California - Northern

[Chickengirl1304]

Look like a good one? I'm getting hatching eggs that are VERY EXPENSIVE and need a new incubator

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=360614677295&index=1&nav=SEARCH&nid=75905645041

 

[Nikon]

Lookee what I got!

Awwwe! Great shot! I love the stalker roo! It's like he's all bent out of shape cuz his chickee mamma is all about the babes now and not him!

 

[Nikon]

Took some more chicken portraits, anyone wanna see? I could put them in the breed threads, but I don't know all the breeds yet.

 

[Deerling]

Okay, ordering Geneisis 5800 with automatic egg turner... I missed a lot of the conversation about humidity and temp thermometers (I'm sorry!

) but I wanted to order it all together. Can someone refresh me on what I need? (Ron?

)

 

[lawatt]

Okay, so roof it. Like will PVC or 2x2" framing with small chicken wire or hardware cloth be sufficient? The chickens will indeed be locked up tight every evening.

for what it's worth, i have a roof on my coop/run that's made of corrugated polycarb panels -- they let the light in but not the heat of the sun in summer, they keep the rain off, and generally work great:



for the sides i used all hardware cloth, which was expensive but worth it -- zero predators have gotten in (not even the gigantic bobcat that did quite a dance around the run!), and one advantage of this design is, i don't have to lock the chickens up in the henhouse every night, they can let themselves out into the run in the morning if i'm busy, same at night. i do of course let them all the way out to free-range when i'm at home, but no need to always been home at dawn and dusk to let them in/out of the henhouse.

and re: digging down to install wire, I installed mine only about an inch or two down, but extending out in a "skirt" along the ground about 2 feet around the perimeter of the coop, then covered up again with dirt -- again, seems to have worked, nothing has gotten in. i live high up on sonoma mtn, and we have LOTS of raccoons, opossums, skunks, hawks/eagles, and bobcats, at the very least.
here's what the wire skirt looked like during construction:



good luck with your coop!

 

[Hangtown Farms]

I have a question for all the NorCal folks (being that we all have the same predators and relatively speaking). The Hubs and I just finished our coop

and there has been some dispute with those who will not be named (no, not the Hubs, he's awesome <3 ) that there needs to be a roof of sorts over the chicken run. Here's where the coop lives for visual reference:





It's inside a fenced garden (the bottom of the fence has pressure treated 4x6 posts at the base, square wire in the middle and barbed wire at the top. Then inside that is the chicken run made from a dog kennel/run. We are thinking about digging down and burying some wire at the base but not sure if it's overkill or a necessity? Then inside that is the coop itself. We live on five acres next to a five acre lake. We have an occasional bear but never see them, Puma (mountain lion) but don't actually see them often, raccoons, fox and coyotes. There is a resident German Shepherd that keeps most of those at bay. Honestly the peskiest critter are the deer.

So to finally get to my question, said person wants to put a "lid" over the chicken run and fully encase it, probably to protect against birds of prey and extra raccoon protection? Do we need to go that far? And if so, what's the best way to put a roof over this thing? It's gonna have to be tall because the Hubs is 6' 8".

Thanks for any input!

Good idea to cover the run. I have 6 foot no climb fencing . I bought heavy duty netting on ebay to cover the run. any hawk that dive bombs it will be torn to shreds

All of my runs are fully encased in wire (sides, roofs and underground). You will be subject to racoon, hawk, opossum & skunk attacks. They can be brutal! Given the chance, birds will be pulled through the wire and eaten small pieces at a time

If your girls are going to be locked up in the coop at night, it will prevent all the nighttime raiders. You'll just need at least netting of some sort to prevent hawk attack.

And sorry, those two were the only GLW & EE I had.......... I do still have a few HQ hens I want to move out (BR, RIR, SS, BO, LBLeghorn & cuckoo Marans). I'm getting 4-5 dozen eggs per day, I think we can subsist on eggs from the show birds, LOL.

I also have wire under my open coop

Took some more chicken portraits, anyone wanna see? I could put them in the breed threads, but I don't know all the breeds yet.

yes please

 

[debs_flock]

Quote: x 2

 

[debs_flock]

I got my first turkey egg today!!!

 

[ronott1]

Look like a good one? I'm getting hatching eggs that are VERY EXPENSIVE and need a new incubator

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=360614677295&index=1&nav=SEARCH&nid=75905645041

The Genesis 1588 from GQF is $200.00 and it does a good job of hatching expensive eggs. The kit comes with an auto egg turner and it is digital.

Okay, ordering Geneisis 5800 with automatic egg turner... I missed a lot of the conversation about humidity and temp thermometers (I'm sorry!

) but I wanted to order it all together. Can someone refresh me on what I need? (Ron?

)

The Genesis has an ok hygrometer built into the control center. The best thermometer is the Brinsea Spot check. Get it from Brinsea and use the current discount code from their Facebook Page.

To get Humidity to 25% I usually need a little cup of water. I like to use that because Woodland water is full of minerals and messes up the plastic tanks quickly. I have a condiment cup that fits onto the turner rail.

 

[Chickengirl1304]

The Genesis 1588 from GQF is $200.00 and it does a good job of hatching expensive eggs. The kit comes with an auto egg turner and it is digital.
The Genesis has an ok hygrometer built into the control center. The best thermometer is the Brinsea Spot check. Get it from Brinsea and use the current discount code from their Facebook Page.

To get Humidity to 25% I usually need a little cup of water. I like to use that because Woodland water is full of minerals and messes up the plastic tanks quickly. I have a condiment cup that fits onto the turner rail.

I just bought this one in January and both the egg turner and incubator have stopped working. the egg turner has gone through two motors and the incubator will only run at 96° after I have adjusted it up to the max of 103. (The genesis 1588)