Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Fancychooklady]

Good morning folks 

cwrite aaaw, I am so very sorry to read of your loss.  Rest in peace Stampy and best wishes for a speedy recovery Tiger.

I see you mention Stampy eats the cat food and Tiger got sick also .. if it was me, I would be suspicious of the cat food.

When my neighbour lost his cat to cancer, he gave us the leftover biscuits and food that he had.  Both of my cats ended up at the Vet with severe gastro after they ate the biscuits.  The Vet confirmed that it could have been that the biscuits were ‘old’ or stale and I have been vigilant since to ensure that any biscuits they get are fresh and have been kept in an air tight container.

sjturner79 such an adorable picture of your tiny little bubs out exploring the world with mum.

I agree with satay it is kinda funny that you wanted a roo but believe you got pullets .. may be those of us wanting pullets should wish for roosters    Yeah, like that is gunna happen; Murphy’s Law dictates that we would still get roosters 

So, I have some exciting news …. We are planning a whole new coop build for the Easter Long Weekend 

For those of you who do not know me well, we started out with two chickens and a kit coop.  Chicken math means that we now have six chickens and two kit coops joined together to kind of make one and a front run and back run … lots of bits and pieces added here and there, extensions etc.  Not exactly pretty and while not perfectly functional, adequate for their needs.

Being kit coops, while raised off the ground, they are still low and while not difficult to clean, a bit taxing on my knees, back etc. 

Also, as some of you know, when there is the chance of a significant amount of rain, due to using the deep litter method in the run and also wanting to give the girls as much dry space as possible, I am constantly putting covers on and covers off to juggle keeping them dry but not letting them overheat under the covers.

Also, while the kit coops have done really well for three years they are starting to show signs of wear and tear, especially those parts exposed to the elements.

Anyways, I had my eye on a couple of larger kit coops .. I could make do with the $1,000 one but the $1,800 one would be nice  lol, in my dreams!

The problem is, while they have lots of bells and whistles, I do not really need the bells and whistles and basically would be paying that much just for the extra room.  Also, they would be constructed with the same or similar grade timber and age quickly etc.

So, hubby rightly suggested that we could build one much stronger and cheaper and that is what we are going to do and the whole run will be permanently covered.  Apparently he has had this in mind for a while now and pretty much had it all planned out, how it was going to look etc.

Very exciting .. I will keep you posted.

Very exciting. Show hubby the ' coops ' thread on the home page. I'm sure he will get some great ideas.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Thanks Satay and Potatochip.  It was a shocker of a day when she got ill as my sons cat got really ill too and had to be rushed to the vet at 11pm.   Tiger is recovering, so at least he didn't loose two pets on the same day.

Rip stampy. do you know what was wrong with tiger ?

 

[Fancychooklady]

Both have walnut combs. My boys would have combs signifintly wider than the beak and extending back past the eyes at this age. Thier is still a chance that I am wrong, but so far it's only my single comb defects that I can't sex.

When I open the pic , although it is a little grainy, I see a rather pink star comb developing. Do you have many star combed silkies ?

 

[Ashburnham]

Good morning folks

cwrite aaaw, I am so very sorry to read of your loss. Rest in peace Stampy and best wishes for a speedy recovery Tiger.

I see you mention Stampy eats the cat food and Tiger got sick also .. if it was me, I would be suspicious of the cat food.

When my neighbour lost his cat to cancer, he gave us the leftover biscuits and food that he had. Both of my cats ended up at the Vet with severe gastro after they ate the biscuits. The Vet confirmed that it could have been that the biscuits were ‘old’ or stale and I have been vigilant since to ensure that any biscuits they get are fresh and have been kept in an air tight container.

sjturner79 such an adorable picture of your tiny little bubs out exploring the world with mum.

I agree with satay it is kinda funny that you wanted a roo but believe you got pullets .. may be those of us wanting pullets should wish for roosters

Yeah, like that is gunna happen; Murphy’s Law dictates that we would still get roosters

So, I have some exciting news …. We are planning a whole new coop build for the Easter Long Weekend

For those of you who do not know me well, we started out with two chickens and a kit coop. Chicken math means that we now have six chickens and two kit coops joined together to kind of make one and a front run and back run … lots of bits and pieces added here and there, extensions etc. Not exactly pretty and while not perfectly functional, adequate for their needs.

Being kit coops, while raised off the ground, they are still low and while not difficult to clean, a bit taxing on my knees, back etc.

Also, as some of you know, when there is the chance of a significant amount of rain, due to using the deep litter method in the run and also wanting to give the girls as much dry space as possible, I am constantly putting covers on and covers off to juggle keeping them dry but not letting them overheat under the covers.

Also, while the kit coops have done really well for three years they are starting to show signs of wear and tear, especially those parts exposed to the elements.

Anyways, I had my eye on a couple of larger kit coops .. I could make do with the $1,000 one but the $1,800 one would be nice

lol, in my dreams!

The problem is, while they have lots of bells and whistles, I do not really need the bells and whistles and basically would be paying that much just for the extra room. Also, they would be constructed with the same or similar grade timber and age quickly etc.

So, hubby rightly suggested that we could build one much stronger and cheaper and that is what we are going to do and the whole run will be permanently covered. Apparently he has had this in mind for a while now and pretty much had it all planned out, how it was going to look etc.

Very exciting .. I will keep you posted.

Good strong simply constructed chicken coops will last you 30+ years.
The ones I built in the early 1990s are still in perfect condition.
Just a hint - never build a chook house that you can't stand upright in.

xxx M

 

[User395221]

Apparently he has had this in mind for a while now and pretty much had it all planned out, how it was going to look etc.

Very exciting .. I will keep you posted.

I can't wait. The only thing as good as getting/building new stuff at home is living vicariously through other people getting and building stuff.

oooh, you could call it "The Diva Digs" because you've got divas, and digs is a place and also they dig and it's like a performance name and.....

I wonder what colour it will be and whether the girls will like it and....

 

[Teila]

Good strong simply constructed chicken coops will last you 30+ years.
The ones I built in the early 1990s are still in perfect condition.
Just a hint - never build a chook house that you can't stand upright in.

xxx M

Thank you Ash

Yep, it is going to be well built but simple ... I have had three years to learn what they and I need and hopefully we will get it right and another yep, on standing up. While I will not be able to stand up in the coop itself, it will be higher to save my knees and access all areas without too much hassle. The run, yep, I will definitely be able to walk in. At the moment it is more of a step over and into with some crawling thrown in for good measure .. yikes! lol

 

[Teila]

I can't wait. The only thing as good as getting/building new stuff at home is living vicariously through other people getting and building stuff.

oooh, you could call it "The Diva Digs" because you've got divas, and digs is a place and also they dig and it's like a performance name and.....

I wonder what colour it will be and whether the girls will like it and....

lol .. I do believe you are nearly as excited as I am

How about Princess Palace?

As for colour, we are sticking with stained timber.

As mentioned, the coop will be higher than it is now but pretty simple .. roomy, nest boxes and roosts. Besides the whole thing being covered, they will have a nice sheltered area under the coop. At the moment, the coops actually take up room in the run and while raised, not enough that they can do much under them. The run will not be as long as they have now but they will actually end up with more room.

 

[User395221]

lol .. I do believe you are nearly as excited as I am

Yes, I've got my bunny houses up and running and no projects to be designing (well, I do, but I haven't really started applying myself to that), so I'll be following your new build with great interest.

Quote:
Yes, a good design makes all the difference. It'll be SO much better for you, too, you won't know how you put up with what you have now.

 

[LuckysMum]

Hi Cwrite sorry to hear about Stampy I hope Tiger is better.
We have just enclosed the wire front of our coop. It as originally a large birdcage. At the moment we have our teenagers in the front part and our older ISA's have the back and a run along the back fence. Lucky has a run a coop under the mango tree and our new babies have a old bunny hutch and a run near our vege garden. My granddaughter says our backyard looks like a junkyard now. We have screen doors and bits of shades cloth everywhere. Haha we have four runs and an enclosed dog kennel.
Its all fun.

 

[User395221]

My granddaughter says our backyard looks like a junkyard now.

I think it would be safe to tell her that yours is a palace compared to others'....