternate probiotics and vinegar with the mother in their water, soak their butts in a pan with epsom salts in the water. Use rubber gloves and wash the soiled feathers and around the vent. After the 'bath' I...
In winter, I put up corrugated clear plastic patio roof panels wherever the hardware cloth is on their coop/run. It keeps rain and snow and wind out. The panels stop short of the top of the hardware cloth, which is protected by the roof overhang, so there is plenty of ventilation. Works a charm.
I use wood shavings on the coop floor and straw in the nesting boxes and pdz on the poop board under the roost. Works for me and I only have to clean the coop once a year in the spring...when it finally warms up, if it over does! I do not use a heat lamp, but I do use plastic patio roof panels...
Anyone know much about cloudy eggs? One hen is finally laying again, but her eggs have about half of the whites clear and half cloudy. Is it because they might be partially frozen, are they still good to eat?
To be honest, most chickens don't need heat, but my first year I did use a heat lamp and my rooster got a touch of frostbite on his comb. I have not used extra heat since then, but I figure that the heated waterer probably helps keep the inside of the coop a bit more temperate than outside. I...
We have 5 girls and 1 evil and mean roo. Plenty enough for me, I'm not fond of having to get up extra early so I have time to let them out and feed them before work. And now they have stopped laying because of a hard molt this year. Our neighbors have 8 chickens and are giving away eggs right...