Good job.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a nice looking coop you & your friends turned out.Have fun.................
hi everyone --
it took four *intense* days of work, especially with the unnecessary drama from one neighbor, but then thanks to the generous assistance of another (especially with hanging with wire mesh), we managed to get the new chicken coop finished -- here it is last night, when my friend was just finishing the last bits of the roof:
and i attached the last side of wire mesh skirting this morning -- and installed the two cuckoo marans pullets! they seem quite astounded, i don't think they've ever seen this much space before in their 6-week lives:
I've put them in the henhouse part initially, figuring they'll get used to it & then explore out from there when they're feeling braver (not so far today, at least that i've seen). but it feels so good to have a nice airy space for them, and to have it done for the time being! i need a rest from hammering...
and my complainy neighbor seems to have quieted down again, which is a relief.
the cool ocean air is starting to blow in here (Penngrove), so hopefully those of you inland will start cooling down soon too!
best,
laura (and dixie and ethel, which i think are going to be the names of the two pullets)
otherwise, an overall good experience!! If you have 15 chickens, it's basically $3 a pop. not bad. I did post an ad on CL and had probably 4-5 responses in case any of you need to go that route. Also turns out there will be a private guy who's getting all the gear together to do processing for a couple bucks a bird. He's located off 99 bout 5ish miles south of sacramento I believe. He won't be set up for a few months but that would be another option.
Have/are any of you competing in the Santa Clara fair?
Or do you know anyone that is?
Chickens are very under appreciated in the Campbell FFA.
One of them fell asleep and the other certainly hated it.
I've never shown before and i'm so nervous!
I know nothing about which breeds generally win and which don't.
Any tips?
Quote: Yes, that head being gone will do it every time!
When your chickens get sick and you don't worm them on a schedule you should suspect worms. Unless they are locked up they are likely to get them. Anti biotics are hard on their systems so you don't want to jump to that first unless you are sure. Look at the dosage, but you can treat them with something like 1/4 ccs of inject-able ivermectin squirted in the mouth. 10 to 14 days later you can give it to them as their only source of water for two days at 4 ccs per gallon.
Has to be inject-able and not pour on. I use a generic inject-able ivermectin at each season change.
Quote: Ok, had my chickens processed today. It did end up being $2.75 for all the chickens, even some pretty hefty meat birds. sounds like price would only go up for turkeys and they max out at $4. Minimum charge is actually $45 and that's official. I had been told 3 different prices by 3 different people. I wasn't prepared for the chickens coming back with head and feet so I had a little extra work to do when I got home if I had any hope for my wife cooking them!
Gonna have some yummy chicken tomorrow night!
Thank you for the update!
It is great to hear what the prices really are.
Ron
Hi there!
Me and my three hens are competing in the Santa Clara fair this year.
Three blue orpingtons. This is my first year competing, i'm not participating in showmen ship though, they'll be judged in the cage, forgot what it's called.
Such a sweetie.
You might want to go to one of the orpington threads, post pictures of your birds and ask advice there.
