Bay Area BYCers!

[PetRock]

Jeremy, I for one do not expect you to hold a party for us! I'm just beyond anxious to get my hands on some chicks! I'm willing to do a drive by pick up. You could just run them out to the car and I won't even get out! I'm not sure that I can wait until the weekend for them!

 

[jeremy]

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LOL! A drive by pick up.

Well, I think a get together would be fun, I just don't think y'all would want to sit on my cold unfinished wood floors...

I keep thinking too, now it's only almost a month away then we'll have the little peepers! Don't forget about the Olive Eggers either Debi!

I know I'm excited, but not quite ready yet... so it's a good thing for me the chicks are still about a month away. I really need to get my butt working on my outdoor brooder. Did you ever find anything bigger to use?

 

[PetRock]

I have not forgotten about the olive eggers! I am definitely counting my chickens before they are hatched!

I think that we are going to modify our old oak baby crib to use as a brooder. It lasted through 6 kids but it is 29 years old so we can't sell it or donate it. It has just been sitting in the attic since DD 9 stopped using it. I'm going to have DH pull it down next weekend and see how we can modify it to work for a brooder. We are all about using what we have. Our coop and run were made from an old swing set and lumber and siding that we had sitting around. We even used some old painted theater flats left over from a children's theater group that we had.

 

[jeremy]

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I LOVE repurposing! We built our new coop at this house entirely out of reclaimed redwood fence planks. The door is an old screen door that we refinished with hardware cloth and the roofing is material that we took off of our other coop and the nesting boxes are redwood planter boxes that I emptied and cleaned out from some small trees that I had growing in them last season. We spent about $60 total on our new coop, mostly on boxes of screws and hardware. A word to those who have given thought to using reclaimed redwood to build your coop, make sure you have LOTS of screws.

 

[PetRock]

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I LOVE repurposing! We built our new coop at this house entirely out of reclaimed redwood fence planks. The door is an old screen door that we refinished with hardware cloth and the roofing is material that we took off of our other coop and the nesting boxes are redwood planter boxes that I emptied and cleaned out from some small trees that I had growing in them last season. We spent about $60 total on our new coop, mostly on boxes of screws and hardware. A word to those who have given thought to using reclaimed redwood to build your coop, make sure you have LOTS of screws.

Congrats on your "green" coop! Now, where are the pics???!!! All we had to purchase for our coop/run was hardware and hardware cloth. It is not cute a stylish like Cheryl's coops but it works for us.

We've made a few modifications already. We plan on painting it this spring after spring cleaning, expanding the run to extend all the way under the coop, and extending the nest boxes to make more room inside the coop. Here are some pics of it in its rough state:

 

[SunnyDawn]

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In the email John sent me he said the chicks will be shipped on the 22nd, so my best guess is they will be here probably on the 23rd or 24th. I'm trying to decide whether or not I'm going to take off work for them, too. I just don't want to take the wrong day off.

When we got ours from John they took 18 hours to get here. PO called early in the morning for me to pick them up. That was in Reno but I doubt that would make much difference in shipping time. It's only a 50 minute flight to Oakland from here.

I'd already planned to take off midweek to come get mine and I don't mind curbside pick up. Course DH and I do rehabs and we are very comfortable with exposed subfloors and the rest of the mess that goes with a rehab (in fact our place is always a mess in general since we try to put any spare time we have into getting part of any project we are working done instead of cleaning).

We are pretty used to it. In fact I'm not sure what cereal without construction dust tastes like anymore.

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Yes you, or somebody else, will have to pick them up on day one. The PO will not keep them and they actually kinda freaked a little here since they were all upset about leaving these little noisy peeping things in a box for even a few minutes longer than necessary.

Don't think you need to take a whole day off as long as you have the brooder all set up complete with food and water before they get here. Course if you have the vacation time it would be nice to be able to stay with the new little ones all day. They are kind of hard to pull yourself away from when they're that new.

That being said, it is possible they can take longer to get here. Sometimes someone at the PO will goof and I hear horror stories all the time but the fact that you live in a major city removes a lot of my worry since problems are more likely in rural areas away from major POs and airports. It is most likely that they will be here on the 23rd.

PetRock I love your coop and run set-up! What a great use of available materials!

Now I'm wondering where I can find an old used swingset for a few pennies.

 

[wolftracks]

Jeremy I hope you know I was joking. I just want to grab and run. Some one has got to know that 90% of what I say is usually a joke.

And fixers?????????????/ OMG! Bill and I used to do investing until my last stroke and then everything went down hill, but I love fixers! We moved more into a tearer downer, to save money to buy what would have been a great fixer. Didn't get to close because he died and he had the only income. I've been thinking that I may start doing it on my own again when I figure out which way is up. But if you need things and are doing the work yourself I still have a few connections for supplies at decent prices. I haven't kept in contact with them like I should, but I can get good prices. I'd use them for the coop supplies too, but don't want to push it. I get the rest of my inheritance from my dad in 2 years and I'm already looking for something cheap to fix and flip or maybe a multi family prop for income. Trying to figure out if it's worth it since I will have to use hard money. What I'd really like is enough land to build something even if very slowly. Never be ashamed of a fixer, they mean money somewhere down the line.

I'm going to make sure you have my number...hmmmm I have a list of numbers from the Stockton show...hehe Anyway if they are here on a weekday I can leave Modesto at 2pm after I pick my son up from school. Just let me know and I'm there. I don't want you to have to hold them for longer than you need to.

 

[clio]

Quote:
I LOVE repurposing! We built our new coop at this house entirely out of reclaimed redwood fence planks. The door is an old screen door that we refinished with hardware cloth and the roofing is material that we took off of our other coop and the nesting boxes are redwood planter boxes that I emptied and cleaned out from some small trees that I had growing in them last season. We spent about $60 total on our new coop, mostly on boxes of screws and hardware. A word to those who have given thought to using reclaimed redwood to build your coop, make sure you have LOTS of screws.

Hi Jeremy,

Yes, we used LOTS of screws !!! My husband built our coop out of re-cycled stuff: redwood fence posts, the roof is from my old garage door, a neighbor was dumping some sliding room partitions, somehow he got an old screen door for the door. Everything is screwed together, so he can take it apart easily as he just thought about expanding the coop so there will be more room for them to roost. I think we spent about $50 total - basically for the hardware cloth.

Hmmm ... we should have a meet up again - sometime before the year is over???

Hopefully the gas prices won't keep going up !

Happy Valentine's Day to Everyone

 

[clio]

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Speaking to this.

We just moved into our new home last October, mind you we bought a fixer. Well we haven't really fixed much.

I honestly wouldn't be comfortable hosting any sort of get together or party for the chick pick up, I'd probably just be embarressed because my house looks like something out of the early 70s...

On top of that we have begun repairs in some rooms, primarily the living areas and the bathroom and I don't think I would have the ability to host a group of folks comfortably.

I would however love to have a get together of sorts, I feel like it would be really fun! A lot of you who ordered chicks are North of me in the Bay, would someone closer to everyone else want to host a mini chicken party?

I can hold everyone's chicks until the weekend if it makes it easier for someone to host, then we can all drive to whomever's house and meet up! Granted I'll be sure to supply everyone with photos periodically throughout the week.

Whaddya say guys? I'll be more than happy to bring a couple of potluck dishes to sweeten the deal... I make a killer buttermilk pie.

Jeremy,

Even if I weren't picking up chicks, I would love to drop by to say hello !! (with a food contribution, of course ... ) How many people are picking up chicks?

 

[jeremy]

Daphne, hardware cloth was one of the most major expenses for us, too. It's pricey!

I was looking into different sites for a meet up this year not that long ago actually.

The Oakland Zoo has really neat picnic areas that are shaded by giant trees and have barbeque and bathroom amenities. I don't think chickens would be allowed at the parks but it's an idea for a summertime potluck!

ETA: I think there are 6 or 7 of us total who are expecting chicks?