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  1. chad76

    Chad76s Chicken Coop

    About me: I'm an accountant for a telecommunications company. My wife was laid off a while back (at a full 9 months pregnant) and we decided that it would be best for her to stay home with our girls anyway. That was something we had talked about before. I guess we just needed someone to push us...
  2. chad76

    FLIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I'm cleaning the coop out tomorrow, so I'll go extra heavy on the DE this time. Not quite 1/2"... maybe 1/4", but the one I saw today was a little longer than a 1/4". Honestly, I didn't sit there and dig through the poop very long, but they were pretty easy to spot. And yes, they're really...
  3. chad76

    FLIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    The larvae were about 1/2" long (maybe a little shorter) and a pale color. They were about as big around as a piece of UNCOOKED spaghetti... I couldn't think of anything else off the top of my head and I'm hungry right now (even with all the poo talk). Does that sound like fly larvae or from...
  4. chad76

    FLIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I have a small 3 foot by 4 foot coop. The fly problem started small... 5 or 6 flies in the coop at a time. Now they are EVERYWHERE! In the coop, in the run, all over the place. There are little gnats (I guess they're gnats, they're not exactly like the ones you sometimes see indoors)...
  5. chad76

    RIR hens - how old do you think they are?

    The more photos I see, the more I think they are a bit younger than I originally thought. I guess the comb size can vary... but just looking at the combs and overall size/shape, they look like they may be closer to 4 months now which would make them roughly 3 months when I bought them. And if...
  6. chad76

    RIR hens - how old do you think they are?

    I know this forum is for Breed/Gender... but it seemed the most appropriate place to ask this. I was told these 2 RIR hens were a little more than 4 months old (that would be roughly 18wks) when I bought them... and that the Barred Rock was closer to 5 months and might be laying already. But...
  7. chad76

    All 3 hens sleeping in the nest box - UPDATE with new problem (pg 2)

    UPDATE - NEW PROBLEM Well... I finally fixed my first problem. I ended up removing the nest box completely (since none of them are laying yet anyway). I added a ladder up to the back roost (that the nest was attached to), moved the front roost up about 18", and added a ladder to connect the...
  8. chad76

    HELP! HOW DO I GET THE GIRLS IN AT NIGHT?

    Quote: Light makes a difference. It took me almost an hour to get mine in their coop the first night (my run is too short for me to walk in to catch them and put them in the coop). What finally worked was shining a flashlight into the coop. They hadn't even set foot in it before and one...
  9. chad76

    All 3 hens sleeping in the nest box - UPDATE with new problem (pg 2)

    Well... I got off work too late today and when I got home, they were all in the coop already... and it was still good daylight! Two were in the nest and one on the front roost. My daughter and I coaxed that one out, but the other two wouldn't budge. That was a little disappointing since I'm...
  10. chad76

    All 3 hens sleeping in the nest box - UPDATE with new problem (pg 2)

    Actually, I think I just figured out what I'm going to do. Remove the lower roost. Then attach a ramp from the middle of the back roost/nest down to the floor. Then attach a small ramp from the far left of that same roost (on the opposite side of the nest) going UP to a new higher roost...
  11. chad76

    All 3 hens sleeping in the nest box - UPDATE with new problem (pg 2)

    Lots of great ideas! Wynette, A slanted top cardboard box in the nest will definitely keep them out of it at night... but will it make it more difficult for them to learn to go there when they're ready to lay? Kim, I think that sounds like the easiest thing to do... adding a roost or two up...
  12. chad76

    All 3 hens sleeping in the nest box - UPDATE with new problem (pg 2)

    I missed that last thing you said, Pat. Worse case, I could just put the nest under the existing window (move the feeders) and just have to open the big door to look for eggs. That wouldn't cost me anything or take much time to do. I'm wondering though... if I can figure out a way to run a...
  13. chad76

    All 3 hens sleeping in the nest box - UPDATE with new problem (pg 2)

    Thanks for the replies! I wish I had known that... I guess I missed that detail when I was planning my coop. The main problem is... there is an opening behind the nest so I can reach through from the outside to retrieve the eggs (it's the window on the right in this photo). So, this is going...
  14. chad76

    All 3 hens sleeping in the nest box - UPDATE with new problem (pg 2)

    I've had my 3 hens for all of 10 days (they're between 4 and 5 months old). For the first week, I think they all slept on the lower perch, which is closer to the window. There were times when one would venture to the far perch that the nest is attached to. And the first night, one of them...
  15. chad76

    Not really sure where this goes...

    I'm still pretty new to chickens, but I've heard the difference between Dominickers (my dad has 4 of them), a barred rock, and 2 Rhode Island Reds. The Doms and Barred Rock are all really quiet. The RIRs are noticeably noisier... but still, they're not terribly loud. I have a 6' foot privacy...
  16. chad76

    Finally finished my small coop (3 hens)

    Thank you, CoopDelisle!
  17. chad76

    Finally finished my small coop (3 hens)

    I spent a lot of time drawing mine out... doodling mostly... trying to figure out where everything would go. It's tricky fitting everything into a small space. When I got the idea to mount the food/water to the door, everything else fell into place.
  18. chad76

    Finally finished my small coop (3 hens)

    Thanks, y'all! Suisan, You're welcome! Space for food and water was a concern when I was trying to figure out my floor plan. So, I put their main food/water outside and have a second (smaller) food/water inside. I figured the best way to save space was to attach it to the big door... that...
  19. chad76

    Finally finished my small coop (3 hens)

    More photos: Well, I didn't have as many photos as I thought. I only have photos at this stage and the finished product. But I'll post them just in case it helps. This is the point where my inlaws started joking about my "bomb shelter". Close up of the nest (the sides were cut at different...
  20. chad76

    My new coop/shed/kids fort

    That's really cool! If I ever move out of my subdivision, I'm going to have to build something like that!
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