A very fine article, Thanks. We live in a clearing surrounded by woods and had our coop inside a well built and covered run. When our first hen died, we buried her out in the woods, perhaps 2 feet down, only to find that she had been dug up and taken away a few days later. We have several...
I have always had construction grade sand lining the floor of my 10’ x 14’ run and use a long handled metal kitty litter scoop and a small galvanized pail to scoop up the chicken poop from the run floor. Now, I only have 4 hens so it doesn’t take long - maybe 10 minutes or so. I keep the girls...
I give my Black Australorp hens (no roosters) rhyming names. The first three were Polly, Molly and Dolly. Then Polly broke her neck flying into a post, so I got two more pullets and named them Daisy and Maisie. Then my sweet Dolly died and the two most recent girls are Betty and Letty - short...
I have only had Black Australorps. I have a small flock (5 at most) and have to keep them in a covered 10’ X 14’ run to protect them from predators. When I lose 2 or 3 from various reasons (never predators) I find it easier to integrate pullets of same breed. Minimum issues with bullying- it is...
I have lost 2 of my 5 hens - the first one broke her own neck (flying into a chicken pen post!) and we buried her out in the woods that surround our house, but eventually something dug her up and carried off the carcass - guess we didn't dig deep enough. When my sweet Dolly died (believe she...
I got my first 3 pullets in April 2017 and named them Polly, Molly and Dolly - wonderful Black Australorps that were very forgiving while I was learning the ropes. We called their eggs Olly eggs :-) Polly broke her own neck flying into one of the posts that made up their run, so in Summer...
I started with 3 Black Australorp pullets almost 3 years ago because of their egg laying chops and I have not been disappointed! One died (she broke her own neck!) and I got two more pullets this past summer and they have kept us in eggs through the winter. The two older ladies are taking...
I haven’t read all of the posts, but I have a a small flock (4 Australorp hens) and invested in the medium OverEZ prefab coop that I bought through TSC. They are pricey but you can watch for periodic sales and they often throw in $40 shipping fee. Please check them out on-line as I believe they...
After keeping my three hens in a small on-line coop which we had set up w/in a 10’x14’ pen, I decided to add 2 more pullets after one of my original girls flew into a pen post and broke her neck 😢. Before the new pullets arrived I bought the medium OverEZ from TSC when I found it on sale and the...
I got the medium OverEZ from TSC for my 4 Australorps and love it. I waited for it to go on sale and was able to assemble with husband (inside of roofed 10’ x 14’ x6’ tall hardware clothed run) within a couple of hours. Added the PulletShut automatic door and our chicken raising is incredibly...
We covered one half of our run with plastic panels and the other half with hardware cloth but then ended up covering that with tarps. Will finish covering that half with the panels soon. We have too many hawks in our woods and found that covering the run made for dryer conditions and happier hens!
My small flock started out in an inexpensive online coop/run which my husband and I had to put in a lot of work to secure against predators. Within 6 months we spent money (2K) to have a sturdy 10' X 14' X 6' tall run built that contained the coop. I wanted to expand the flock and bought the...
I use sand in my 10' X 14' run. Each morning I use a long handled kitty litter scoop that I got on Amazon and a small galvanized bucket from TSC to clean up the run and coop. Takes about a total of 5 minutes (I have 3 hens) and I have never had smell nor fly issues. The bucket contents go right...
We have only 3 Australorps and live in a wooded area with all the predators - Hawks, foxes, raccoons, etc. so a run was a necessity. In addition to the roosts, stumps and covered run, we put all purpose sand on the floor - makes for easy clean up with a long handled kitty litter scoop. The run...
I have only have three hens and want to keep them safe from all predators. They have a comfortable but small coop (3' X 4') with an automated door and a 10' X 14' run covered run protected by hardware cloth on all sides and a 18" apron around the base. The pen has several roosts and stumps and...