California - Northern

[Hangtown Farms]

Ask and you shall receive!

Early construction.













I have a lot more; many have been posted in "The Old Folks Home" thread but I still have more to upload.

So, here are some of the finishing furnishings

of the new coop.

The "Chicken Holder," AKA roost bars, plus shots of its construction (loosely based on the one in the Building Coops for Dummies book):





These are details of the blocks cut to hold the two by fours bars level and flat. More stable, according to John, than simply screwing them "inside" the angled side bars.






This is the new waterer, holds 20 gallons.



This is the board which will be used to provide a "back wall" to the open-backed ten nest "rollaway" nest box unit.

wow Linda nice coop and run. Are you going to use sand in it?

 

[ronott1]

So, should I be happy that my husband may have found some 7-month-old hens here in Crescent City via Facebook, or sulk that, while they're one of the breeds I want, they're not the right color?

OK, I'll go with happy, but I really did want a BLRW instead of GLW or SLW... Then again, since we're down to one working vehicle right now, not having to go 2 hours away is a good thing (especially since we're a family of 4 and the working vehicle has 3 seats...)

It's looking like I'll have the coop ready for occupants by this weekend

Just need to get the roosts in, get some bedding (if I can work up the guts to go ask, the house down the street is pulling out bushes and running them through a chipper--the pile looks like it might be taller than my 10-year-old), and get the feeder and waterer... Buying feed would be good too, but that's a bit less time-consuming.

Be Happy of course!

Congratulations on getting the Chickens!

 

[ronott1]

wow Linda nice coop and run. Are you going to use sand in it?

X2!

 

[Happy Chooks]

So, should I be happy that my husband may have found some 7-month-old hens here in Crescent City via Facebook, or sulk that, while they're one of the breeds I want, they're not the right color?

OK, I'll go with happy, but I really did want a BLRW instead of GLW or SLW... Then again, since we're down to one working vehicle right now, not having to go 2 hours away is a good thing (especially since we're a family of 4 and the working vehicle has 3 seats...)

It's looking like I'll have the coop ready for occupants by this weekend

Just need to get the roosts in, get some bedding (if I can work up the guts to go ask, the house down the street is pulling out bushes and running them through a chipper--the pile looks like it might be taller than my 10-year-old), and get the feeder and waterer... Buying feed would be good too, but that's a bit less time-consuming.

Yay!

 

[fowlman01]

gryeyes.....where did you find that 20 gallon waterer?

Walt

 

[debs_flock]

So, should I be happy that my husband may have found some 7-month-old hens here in Crescent City via Facebook, or sulk that, while they're one of the breeds I want, they're not the right color?

OK, I'll go with happy, but I really did want a BLRW instead of GLW or SLW... Then again, since we're down to one working vehicle right now, not having to go 2 hours away is a good thing (especially since we're a family of 4 and the working vehicle has 3 seats...)

It's looking like I'll have the coop ready for occupants by this weekend

Just need to get the roosts in, get some bedding (if I can work up the guts to go ask, the house down the street is pulling out bushes and running them through a chipper--the pile looks like it might be taller than my 10-year-old), and get the feeder and waterer... Buying feed would be good too, but that's a bit less time-consuming.

Yay to having chickens. The biggest difference would be the BLRW would have a better chance of being from a breeder line than hatchery stock. But they're still going to be beautiful birds and will lay lovely eggs for you. I had a GLW hen from the feedstore (Dotty of course) and she was a sweet girl.

Just make sure you know what they have been chipping. The birds will pick through and eat what they find, you want to make sure there isn't anything toxic in the mix. The safer route would be to purchase a bag of bedding if your budget will allow.

Congratulations on joining the ranks of chicken owners!

 

[tommysgirl]

So, should I be happy that my husband may have found some 7-month-old hens here in Crescent City via Facebook, or sulk that, while they're one of the breeds I want, they're not the right color?

OK, I'll go with happy, but I really did want a BLRW instead of GLW or SLW... Then again, since we're down to one working vehicle right now, not having to go 2 hours away is a good thing (especially since we're a family of 4 and the working vehicle has 3 seats...)

It's looking like I'll have the coop ready for occupants by this weekend

Just need to get the roosts in, get some bedding (if I can work up the guts to go ask, the house down the street is pulling out bushes and running them through a chipper--the pile looks like it might be taller than my 10-year-old), and get the feeder and waterer... Buying feed would be good too, but that's a bit less time-consuming.

Here is the thing with chickens...you usually have time. These 7 will be lovely and as you expand you can add the BLRW. Tastes change and things happen and you can add what you want to replace losses. Before you know it you will have a list of breeds you didn't even know about that you want to add as well. My current flock dreams don't look like the ones I had just 6 mos ago. It's one of the great things about chickens, they generally aren't so expensive that you can't dabble. Good luck with finishing your coop and I feel you on the one vehicle thing. When our girls went to college I gave them my truck and DH, DS and I shared one vehicle for most of 3 years.

 

[gryeyes]

gryeyes.....where did you find that 20 gallon waterer?

Walt

Www.FarmTek.com -it's a "piglet/poultry waterer." The white section contains a float mechanism seated down inside the red part.
Pricey, but I didn't want to run a water line into the coop at a site a couple hundred feet higher in altitude where it will freeze more often than at my home coop. I've already experienced the home coop waterline feeding the auto-waterer burst overnight here, once, and it was bad enough in a much larger structure - at least two-thirds of it was above the pooled water, although all of the bedding got mushy. This coop would turn into a 10 X 12 pond if that happened.

I am a Deep Litter Method chicken keeper, so the bedding will be pine shavings plus LEAVES, LEAVES, WONDERFUL LEAVES. (Many more deciduous trees at Thistle Dew Ranch than at my home - and nobody raked them for .... Well, never.) Plus pine needle duff.

 

[tommysgirl]

I tried to get pics of Petunia's comb but she didn't let me get too close. It is like a straight comb until you get to the back where it divides. So if her head was down it looks like a Y but the top of the Y is proportionally smaller than the stem. Is that a common Polish shape?




would you call her splash? she has a few random dark grey markings throughout.

Dotty looks even worse today.

Integrated The General with his girls...everyone is happy

Ozzie chipped the tip off of his beak fence fighting with The General on Sunday...any reason to be concerned? It isn't much of a chip... and he seems fine otherwise. It's hard to tell if he is having trouble getting food because he is constantly dropping it for the girls anyway but he is scratching and pecking like normal. The two of them are funny now. They are both like "I know I am supposed to act all like a bad ash with you but I would rather dance for the ladies and scratch around." I think they will be fine when I eventually let them range together. Will 19 hens and pullets be enough for the two of them?

 

[capayvalleychick]

OK, Nor cal people with a collectively awesome brain! My friend who is taking his vet boards ( who saved my girls after the attack) needs a dairy vet to shadow for a week or so. Any cow vet would do, but he'd LOVE a dairy vet. Anyone know of one? Ron, is there a referral program at UC davis? KIm, know of anyone through your awesome livestock connections? Ill take anything from anyone .

@chiqita This vet may be able to, or know of someone who specializes in dairy cattle:
East Meets West Veterinary Clinic
5170 Maple Road | 707-446-5545
Dr. Nancy Martin