Alaska Chicken Lover's Soup for the Cold!!

[wingsofglory]

Welcome to BYC, Spring Flowers! I'm in Palmer and all gravel and sand too, no topsoil. Chickens are going to help turn some sand into a garden.

Hi, Okieinalaska, I was eyeing those cochins on Craigs List too! Glad they got a good home. There was a trio of dark cornish on Craigs List too. I'm not quite ready yet, my coop is in several feet of snow still; I'm up by the mountains. Been empty all winter and am getting a chick order end of April of blue Ameraucanas and Black Copper Marans.

There does seem to be quite a few of chicken people in the area on BYC now. Nice.

Spring Flowers - mine ranged together in a group. The meat birds do not go to0 far away from their food dish. I had red broilers and they went no further than sixty feet from the coop.

An easy roost for them is to lay two 2x4s on the ground, flat, then nail 2x4 cross pieces one foot apart. It gets them up off the grass and off their chest and gives their feet something to grip without so much height they can't negotiate up or get hurt jumping down when they get heavier. With a tarp they will be fine in the rain.

 

[okieinalaska]

I am trying to refrain from looking at Craigslist anymore. Chicken math has already gotten the better of me.

 

[Spring Flowers]

Eveil- The eagles seem even more prevalent down here now that the Eagle Lady is no longer feeding them on the spit. If I do let them out I'll have to pretty much babysit them. It will be good entertainment!

Okieinalaska- Chicken math

an ever increasing subject! Those coops look great, you're going to need the double wide eh? I bet it's a lot heavier though. Either way they look like they will be fun to build. Yes that was down here that the pup got carried away- sad. I know BobbiLee and she's not a tiny lady so to be hit by an eagle...yikes that was on hungry bird. I don't have top soil either, just silt, sand and clay- Homer poo we call it. I trucked in my garden soil from Anchor Point, sheesh the things we do to live in Homer. It's a great recreation place but I am convinced there are easier places to homestead...grass is always greener

I love the coloring on that cochin you posted. I am finding that I really like the birds that have black tipped feathers like that.

Thanks wingsofglory, I was hoping they would stick together, will be easier to watch over them if I do decide to let them out. I'll put some 2x4 roosts in, s is better for them to roost on the 2" side or the 4" side of the board...I don't know why I think this matters, just want to be sure though.

Enjoy your day- Weather website claims it might hit 50 down here!

 

[wingsofglory]

For the grrown up birds, I put the flat side for them to sit on after seeing posts on here about that.

When they are small, you can use branches of trees. Just fasten them really well so they don't turn. I use 1x2s when they are very small. Meat birds grow so fast have the larger roost boards ready.

 

[okieinalaska]

I don't know what the temp is but it's gorgeous and not to bad here! I got up and started working on the coop, let the girls out in the back dog run to play while I worked on it. I don't think they enjoyed it much though.

But made like 2 or 3 cuts and coop build came screetching to a halt again. The blade on my saw was dull and wouldn't cut so off I went for lunch and to find a new blade. Of course Walmart didn't carry it so had to go to hardware store. At this rate it will take me forever to get this thing made.

 

[Mrs MIA]

Hey Spring Flowers! You're in my neck of the woods!! Welcome! You're in trouble now!!

 

[okieinalaska]

Had to make one more trip to hardware store. Geez, the gas alone is going to make this coop cost a fortune. I have the right side framed and the door cut out. Now I can't find where I put all the hinges and hardware.

It's a beautiful day here and I had the girls out in the dog run area. I saw a shadow float across them and they freaked out, I looked up and it was a leaf floating down from the sky. It got closer and closer and they seriously about lost their minds trying to run away from the leaf. I guess they haven't been outside much (or maybe too much). I put an old basket out with them and they all three crawled into the basket and sunbathed. It was cute.

 

[Spring Flowers]

Oh, I know Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain! I never thought I would want to over winter egg laying chickens, I thought it would be really difficult. After reading all the posts on this thread, I feel like I could handle it no problem. Lemme try out these easy chickens first though

I'll probably rent that chicken plucker from you this summer if it is still available.

 

[MrsDeb]

The dark cornish found a wonderful home..

However, I thought I'd pop on and say I HEAR chirps coming from the incubator!!!!!

and one pipped......*sigh* Spring is here!

 

[Eveil]

So today I had another first regarding chickens. I found a lady willing to sell three hens that have just started laying eggs. So we get there and I have loaded up the black australorp and then the silver laced wyandotte everything is going fine tell I try to get the black star. She runs past me and towards the lady. At witch point the lady freaks out a little bit and lets the chicken past her. Now we have a chicken free running around in the back yard... So I try and get the chicken cornered between the fence and the chicken coop. Hay guess what chickens can hop really high. Ya I new they could but was hoping she would not. So lets see now I have a new chicken lady with me (Stacie) who is trying to help but has never owned chickens. The lady (Erin) that we are buying the chickens from who by the way I wonder if she has ever even touched the chickens before( she asked If I wanted to barrow her work gloves to pick up the chickens with) all looking at me like now what. Erin then thinks to get a stick and we try to gently push the chicken back off the top of the coop. Ya well that did not work the hen then jumps to the neighbor house and walks up on the roof. At this time a neighbor from the next street comes over and brings her 3 year old son to watch us. So I at this point and thinking this chicken is so not worth my time and I should just leave her there. I mean come on I got to newbs with me a small crowd watching and the dang chicken is on the roof of a house what the F. Why me. At this point Erin runs in side for some bread to sprinkle on the ground in the hopes that the hen will see it and come down. Ya I wish but like that is going to happen. So after about 5 min of really hating the idea I have I finally tell Erin that hay way don't you go get a ladder and I will go up on the roof and get the hen. So after about 5 more min she is like ok and goes gets the ladder. So up I go on to the roof by the way at this point I am really glad I have Stacie with me cause she helps hold the ladder and helps me up on to the roof. Now as I walk towards the hen she decides to fly off the house and down into the back yard. Well at least she is not on the roof anymore right... So off the roof I go Ya Stacie for making sure I don't kill myself coming off the roof. I walk over to where the chicken is and Erin who is trying to feed it bread. I tell Stacie to go one way Erin to go the other way and I will take the middle and hopefully we can get this dang bird. So I walk up to it talking and its not moving. I say so after all this your just going to let me pick you up right and sure enough the hen dose.

Really!!! The neighbor is like omg your a chicken whisperer. What they don't know is Im not sure this chicken will make it done the street with all its put me though I am so going to kill it. But no the three hens are now safe in the loving hands of my friend Stacie and safe from me