We did manage to fit a poop tray in by adding a stud, it's about 12" off the ground and then the roost is around 6-8" above that, ramp directly to roost- this seems to work well so far. I will say, I've realized the advantage of the 3' height is easier cleaning without having to stoop. Still...
This little stinker, the one I was worried about not being able to navigate ramps, followed her flockmates all the way up the ramp, waited for them to go into the henhouse, and then flew to my lap because she knows she gets a treat if she goes in my lap and looks up at me.
My new coop is almost entirely made from salvage... We did have to buy a couple 2x4s, some plywood, some of the roofing panels, hardware and most of the hardware cloth. We salvaged framing lumber and siding from two neighbors fences, old cabinet doors for windows, got $5 cans of oops mis-mixed...
I'm so curious to see what happens. For now she seems completely uninterested in the dominance games... The ruler of the roost is definitively my feisty crazy (but so loveable) Polish who's also pretty small. I think my silkie is just too cool for all that :)
Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement. The flock spent their first night out last night at six weeks old and my little silkie did great (probably the biggest problem was the constant disturbance by her paranoid human caretakers). She even figured out how to climb the whole ramp to the...
Thanks everyone for the advice ..I made the ramp as long as possible and little Joni Mitshell figured it out and got to the top on day 2. I haven't even gotten a chance to put down the traction tape yet (but I suspect it'll make her climb down way easier, she's a little hesitant).
I would describe most of her noises as being "meep meep." They match her over the top ridiculous cartoon character personality (I try not to have favorites but I sure do love her lots already).
Ha, same! I caught my mother-in-law posting a recent photo of her to Facebook with the caption "apparently this is what she's supposed to look like" 😂 Sure she's a teenager but she is resplendent I think :)
@JustBabyMargo
I'm new to chickens so have no idea, but my Polish (6 weeks) is the most adorably thing ever same I can't imagine her being a "mellow" adult 😂
I figured since I had tons of scrap wood and vinyl I'd give the poop board (table) a shot, but I think I'm going to just take it the table and maybe lower the roost a bit.OP, I realized the lack of parallel studs not in corners is kinda a pain with the plans (hence the weird diagonal roost). I...
Thanks!
Also, unrelated, why did nobody warn me just how adorable it is when silkies get their little puffball tails and shake them? Joni has definitely learned if she jumps in my lap and does that she's guaranteed a treat 😂
How do you know when it's ok to move your silkies outside? My little flock is getting pretty rambunctious for their brooder (well, two of them at least while the others have no room to get out of the way of their crazy antics). They're off heat but indoors at a constant 62-66, lows will be in...
Yeah, you want to use the soffit space as the calculation. If you follow the Garden Coop plans, the rafters are 2x8s, so with 3 feet of opening by 8 inches that's 2.25" feet- minus the actual rafters, I'd figure about 2 feet. I'd definitely put in some windows up high backed by hardware cloth...
I'm sure you're right! I was planning to do pine shavings in the coop and pdz on the poop board, and have it removable for easy deep cleaning. I'll reconsider, thanks for the advice.
I'm in the process of building a coop from these plans (though I expanded it to make it an 8x10 run with an 8x4 henhouse) and I'm really regretting not having made the henhouse 4 feet tall...that still leaves two feet under, which seems reasonable to count as livable run space. I should...
I thought that was just a random quirk of my silly girl! Do yours do the full pancake, wings spread out? She's mostly grown out of the pancake (at 5 weeks now) but still does the ridiculous head hang or bury.
I will try this, thanks! The silkie has learned to jump in my lap for a treat...still not fond of being grabbed but she does struggle the least, and will calm down pretty quickly. The insanely energetic, clever Polish definitely knows to follow my hand, especially when I'm grabbing the others...
I'm new to chickens so don't have the experience to give feedback, but just wanted to comment on how adorable your plans are! Also, stoked to see another urban chicken-keeper here (I'm in Oakland, CA). I'm building an 8 x 10 coop for my four girls right now and it's taking up almost half of my...