California - Northern

[zooweemama]

Well the snake is still there this morning. I thought a owl might have scooped him up last night but here it is.
The Chick Killer!!!



He kinda looks like a rattler without the rattler.
Hey Ron one the chicks Drae fathered has Like blue legs and greyish blue feathers coming in. Is thisfom the SG dorking coming out?

Ohhhh Gopher Snake! They ALL creep me out! LOL

 

[zooweemama]

My mil wants us to build another coop. With a wood floor. Seems that she is willing to foot the bill for it. Our current coop is 8x8. I told her I would want at least 10x10 though. Does that sound like a decent size? We have a run for the just in case days- that we cannot let them out. The run is 10x10.

If we had a 10x10 coop (a good coop plan that utilized the inside space to the max) and a 10x10 run- how many chickens could be fit? I was thinking if we could manage to hang on to the other coop for a few years (the 8x8 one) - we could use that as maybe a grow out for the extra cockerels each year?

Any good coop plans for a 10x10 that has a wood floor base you want to share or pieces of advice? We are thinking to stick with a metal roof...

 

[tls_ranch]

Well the snake is still there this morning. I thought a owl might have scooped him up last night but here it is.

The Chick Killer!!!







He kinda looks like a rattler without the rattler.


Hey Ron one the chicks Drae fathered has Like blue legs and greyish blue feathers coming in. Is thisfom the SG dorking coming out?

We have some big gopher snakes on our property too. Haven't lost any chicks yet

we don't, but I'm pretty happy they're here. Gopher snakes and King snakes can help keep the rattlesnakes away and rodents in check. We also have garter snakes (even saw little baby one today) and "blue" racers (a big one lives in our garden). I think our resident momma Gopher snake had a good clutch of babies this summer. I saw at least 8 baby gopher snakes in one day and 4 were climbing out of the same squirrel hole

Trisha

This one that I saw last year was at least 4 ft long. (not happy I was taking it's picture)

 

[MonsterClucker]

That is one dead snake.

Sick chickens still sick, but founds signs of discharge and and another one that was in full snot a thon, so they are on meds.  Hopefully it helps.  Black pullet is eating and yowling tob e let out, so energy is not an issue for her, but she does have bubbles in her eye .

Hopefully purples will eat soon, DH is leaving in the moning for a week, and its a bugger to get her to drink anything while alone, cant see her face uner all the feathers.

Glad your chicks energy levels are still good. What do bubbles in the eye mean?

yep, gopher snake -- they cane get quite big, actually (I've seen as large as 5' -- i specialized in herpetology in my undergrad degree), and can mimic a rattler by vibrating the end of their tail in dead leaves -- but they're a good, friendly snake (except when they get into the henhouse!) to have around.

and good news here: the three orp chicks have driven away with their new family, and the two younger chicks have integrated smoothly in with the older 5-week-olds, inside the enclosure within the coop -- made it through their first night outdoors fine and all five seem to be getting along great.  their enclosure is now raised up on bricks so they can come out & explore the run whenever they want, but are still safe from the Big Girls when they're inside -- and i've got a stable population at 12 chickens, will end up with 11 or 10 if Baby and/or the isbar turn out to be male.

so pleased!  the orps were beautiful but SO much larger than the other chicks, and much more boisterous/chaotic -- everything seems much calmer and easy-going now.

now just need to get my friend back here to help me build nesting boxes -- the oldest of the Big Girls are 17 weeks, so better get ready!

I was shocked when I saw it wrapped around the chick with it halfway down its throat! But I am glad its still not a rattler! That is the first snake I've killed all year. It happened out of anger. I usually catch and release but too bad! Lol

Your chicken math seems to be in check... For the moment hehehe
.

The chickens are Sleepy and Wounded Knee. No one carries Oxine that I can find. NO ONE. So we are trying ACV straight on the affected areas, adding it to their water and regarding these 2 chickens- hoping for the best. Oh and also PDZ, DE on that area too. We found tiny little BUGS crawling around on the damp wood. Hubs is also in town gathering supplies for the poop board! So he is working on that today too. High up off the ground and away from the affected area. I think that will seriously help!

 I really do not think Sleepy is going to make it. See how tiny she is? She and Wounded Knee are the SAME age. They are both 15 weeks old. We have them in an enclosed yard, but let them range during the day right now. But at night they have been putting themselves to bed in the crate by our in that little yard. Often wherever one goes, the other goes. Sleepy passed out in the yard a bit earlier and Wounded Knee was right by her side even though Copper kept attacking him. We moved them back to their yard this time and closed the gate so they have to stay in their little yard. Fresh water and rations. Wounded Knee IS getting around better though! Walking better- no more flopping over. 

Wow! Sleepy is a lot smaller. Hopefully she gets better. Maybe having them in that little yard will help her out. That's awesome wounded knee is mobbing around better. He'll pull through. I have a good feeling!

The poop board should make things a lot less complicated for you. I love mine!

My mil wants us to build another coop. With a wood floor. Seems that she is willing to foot the bill for it. Our current coop is 8x8. I told her I would want at least 10x10 though. Does that sound like a decent size? We have a run for the just in case days- that we cannot let them out. The run is 10x10. 

If we had a 10x10 coop (a good coop plan that utilized the inside space to the max) and a 10x10 run- how many chickens could be fit?  I was thinking if we could manage to hang on to the other coop for a few years (the 8x8 one) - we could use that as maybe a grow out for the extra cockerels each year?

Any good coop plans for a 10x10 that has a wood floor base you want to share or pieces of advice? We are thinking to stick with a metal roof...

My coop is nothing to brag about but its a 8x12 and has a wood floor. Right now I only have 12 chickens in it, bit could probably for about 25 maybe a few more.
My poop board kind of takes up a lot of space but its built like a table with linoleum on top and will have a pull out drawer later on for easier cleaning

I'll post up some pics in just a sec.

We have some big gopher snakes on our property too. Haven't lost any chicks yet  we don't, but I'm pretty happy they're here. Gopher snakes and King snakes can help keep the rattlesnakes away and rodents in check. We also have garter snakes (even saw little baby one today) and "blue" racers (a big one lives in our garden). I think our resident momma Gopher snake had a good clutch of babies this summer.  I saw at least 8 baby gopher snakes in one day and 4 were climbing out of the same squirrel hole

Trisha

This one that I saw last year was at least 4 ft long. (not happy I was taking it's picture)

Yes. I hate snakes. But I let them live to protect my gardens and from being invaded in my home by field mice. That was probably the biggest one I've seen out here so far. Saw a few smaller garter snakes but that was a little big for my comfort.

 

[ronott1]

My mil wants us to build another coop. With a wood floor. Seems that she is willing to foot the bill for it. Our current coop is 8x8. I told her I would want at least 10x10 though. Does that sound like a decent size? We have a run for the just in case days- that we cannot let them out. The run is 10x10.

If we had a 10x10 coop (a good coop plan that utilized the inside space to the max) and a 10x10 run- how many chickens could be fit? I was thinking if we could manage to hang on to the other coop for a few years (the 8x8 one) - we could use that as maybe a grow out for the extra cockerels each year?

Any good coop plans for a 10x10 that has a wood floor base you want to share or pieces of advice? We are thinking to stick with a metal roof...

It sounds like your MIL is into the chickens too! gotta love it.

The square feet for the coop would give you room for 25 to 33 LF chickens. The added run space gives you space for more. The important think is to make sure you have a food of roost per chicken.

The old coop would be a great place for grow out and Roosters. You could get one of those meat and eggs specials from a hatchery.

I have some coop plans that I will send to you tomorrow. They are on my work computer.

Ron

 

[ronott1]

I took my two Penedesencas out for a couple of pictures today. I don't know exactly what is up with them. They may be mixed with a Wheaten Pene.

The Boy has very long legs and is a bit clumsy. They legs were shaking so I am going to get some vitamins for him. They are very nice looking but I did have a fun time catching them. They are flighty LOL.






Enjoy!

 

[Hangtown Farms]

I took my two Penedesencas out for a couple of pictures today. I don't know exactly what is up with them. They may be mixed with a Wheaten Pene.

The Boy has very long legs and is a bit clumsy. They legs were shaking so I am going to get some vitamins for him. They are very nice looking but I did have a fun time catching them. They are flighty LOL.






Enjoy!

They look happy to be out.. He has light legs too. I think they are mixed. My hen has a neat Mille Fleur pattern on some of her feathers. If my rooster gets the same pattern I may breed them together to see what I get or may get rid of them . not sure yet. Can not afford to get the bloodline mixed in with any partridge I get.

 

[MonsterClucker]

I took my two Penedesencas out for a couple of pictures today. I don't know exactly what is up with them. They may be mixed with a Wheaten Pene.

The Boy has very long legs and is a bit clumsy. They legs were shaking so I am going to get some vitamins for him. They are very nice looking but I did have a fun time catching them. They are flighty LOL.






Enjoy!

Hopefully those vitamins help get those legs sturdier!
The pullet looks like a little hawk!

 

[Hangtown Farms]

Hopefully those vitamins help get those legs sturdier!
The pullet looks like a little hawk!

my guys legs are a little wobbly as well, and they sure pant alot.
we shall see what they grow to be.

 

[Happy Chooks]

My mil wants us to build another coop. With a wood floor. Seems that she is willing to foot the bill for it. Our current coop is 8x8. I told her I would want at least 10x10 though. Does that sound like a decent size? We have a run for the just in case days- that we cannot let them out. The run is 10x10.

If we had a 10x10 coop (a good coop plan that utilized the inside space to the max) and a 10x10 run- how many chickens could be fit? I was thinking if we could manage to hang on to the other coop for a few years (the 8x8 one) - we could use that as maybe a grow out for the extra cockerels each year?

Any good coop plans for a 10x10 that has a wood floor base you want to share or pieces of advice? We are thinking to stick with a metal roof...

Mine is 8X12 - hubby advised this size to reduce waste since plywood comes in 4X8 sheets. The broody area gets A LOT of use, can't recommend it enough.

You can see my construction of it on this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/374698/the-neverending-coop-project-update-its-done/0_50