Maybe to house a broody chicken. One of mine was broody for weeks despite the fact that I took her out twice a day and closed the run in the afternoons and weekends so that she couldn't get to the nesting box. Then I read here on BYC to put her in a coop with a wire bottom part. I happened to...
Be careful when you choose anything made of 'fir wood". Most of them are very flimsy IMO. I bought one and doubt it will last longer than a year. And it is by no means predator proof. They look really cute in the pictures though.
Yes, you'll need some sort of cover over the top. My RIR is a good flyer. Can fly into the 6 foot fence with ease. But she is only about 24 weeks. Don't know how they are when they are older. Buff orpington's probably wouldn't be able to.
If you search "chicken coop plans" here on the BYC you'll find some coop plans I think your dad could build in not too much time. From what I have seen searching the web for reasonably priced coops, it's way better to build one.
I'm sorry but have to agree with Jessica. I have the exact same one as the one in the first picture. It is pretty much falling apart and I only got it in May of this year. The wood is extremely flimsy and the whole coop part has ventilation openings where the wood pieces are pulling away from...
HAPPY ENDING UPDATE. I'm happy to report that Daisy made a full recovery and started laying tiny eggs a few weeks ago. And went broody this week. She remains the the most loving towards people and a real menace among her "peers". Thank you so much to everyones who offered advice and kind...
Ahhhhh, the voice of reason!! Thanks for posting!
Very interesting links. Feel ready to give it another try...... Oh okay not quite yet. But also not ready to admit I failed. Just need to get rid of these darn flies! Did put down a nice dusting of DE and a big heap of shavings tonight. In...
Leghorns tend too be flighty. Mine isn't. She only flew up on the fence once when she got spooked by something. My Barred rock is the worst. She fly over the 6 foot fence to visit the neighbor! I don't think Buff Orpington's can fly over a 3 foot fence.
Would it be a completely crazy idea to include the smaller tree/shrub in your coop plans. Including the little walled part? Something like
the picture below.
Yes, I'm considering going back to bare dirt. I'll see how it looks by the weekend after the interventions.
The reason I started this was the article I read here "composting with chickens' made me think it was a wonderful idea. I thought I'd give it a try on a much smaller scale. I knew I...
Walking on sunshine- thank you for taking a look at the pictures. I also don't understand what the problem is. It's only been the last few weeks. It's the fly bags that stink. You know the one's with the stinky stuff in. It works to catch the flies but really stinks. Because I put a lot up it...
I'm going to try clumping bamboo in the moist area. I'll fence it off till its bigger and stronger than them and then they can hang out there. Must be impossible to kill bamboo right...? Also thought of agapanthus. Would still need to look up the safeness of it though.
I was going to try...
Funny that you would say RIR's are aggressive. My BO is the mean one followed by the leghorn. The RIR would always move away from trouble and tend to prefer to be on her own. My BR is sweet as can be and seem to attract trouble. Often the BO would walk closer and closer to the BR and than...
Thank you so much for everybody who offered some advise and for those who actually been doing it this or a similar way for sharing your ideas. ChickensRDinos, in hindsight, I should have investigated what the results was before I jumped on this fly ridden wagon. Sounds to me when people put...
I'n not crazy. I read an article here on BYC "composting with chickens" that suggested throwing all your compostables right into the "chicken yard", which I presume would be the same as a run as it talks about if you don't have enough space to do a compost heap seperately to do it right where...
Sorry for all the questions. I have wood chips/bark in my garden. When I let the chickens out in the late afternoon, they go straight for the bark and scratch in that area. Is that bad for their feet, causing bumblefeet or splinters? It's pretty large pieces. It is douglas fir and is...
I use pine shavings in the coop and just scoop the poop out every morning. 4 Chickens. No flies, no smell, no problem. BUT, the run is a different story. It used to be just dirt but because there was some flies where I put the greens, fruit and veg, I decided to try what I have read. Kind of...
I have an area about 4 foot in the run that gets muddy due to sprinkler system. It's pretty muddy early in the day and then dry to about just damp. As I have dirt in the run I was wondering what kind of plant I could plant there. Obviously something that likes moisture and are non toxic to...