2018 Newbie Chat!

[CannedMonster]

*****Possible graphic photo*****

Someone had mentioned something about raccoons being dangerous to dogs.

Well this dog is fighting for its life due to an infection from a raccoon bite. Raccoons do not play

View attachment 1508188

That’s got to be a smaller size dog though.
Large dogs can kill coons.
I’ve heard of raccoons weighing 40 lbs.
I hope that poor dog is okay.

 

[CannedMonster]

Angus has been doing pretty good.
He tidbits for his girls and will actually let them have it instead of eating it himself lol.
He was running away when they’d approach to see what it is but now he only steps aside.
The Wyandottes still occasionally kick him off when he breeds one of them.
They don’t do it when he breeds Agatha though.
I picked Agatha up a couple of times and he rushed right over!
He didn’t attack me but he was clearly concerned.
He watched closely as I petted her.
After I put her down the first time he tried to side step at me with a dropped wing.
I chased him away a couple of steps.
The second time he rushed over again but just watched and when I put her down he watched me for another few seconds and then went about his business.

He also really wants to dominate the big red lawn tractor too!
He’s pretty sure it’s up to no good.
Every time the shed is open he goes in to check out the tractor.
He’s pretty amusing.
He likes to jump up on the prefab coop nest boxes and then up to the coop roof where he can crow his heart out.

 

[Anna Ranieri]

One of my Welsummer “Ginkgo” lays XXL eggs 6/7 days a week! Her eggs aren’t as dark or speckled as her hatch mate, but boy does she make up for it in egg size! I’m so impressed with my Welsummer egg laying! View attachment 1507988

Wow - the size of them!

 

[Anna Ranieri]

I think she is going to be the head chicken too. The 1st to try everything. She is a golden cuckoo Marans.

They all are beautiful but she certainly stands out from the crowd - she's adorable

 

[Anna Ranieri]

I’d be interested in the review of those heated perches. We had -15 for a few days and -10 for most of a very cold snowy weekend. Back In January. The chickens where fine. Although coop bound for a few days!

This will be our first winter with our flock - we usually have mild winters rarely reaching below zero, an extreme winter for us is -5, but this is rare, do you think we'd need heated roosts or some sort of heat? Just is I'm getting a lot of mixed opinion/advice, some say no heat needed as our winters are so mild, others say both chickens and ducks need extra heat regardless of winter being mild, what do you think?

 

[Anna Ranieri]

Angus has been doing pretty good.
He tidbits for his girls and will actually let them have it instead of eating it himself lol.
He was running away when they’d approach to see what it is but now he only steps aside.
The Wyandottes still occasionally kick him off when he breeds one of them.
They don’t do it when he breeds Agatha though.
I picked Agatha up a couple of times and he rushed right over!
He didn’t attack me but he was clearly concerned.
He watched closely as I petted her.
After I put her down the first time he tried to side step at me with a dropped wing.
I chased him away a couple of steps.
The second time he rushed over again but just watched and when I put her down he watched me for another few seconds and then went about his business.

He also really wants to dominate the big red lawn tractor too!
He’s pretty sure it’s up to no good.
Every time the shed is open he goes in to check out the tractor.
He’s pretty amusing.
He likes to jump up on the prefab coop nest boxes and then up to the coop roof where he can crow his heart out.

Awwww well done to Angus! Such a clever boy, he is proving to be a great protector. I actually lol'd @ tractor story - I totally love the way you tell your stories.

Do you think Angus sees you as a rooster - like alpha male type thing?

 

[llombardo]

That’s got to be a smaller size dog though.
Large dogs can kill coons.
I’ve heard of raccoons weighing 40 lbs.
I hope that poor dog is okay.

Dog looks to be a pit bull type. Not small by any means. That makes it even scarier. One vet wanted to euthanize, second vet is trying to save its life

 

[JMotuzick]

Anna
My temps where Fahrenheit is your -5c? We have no heat in our coop, just a water heater so they always have fresh water. I’ve read a lot here and have gone the route of no heat and lots of ventilation. We where maxed at the old soffit vents, 12’x6”=12 hens. We still got some frost bite on there combs. This winter I cut a hole in the side of the coop, 3’x7’ or about 2 meters x 1. I covered the area above the new “window” and the grills have a small covered run.

 

[llombardo]

So I'm looking at building a coop--it won't be before the winter, so we will get through this one as best as we can.

Ventilation
I was thinking of putting the Ventilation on both ends at the peak above the roof and oppisite that side. There will be windows on the side that is open in the picture and a window oppisite that. Is that enough ventilation?

 

[JMotuzick]

From what I’ve read 1sq ft per hen. If I where building one from scratch, I would have the whole South facing side open! This would be into a covered run area to keep the inside dry. On those windy days last winter we had snow blowing in if we had the windows open. My repairs this summer took that into mind. We get “nor-easters” with strong winds from the north and east. Our run is to the north. I built a whole new run and mocked down half of the south wall. In the picture above the Camra is pointing West. That upper area that’s covering the new opening has the east face.

With a new coop I would also include fixed roost poles above poop trays. Power to keep the water warm in winter along with lights so I can see the birds at night. Plenty of nest boxes too! Food and water is moving out to the covered run for us. It should help keep everyone happy by having multiple feed/water stations. Also we have a small tractor/loader we use in the garden, we load weeds and dump them to the grils to compost. Having a gate big enough is important to us!