Bad Luck Bantams

[thecatumbrella]

Dandelion is just so darn cute!!

She's infuriatingly cute. The only time she'll let me snuggle her is if I carry her around the yard and show off the landscaping/garden. Thinking of getting her a harness to let off some steam.

 

[ChickenChick46]

She's infuriatingly cute. The only time she'll let me snuggle her is if I carry her around the yard and show off the landscaping/garden. Thinking of getting her a harness to let off some steam.

Lol she likes flowers huh? A chicken on a harness sounds... trying... lol. The other day I went in TSC and the girl who sold me my first chicks was working. She wanted to see pictures so I showed her some, and she told me to bring them to visit. I was like well that sounds like a circus.

 

[thecatumbrella]

~ OPTIONS: DUMB & DUMBER ~​

To perfectly illustrate what life has been like with the Bad Luck Bantams:

I went outside around 10AM to spend some time taking measurements and thinking how we can get a bigger coop under our protected run. About 10 minutes in, I see blood EVERYWHERE! Clover managed to rip off a toenail. It's impossible to see what's going on because her heavily feathered feet are soaked in blood, and she once again has mulch tangled in the down around her leg. Took forever to finally get her cleaned up with a trim and some styptic powder. No measurements were taken. It's very hard to make progress on our overall flock goals when we're constantly putting out fires.

Anyway, I can say I've looked at every prefab available in North America (as usual, the UK has all the good stuff). The only one to meet my criteria is Nestera. I spoke to a couple of BYC members that use them and spent hours reading online complaints. I'm not feeling overly optimistic for winter with tiny ventilation ports on only two sides and a door that tends to "freeze". Isn't that great. Plus, you only get 30 days from your ORDER DATE to trial, a terrifying prospect if it takes forever to get here. Ehhhhh... we'll see. Think I'd rather take my chances by opening up the Omlet.

In preparation for that, I've been trying very hard to get them interested in a new nest box I set up in the run. It's a giant cat litter box with a "private" entrance that tucks perfectly underneath their bench. I mean, I would lay eggs in it. Why not? The worst thing is it says "TOWN TIME" in tacky lettering on the front. So if they refuse to use it, that's what I'll blame. Photo later.

Dandelion has major FOMO (fear of missing out) in ISO, but I'll bring Poppy over for a visit this afternoon with some treats. We start testing integration on Monday. I don't have much confidence, given how things have gone thus far, but we said we'd give it up to a month, so that's what we'll do.

Next up: Looking at sheds that won't trigger the town assessor.

 

[ChickenChick46]

~ OPTIONS: DUMB & DUMBER ~​

To perfectly illustrate what life has been like with the Bad Luck Bantams:

I went outside around 10AM to spend some time taking measurements and thinking how we can get a bigger coop under our protected run. About 10 minutes in, I see blood EVERYWHERE! Clover managed to rip off a toenail. It's impossible to see what's going on because her heavily feathered feet are soaked in blood, and she once again has mulch tangled in the down around her leg. Took forever to finally get her cleaned up with a trim and some styptic powder. No measurements were taken. It's very hard to make progress on our overall flock goals when we're constantly putting out fires.

Anyway, I can say I've looked at every prefab available in North America (as usual, the UK has all the good stuff). The only one to meet my criteria is Nestera. I spoke to a couple of BYC members that use them and spent hours reading online complaints. I'm not feeling overly optimistic for winter with tiny ventilation ports on only two sides and a door that tends to "freeze". Isn't that great. Plus, you only get 30 days from your ORDER DATE to trial, a terrifying prospect if it takes forever to get here. Ehhhhh... we'll see. Think I'd rather take my chances by opening up the Omlet.

In preparation for that, I've been trying very hard to get them interested in a new nest box I set up in the run. It's a giant cat litter box with a "private" entrance that tucks perfectly underneath their bench. I mean, I would lay eggs in it. Why not? The worst thing is it says "TOWN TIME" in tacky lettering on the front. So if they refuse to use it, that's what I'll blame. Photo later.

Dandelion has major FOMO (fear of missing out) in ISO, but I'll bring Poppy over for a visit this afternoon with some treats. We start testing integration on Monday. I don't have much confidence, given how things have gone thus far, but we said we'd give it up to a month, so that's what we'll do.

Next up: Looking at sheds that won't trigger the town assessor.

Poor Clover!! I swear your chickens are doing their dead level best to take years off of your life.

 

[DocChicken]

Sometimes you gotta laugh so you don't cry.

 

[thecatumbrella]

~ A DOWNWARD SHIFT ~​

We're on Day 5 of 7 in our initial Fuhgeddaboudit week for Dandelion and Hornet. There's been a noticeable shift in the flock over the last several days. I almost want to say they're acting depressed. No one's really interested in leaving the 9-foot wall along Dandelion's side to engage with the rest of the run. I couldn't even lure them with fresh sprouts to forage. Dandelion herself has become skittish, which is very out of character. I don't know if it's due to her separation, or the fact that my husband had to chase her around the pen Sunday night, but she's quite flighty whenever I'm tending to her area. I'm not convinced she even dust bathes. It just feels so sad to be in there, seeing my once vibrant chickens constantly huddled in a pile or (in Dandelion's case) hiding under the coop.

I did find someone that builds chicken coops about an hour north of me. They don't look particularly predator-proof or well ventilated, and the cost would be substantial. Sheds aren't much cheaper, but at least I can walk into it and make the layout my own.

Biggest setback is literal town setbacks. This is what got us into the Omlet Eglu fiasco in the first place. I live on 2 acres, most of which is heavily sloped and forested. We have exactly one open, flat area to place our chicken run, so that's where it is. Unfortunately, "rural lots" like mine are subject to 30-foot setbacks for anything with a roof, meaning any sheds or builds need to be placed almost in the middle of my lawn. Of course, this also gets dangerously close to where the plow guys shoves 4 months worth of snow each winter.

It's just a mess.

Photo attached for anyone curious (it's an older one and the chicken run has been upgraded since). The white raised bed is 4x8, clears the 30 foot setback, and is well away from the plow zone. That's where a coop could go. I'd then need to rip out my beloved blueberries bushes and relocate to make room for a chunnel (chicken tunnel) that bridges the coop and run. It would be a lot of work and a lot of expense, but could be done.

 

[ChickenChick46]

~ A DOWNWARD SHIFT ~​

We're on Day 5 of 7 in our initial Fuhgeddaboudit week for Dandelion and Hornet. There's been a noticeable shift in the flock over the last several days. I almost want to say they're acting depressed. No one's really interested in leaving the 9-foot wall along Dandelion's side to engage with the rest of the run. I couldn't even lure them with fresh sprouts to forage. Dandelion herself has become skittish, which is very out of character. I don't know if it's due to her separation, or the fact that my husband had to chase her around the pen Sunday night, but she's quite flighty whenever I'm tending to her area. I'm not convinced she even dust bathes. It just feels so sad to be in there, seeing my once vibrant chickens constantly huddled in a pile or (in Dandelion's case) hiding under the coop.

I did find someone that builds chicken coops about an hour north of me. They don't look particularly predator-proof or well ventilated, and the cost would be substantial. Sheds aren't much cheaper, but at least I can walk into it and make the layout my own.

Biggest setback is literal town setbacks. This is what got us into the Omlet Eglu fiasco in the first place. I live on 2 acres, most of which is heavily sloped and forested. We have exactly one open, flat area to place our chicken run, so that's where it is. Unfortunately, "rural lots" like mine are subject to 30-foot setbacks for anything with a roof, meaning any sheds or builds need to be placed almost in the middle of my lawn. Of course, this also gets dangerously close to where the plow guys shoves 4 months worth of snow each winter.

It's just a mess.

Photo attached for anyone curious (it's an older one and the chicken run has been upgraded since). The white raised bed is 4x8, clears the 30 foot setback, and is well away from the plow zone. That's where a coop could go. I'd then need to rip out my beloved blueberries bushes and relocate to make room for a chunnel (chicken tunnel) that bridges the coop and run. It would be a lot of work and a lot of expense, but could be done.

View attachment 4207313

I'm so sorry your girls are struggling. I hope you're and to get something figured out that makes them happier. You're doing everything right, it just doesn't seem to be going in your favor for some reason.

 

[RoyalChick]

~ COOP PLANNING ~​

Dandelion says "Good morning!" from ISO (aka, the isolation partition), and shows off her nesting trug.

Also caught Hornet bopping Poppy on the head in the background, a new development in the pecking order. This just reinforces the idea that we need to buy time while they're at point-of-lay. Personalities can change. For instance, Clover, the lowest ranking bird, also happens to be the heaviest. She could start laying eggs and decide to throw her weight around, even over Dandy. Problem solved? Or does that create its own issue?

Okay, coop stuff. I know what I want to build (or purchase): a 8-foot wide by 5-foot deep walk-in. Single roost bar over shelf, with nesting boxes and an integration/broody/bully cage underneath for nighttime use. Am I going to procure this within the next month so that Dandelion can reintegrate at bedtime? No. No, that's impossible. My husband already blew through his vacation time helping me put out other chicken fires this year, and believe it or not, I have a full-time job as a chronically ill person. I mean, technically I could work myself like a dog and go outside to build all day, every day. Do I want to do that for 4 little muppets that can't get along? Not really. If anyone's familiar with the spoon theory, I'm just completely out of spoons.

This leaves me with the bleak option of investigating other prefabs. Yes, I just threw up in my mouth a little. It would be a stopgap until I can erect the coop of my dreams (which could still happen before winter), and needs to meet some very specific criteria:

• Sufficiently ventilates for winter: I really don't see a situation where it needs to work for next summer. If the real coop's not done by then, we're in dire straights over here.
• Mouse proof: My run is NOT mouse proof, unfortunately, and there's nothing I can do about that short of building another run. We're working to clear the population that found the stupid sunflower seeds, but I live in the woods... we have mice in our car, FFS.
• Raised roost bar: It's harder to throw punches in the air, and the recipient can always jump down to escape and readjust.
• 12" of roost space per bird: I can take advantage of the fact that I only have 4 bantams.

I'll report back if I find anything promising. Otherwise our backup options are:

• Keep using the Eglu Cube as is, and pray I can find birds that get along at point-of-lay.
• Take the nesting box wall out of the Cube and extend the roost bars. This would almost be close to the floor space of the Eglu Pro, but I wouldn't get the vertical space I want. They would also need an alternative nest box solution.
• Give up and start over in the spring. This would gut me. I do have several fantastic rehoming contacts, and I know the girls would be okay, but I'm selfish. We've come so far and I want this to work.

View attachment 4205529

(My covered run, with the Eglu Cube and ISO area at the far end)​

She is adorable!
I like the go vertical idea. You can deal with mice later. I am also in the woods and find mice everywhere even though one of my cats is a dedicated mouser. Eventually I managed to keep them out of the coop but don’t worry about that until you have more time.

 

[thecatumbrella]

I'm so sorry your girls are struggling. I hope you're and to get something figured out that makes them happier. You're doing everything right, it just doesn't seem to be going in your favor for some reason.

Thank you.
It doesn't feel like I'm making a lot of headway, but I'm determined, at a bare minimum, to get some data points out of this before it implodes.

I like the go vertical idea. You can deal with mice later. I am also in the woods and find mice everywhere even though one of my cats is a dedicated mouser. Eventually I managed to keep them out of the coop but don’t worry about that until you have more time.

I'm torn between just leaving things alone for the three that get along (which feels like tiptoeing around a sleeping bear), or just going for it and trying something new (ie. the vertical Nestera) while we make more permanent plans. Worst case is that it makes zero difference and I have to break it down for return. It would also give me an opportunity to review it for BYC. Perris gave me some good insight as to how more aggressive chickens behave in it, so I'm a little more optimistic than yesterday.

As for the mice, we just found one completely flattened in the middle of our yard. It's like they're falling out of the sky! I have this completely unfounded fear that one will get into the coop and chew on Clover's gimpy toe.