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I am torn on a name. We live not too far from the original Chicken Ranch, so I have referred to the backyard as The Chicken Ranch for a couple of years. That would be a fine name to use for the new coop I think. But I would not be able to resist hanging "Good lays, all day" sign like I have...

Finished! Everybody is sleeping in the new digs tonight. My first try at sheet metal roofing Looks pretty good I think. These dog houses were my original try at a small coop. I got the idea from Mother Earth News and modified them to suit our yard. Now the big birds still like to lay...

I decided on a sheet metal roof and I got the roof framed up and installed about 2 minutes before it started to rain! A couple of my birds wandered in as I was finishing up, so they are out there exploring the new digs. I'll wait to get a few new pictures after the rain. But I am hoping it...

Thanks guys. My 6 year old daughter helped me build the gate for the coop today and we finished installing the siding and wire on the side walls. Still trying to decide what type of roof I am going to put on, so I'll probably go with a tarp or shade cloth for a while. It won't keep the rain...

Howdy. I live in Austin. The rules in Austin include a 50' distance from your coop to your neighbor's houses (not the property line) and there is a specific rule about animals that make loud, long noises that offend the neighbors - evidently aimed at roos. Then there are the usual codes...

A neighbor had to tear down a brand new, poorly constructed two story deck. The new carpenter wanted nothing to do with any of the mess that the last guy left behind, including the framing materials. Everything that was destined for the scrap pile ended up in my yard and I have started...

I take my 3 hens to our elementary and pre-schools regularly. I used to work at the pre-school and I would take the birds with me about once a week to show to classes and to let them scratch around in a fenced area near the playground. I have always had a great response and only once has a...

Glad to know I am in good company. With only 3 hens, the eggs don't add up too quickly, but we still get more than we use. I give our extra eggs away. If we have more than 4 on hand then I'll give the extras to anyone who asks. Neighbors, friends at church, the wife hauls some to work. But...

There is an Austin specific Poultry email list that might help you out, http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/austexpoultry/ . Maybe someone on that list has specific info about Milwood. I live just a couple of miles from you, at 183 and Oak Knoll, but I am in a neighborhood that never tried to...

4 for 3 today! Our Buff Cochin laid once between 6:30 and 7 this morning. Then again at about 4pm I saw her in the nest box, pulling double duty. This is the second time one of our hens has laid twice in a day.

I was about $250 into my hens when I got my first egg. And that $250 egg sure was TASTY! I kept count of eggs and total costs, with a spreadsheet for about 6 months. I quit counting when I realized I was never going to get my per egg cost to drop below about $.75-$1.00 per egg. They are...

Thanks to all. This double yolk egg came at a great time. Now the kids have a renewed interest in the chickens.

Roadrunner, our 5 1/2 month old EE laid an extra large egg a couple of days ago. After thinking about it for a while I started thinking that maybe we had our first two yolk egg. Sure enough, we cracked the egg for breakfast this morning and there was the double yolk staring back at us. The...

Got 1/3 (from our new laying EE yesterday), but 3/3 today including a second egg from our new laying Buff Cochin.

Sorry for the confusion. Early here, too. The neighbor stopped by a day or so after we left, so the oldest bird had laid twice in that time. The Cochin is a standard sized bird, but her first egg was way smaller than the other eggs in the coop, which led to his concern. For the record we...

Yesterday 3/3!

The last of our hens is now laying. The hold out was my 5 year old daughter's pet, a Buff Cochin named Gold Diamond. This weekend a couple of neighbor kids, with dad's help, were feeding our pets while we made the rounds of family Christmas parties. They called me Sunday morning wondering...

Quote: Once we realized that Roadrunner was an EE, I was worried theat she might lay brown eggs and the 8 year old would be dissapointed. It worked out well for him. And Roadrunner and our Buff Cochin pullet were July 15 hatches. So hopefully the other July chicks will get going soon.

MY mutt hen that has turned into my very best layer did it when she first started laying. Her first egg in the morning and another late in the afternoon. And she did not lay another until two days later. Since then, she gives at least 5-6 eggs a week. A few times she has laid for 12 days in...

Just got over a "bad case of the molts". Started right before Thanksgiving, so we had to buy eggs for all the baking for a family reunion. I had to tell people that all of our stuff was not baked with our own eggs. We are just now getting eggs again but only enough for the family. No...