We used what is called around here 'welded wire fencing' - i called it field fencing for a long time till i got the vernacular right. Anyway, it has 1"x3" rectangular holes in it. We used 6' high fencing around the run and aproned it with chicken wire 3' up and 3' out to prevent diggers from...
that's funny, the space requirement conversation. I know it's legit but it makes me laugh every night when I go to shut the girls into their nice big coop and all 12 of those knuckleheads are piled into one 15"x15" nesting box. At least in our chicken land, .005 square inches per bird seems to...
Hi Sonja - I'm in SW Colorado. We tacked our coop onto the south side of an existing shed, gave it two double-paned sliding windows, one on the east and one on the west for ventilation and on the south side used a 3'x5' picture window to take advantage of the winter sun (no sun comes in in the...
OK well this all makes me feel a bit better knowing they're not the only chickens out there with a rather New Delhi sense of personal space. I'll give them a couple more weeks and then try to ween them from the nesting boxes. I hesitate to keep a light out there as a night light because, well...
Well first they would all snuggle in the pine shavings together then started to roost, all twelve shoulder to shoulder and then all of a sudden it was 'how many chickens can you fit into a VW nesting box'. I guess if I blocked off the nesting boxes I could give them another option. Is this...
I have 12 8-week olds, 8 are golden comets and 4 are aracaunas. They're awesome; healthy, happy, somewhat stupid but otherwise very cool birds. They have a big run, are allowed to free-range when I'm around (baby steps) and a lovely coop with a big 4x6 picture window and two sliding...
Hi there - I'm a newbie too but have some 4 week old chicks (not quite even!) that we kicked out of the house into their big-girl coop. They were just getting too darn stinky. The coop is insulated except for the ceiling and has 3 nice double-paned windows in it but still cold at night - when...
No, I'm too new at the chicken thing to have any to give away yet, but someone did turn me on to the whole freecycle page. I have a friend Michelle over there in Durango who has chickens but I was having a hard time (well not really) picturing her with a Rem870 on her shoulder hunting feral...
Just saw the 'Weird Pooh' post below - seems like the same thing so I won't worry. Man it's gross though especially since it seems to get spread on EVERYTHING. ugh. Someone definitely needs TP for their bunghole (another Beavis reference for you Nautical Bouy ).
Being new to the raisin' baby chicks thing I'm not sure if it's normal that at least one of my 12 2-week old chicks has taken to pooing mud that looks like melted chocolate. The only thing that has changed in the past 24 hrs. was a quick trip outside for 6 of them to peck in the grass and enjoy...
I'm awfully new at this and wingin' it every day but for fun I stuck a stick in the brooder when the chicks were about 10 days old and within a day or two a couple of the Golden Comets had figured it out. They're now 2 1/2 weeks and I've seen up to 5 of the 12 hanging out on it. They're still...
I've seen the neighbors' llamas chase down coyotes before - they're wonderful and a nice option if you're not into killing the coyotes. Personally I need them around to keep the darn bunny population down and out of my garden so the llama thing is a fabulous, and handy since they're the...
Hi Michelle
I saw the title to this post and thought, sounds like someone from around here. Sure enough. I am in the 4c area also, near Dolores. Surprised to hear about the feral pigs as it seems we have every other critter roaming these parts but haven't run into those - where are you?
Well little Greenie (my husband marked her with a green marker when we brought her home because of her pasty butt) is still kickin' somehow. I really wondered if she'd make it through the night. I hadn't seen her eat or drink for days - she just stands (never lays down) under the heat lamp and...
*ugggghh* ok so i cooked up a yolk as was suggested. when greeny (my sick chick) didn't look at it i left it in the brooder for the others to check out. was that a bad idea? am i going to kill the rest of them if they eat it with no grit? being a newbie at anything pretty much sucks. i'll...
Thanks everyone - I'm no starry-eyed dreamer but hey, if I can do something to try and keep this cute little thing going it's worth it. I just ran home to check on her and actually found a perfect little infant medicine syringe in my medicine cabinet. I got her to drink about a teaspoon of...
Thanks - a follow-up, how do you hand-water them? She's so sweet, at this point just falls asleep in my hands - I can't imagine she'll make it but maybe today she'll bounce back.