Adventures in Urban Chicken Keeping on the Left Coast (aka Chooksworth)

[aart]

Saw a small rodent of some kind dash across my run this morning. Spent the afternoon making wire "bumpers" for the door to keep them out.

Brilliant way to fill those door gaps!!

Might want to secure your HC all over with screws and washers close together.....
or trim boards attached well with screws over the edges of the HC on the run.
If a critter can get it's claws or teeth under the edge of hardware cloth it can be torn.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

I've been thinking about trim boards. Cover those raw edges.

Flock block was a major success. Will have to make these a semi regular thing.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Happy to report the chooks are using the open feeder. I've seen three of them use it, including Phoebe, the shy girl.

 

[aart]

Happy to report the chooks are using the open feeder. I've seen three of them use it, including Phoebe, the shy girl.

Nice!
Next step to prop halfway and learn the lid movement?

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Nice!  
Next step to prop halfway and learn the lid movement?

Yep. There's a second bolt hole that allows the treadle and cover to move, but not fully close. And the underside of the lid has padding so it won't clank when it shuts.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

So far the Grandpa's Feeder is a great success. The birds seem MUCH more relaxed and it's done wonders for eliminating food aggression issues within the flock. For example, nobody chases Phoebe (the new girl) away from the open feeder like they did with the bowls of fermented feed, and now she's mingling with them more (she naps with them and she seems to have crept up from being bottom bird to being at least on par with the lower status blue, Babs.

A few pics of them out during the recent storm (18 weeks old now):

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Started the nesting boxes. Got the basic build all done. Will add the roof and single them when I install them.

Vester.

Babs, Clorinda, and Phoebe

Clorinda mugging for the camera.

Sylvester next to a 5G bucket for perspective. He's 19 weeks old and HUGE!

Got some more of the garden done.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

My favorite pic from yesterday. The giant dog laying right next to the netting. I missed the shot of Venetia trying to catch his tail.

 

[aart]

Nice!!

I assume that's not electro netting?

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Nice!!

I assume that's not electro netting?

LOL! Nope, just basic Omlet netting. I may have to upgrade to electric though because the dang rats keep chewing through the bottom of the netting. It's really aggravating to come out and find yet another section chewed through. Or maybe I can run a hardware cloth skirt around the bottom.