Arizona Chickens

[BlueBaby]

The new four-section breeding coop is coming along pretty good. The four separate runs will be attached to the front side (high end of sloped roof) but I haven't framed them yet. For once in my life I'm slightly ahead of schedule - got to git-r-done by 10/25 when the new birds arrive.

It's looking good so far! What type of new birds are you getting? That hurricane that just hit Mexico is supposed to be pushing some more rain our way.

 

[Banaynaychicken]

Quote: Here in Vail, wre seeing and hearing it as i type. Im loving this design though! Might consider building my own once I move ^^ <3

 

[ejcrist]

It's looking good so far! What type of new birds are you getting? That hurricane that just hit Mexico is supposed to be pushing some more rain our way.

I ordered Brown Leghorns, Naked Necks, and Dark Cornish from a hatchery. I want to breed Brown Leghorns but haven't located a breeder yet so I figured on getting my feet wet with the hatchery birds in the meantime. If the NN's and Dark Cornishes are indeed tasty as I suspect I'll want to breed them too. I'm planning to order some Barred Rocks from a fellow in Nebraska for breeding as well. I have a nice BR cock but my hens are hatchery birds. Despite being from Ideal a couple of them have pretty good measurements for egg laying so I might work with them to see what comes of it. The worst that can happen is we'll have supper and start over. I've never bred birds before but I've read a lot about it and I'm really look forward to giving it a whirl.

 

[BlueBaby]

I ordered Brown Leghorns, Naked Necks, and Dark Cornish from a hatchery. I want to breed Brown Leghorns but haven't located a breeder yet so I figured on getting my feet wet with the hatchery birds in the meantime. If the NN's and Dark Cornishes are indeed tasty as I suspect I'll want to breed them too. I'm planning to order some Barred Rocks from a fellow in Nebraska for breeding as well. I have a nice BR cock but my hens are hatchery birds. Despite being from Ideal a couple of them have pretty good measurements for egg laying so I might work with them to see what comes of it. The worst that can happen is we'll have supper and start over. I've never bred birds before but I've read a lot about it and I'm really look forward to giving it a whirl.

I thought that DesertChic was raising some of the ones that your new ones will be.

 

[ejcrist]

I thought that DesertChic was raising some of the ones that your new ones will be.

I know she has Naked Necks but I'm not sure about the others. She's the one that got me thinking about NN's after she started describing how good they cook up. In the beginning I wasn't too interested in them but she sold me on 'em so I ordered some just to do a taste test.

 

[BlueBaby]

I know she has Naked Necks but I'm not sure about the others. She's the one that got me thinking about NN's after she started describing how good they cook up. In the beginning I wasn't too interested in them but she sold me on 'em so I ordered some just to do a taste test.

You could probably pm her here and ask her?

 

[ejcrist]

Here in Vail, wre seeing and hearing it as i type. Im loving this design though! Might consider building my own once I move ^^ <3

Thanks. I only chose a sloped roof design because I wanted several coops/runs in one and a gable roof doesn't lend itself as well since the peak of the roof would have to be a lot higher to allow clearance for the attached runs. Also you'd probably want to use a center-beam design for a gable roof which would increase the price and probably require additional people to build. If you're thinking about building your own I highly recommend it. You just can't find any pre-fabs that suite the needs of a hooked chicken addict. You can have them built but it'll cost about 5x as much as if you build it yourself, and it's not really hard at all. Just look up designs of backyard sheds to get the jist of how it goes together mechanically and then design your own size, etc.

 

[ejcrist]

You could probably pm her here and ask her?

Yep, I'll certainly do that if I move forward with breeding them.

 

[Banaynaychicken]

Quote: Cool! Te coop we hand made and designed has a sloped roof with rain roof for runoff, but it's only 6 x 10 with a 6 x 2 1/2 ft add on for broodies and babies.

Once I move out, Im am SO building and adding onto it.

 

[MagicChicken]

My "kennel coop" is a chain link dog kennel with a tarp over it. When I first put up the coop I was getting 4-6 months out of a tarp. Lately it's been 4-6 weeks. The tarp looked FINE yesterday when I checked. Now that the rain has rolled in, the tarp is torn in several places and leaking directly into the chicken feed. Grrr. I used half a roll of Gorilla tape trying to patch the leaks. Hope it holds through tomorrow. Chickens and I will all be very wet if I have to change the tarp in the rain. It takes me a couple of hours to change the tarp, and the chickens always freak out when I do it. I pulled out as much wet feed as I could and moved the feeder out from under the drip, but if the wind changes direction or the leak spreads it will likely get wet again. Chickens may have mash in that feeder by dinner time. I'll change out the tarp and the feeder when the rain stops. Crossing my fingers hoping we don't get much wind...