Abbys Egg Farm

[Abbys Egg Farm]

Well, I decided to go ahead an join this time. I have had chickens since 2008 and found BYC being very helpful back then to get us started. We started with 3 red producers in a chicken tractor that I made all out of "Obtanium". I built a real hen house a few years ago on skids so it would not be a permanent building. I now have 10 hens which consist of 3 Delawares, 2 Buff Orpingtons, and 5 Barred Rocks. They are still young birds and will not begin to lay till close to Christmas. I will be posting some pics of them, the hen house, and their enclosure. We have named the egg farm after our newest granddaughter Abigail Grace. I cannot wait till they start laying so that I can bless my great neighbors again as I always have. Hope my experiences will be able to aid those here who are just getting a start.

 

[satay]

Welcome

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you joined us!

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, Abbys Egg Farm, and

! Great to have you aboard!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC from Washington!

 

[drumstick diva]

I love your term " obtanium" a great many members use that as well for coops, runs , nest boxes etc. Thankfully it's available in plentiful quantities

 

[liz9910]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[Abbys Egg Farm]

This the coop I built 4 years ago. The run is detachable. Note the nesting box on the outside to retrieve eggs without having to enter the coop. I used sofit vents along the bottom with just below the tin roof is covered with hardware cloth. This keeps good circulation even in the hottest of Texas summers.



This is the inside of the coop with my young hens feeding on their grower feed. The 5 gallon bucket on the right is one of 3 waterers I have with the chicken nipples. Above the hens is their roosting area with the removable perch for easy cleaning. Below the perch I use coated freezer paper to catch their nightly deposits which I change once or twice a week and put that in my compost barrels by my garden.


This is Beaker one of 3 Delaware hens that I have. She is by far the most inquisitive hen of the 10 and obviously not a bit camera shy.

These are photos of their free range area which is an L shape along the back fence and up the side of the house. This is the first place they head in the early morning to forage on the bugs.




Flies are always a problem with the manure deposits however with 3 of these live traps and 5,000 predators a month I am able to keep them down to a minimum. Spaulding Labs is a great place to obtain your predators at a good price. They really do work well for me.