building paradise for the birds

[Chrysolophus]

 

[birdman55]

man I wish I could plant bamboo...so not fair...it would look great...im not sure what I would like to plant for them in there...we have a very cold winter and most things wont survive...any ideas anyone.......


im looking right at you guys waiting for an answer.....or a treat.....lol

 

[birdman55]

I noticed you have like yellowish water are you giving your birds antibiotics......?

 

[beverly evans]

What troubles me most is the rats, they are a problem for me, very headache, they can kill adult pigeon and juvenile chickens. So now i have raised two cats, though the cats can catch small rats, the problem hasn't solved. The rats will kill and eat pigeons, juvenile chickens and juvenile ducks sometimes still

I know of 2 solutions for the rats. I don't know why, but rats steer clear of guinea pigs. You can keep them right with the birds; they'll get along. They just need greens or alfalfa pellets. They'll eat some feed. The other thing is that they primarily come to the coop for the feed. Feed your birds fermented feed and they'll go away! They don't like it fermented. Cool, huh?

 

[birdman55]

no problem with rats or mice in my coops I keep the food off the ground...however we catch them in our mouse traps in our home all the time....mom loves the mice...lol...shes terrified...

 

[MsPoultry]

Yeah no rodent problems my kitties do the job

 

[Trefoil]

well i took the large far wall and set it along the fence then i took the inside wall and put it on the small fence then the other large
wall and rested it on the greenhouse wall that still stands and then took the two farthest walls and put three screws in it that were already
drilled out to make sure the wood wouldnt split...then i took the other wall and secured it...then i moved to the next section and did the same
finishing all the outside and inside walls and then started to level it by placing blocks on the ground...if the ground wasnt frozen i would have
taken my laser level and dug out a perfect level place for it to sit on...from the right to the left it is about a foot off level...so like i said
it will get interesting to see how it pans out...but you sometimes have to use what you can use when you can use it until you can make it better..
just like the "hardware cloth"...it drives me up a wall that i cant get this here and the closest place that sells it is about atleast an hour away
so i decided to use the chicken wire and 2x4 inch on top of each other...so when the day breaks i will be ripping the 2x4s in half and making
doorways as well as putting on the wall netting wire...then when im done i will be putting on the net over the top and stapling it...then i will
transfer, band, deworm and log each bird that is going to each unit of these..and then i will move to the next section...im going to prolly tarp the
top until i can buy metal roofing and install a metal pitched roof on it...tonys pen gave me this idea...and he has been great at answering some
of the basic questions i have had since im new to this and he is experianced with breeding...thanks again tony..hope you guys are enjoying the thread
and dont be scared to put up your own pics of your birds as well as anything your working on...for example im building my own incubator...which i
will post pics of as well and how to build them as i build them...hope everyone enjoys this and can take something from this thread and apply it to
there own setup..after winter as well i will be putting in a self drip system for the birds to be more efficient...so just keep watching..thanks
again for the support..

Too little too late, but the best places I've found for hardware cloth is wayfair or Amazon, depending on who has the height I need at the best price. Shipping was free. All I can get reasonably local is 2' high & expensive.

so the speed of the pen has to go up quick and some have to get separated fast because they were being naughty...yesterday....
here some pics of how you know to separate or you will have problems...this is how the birds look like... they actually cape and hiss at each other kindof like how they do to the females...and then they go straight at each other..kind of like a chicken would

Beautiful.

 

[Hollandfound]

Very pretty Birds, Birdman. I would love to sit where I could watch them and have a cup of coffee in the morning, great way to start the day. You are doing wonderfully building your pens.

 

[The Colonel]

Coming along great birdman, secretly taking notes lol

 

[cwrite]

man I wish I could plant bamboo...so not fair...it would look great...im not sure what I would like to plant for them in there...we have a very cold winter and most things wont survive...any ideas anyone.......


im looking right at you guys waiting for an answer.....or a treat.....lol

I'd go for dual purpose plants in a run, meaning shade and food. A lot of berry bushes are cold hardy like currants (love black currants), blue berries and blackberries. Black currants (and probably the others) are easy to propogate too. Just buy one to start with, each year cut a third of the branches off and poke the sticks into the ground. They root really easily. The bushes will need to be protected until they grow tall enough. The bottoms might be stripped bare, but as long as the tops can flourish it's fine. Fruit trees like apple and pear should do well, maybe plums too.

http://www.gardenate.com/zones/#zone-US
This site is really good - choose your zone & it let's you know what will grow there.