calling any one from missouri

[SueT]

Hi Ayriad, welcome to the MO forum....maybe someone here will see your post know where you can get that breed. Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

 

[ocap]

Hi all, I don't think I have said hello here, since I'm not subscribed to the forum yet. So, Hi!!!
I am in Kansas City. I'm so new to chickens, I don't have any yet, or a coop for that matter, lol.
I have a large building with a stall and lean to that will eventually be my coop. It first needs to be roofed. Since it will cost quite a bit to fix up, I'm going to fix up my old pigeon loft for a coop. It is 8x8. I want to get Barred Hollands but the only place I can find them is is in La. She only ships eggs and I won't be able to get an incubator this year. Hubs wants to see if I'm going to be successful before buying me a ton of extras. I need to get the coop built in the loft and build a nice secure pen first. I see lots of pics of the outside of coops but not many on the inside. Im going to go by the library this Saturday and get a couple of books.
I look forward to getting to know y'all!

you can try the MO yearbook, I put a link below

http://www.bing.com/search?q=missou...SearchBox&FORM=IENTTR&conversationid=&pc=EUPP_

 

[Ayriad]

Hi all, thank you for the warm welcome!
I found a source for chicks when I'm ready! I can't wait for it to warm up so I can start on the coop.
Now I need to figure out one thing though. The coop won't be 8x8 after I put in an escape prevention door. The minimum order is 25 chicks. I hope I can find somebody near me who will want to get some too. I can try to talk hubs into helping me build a section on to it. I have so many hobbies I get him into that will surely go over well, haha not!
He says how come when I start a project he has to work, lol.
I don't drive or leave home alone so he is always driving me here and there to get something. For 25 chickens I would need a minimum of 100 square feet right? Of course I would build it bigger to make all happy. The best would be to sell some of the chicks though. Maybe some 4-h kids would buy some.
What kind of wire do you all use on your outside runs? Once a very large snake got into my pigeon loft! So am thinking a smaller wire mesh but that stuff is a lot more expensive.
I am out a bit from KC so we have coyotes, raccoons, hawks, owls and of course really big snakes, field mice are a problem too. I feed the feral cats though so they keep the mice down. I'll have to keep them out too though. Do y'all put wire on the ground of your runs too so nothing can dig under?
Thanks again for the welcome!

 

[daxigait]

Hi all, thank you for the warm welcome!
I found a source for chicks when I'm ready! I can't wait for it to warm up so I can start on the coop.
Now I need to figure out one thing though. The coop won't be 8x8 after I put in an escape prevention door. The minimum order is 25 chicks. I hope I can find somebody near me who will want to get some too. I can try to talk hubs into helping me build a section on to it. I have so many hobbies I get him into that will surely go over well, haha not!
He says how come when I start a project he has to work, lol.
I don't drive or leave home alone so he is always driving me here and there to get something. For 25 chickens I would need a minimum of 100 square feet right? Of course I would build it bigger to make all happy. The best would be to sell some of the chicks though. Maybe some 4-h kids would buy some.
What kind of wire do you all use on your outside runs? Once a very large snake got into my pigeon loft! So am thinking a smaller wire mesh but that stuff is a lot more expensive.
I am out a bit from KC so we have coyotes, raccoons, hawks, owls and of course really big snakes, field mice are a problem too. I feed the feral cats though so they keep the mice down. I'll have to keep them out too though. Do y'all put wire on the ground of your runs too so nothing can dig under?
Thanks again for the welcome!

Well if you were in SW Missouri I would get some chicks, but since I am near Joplin it is too far.
As to the run. Run space is ten and coop is 4. I used hardware cloth for my run. As to digging under the suggestion is to bury wire eighteen inches all the way around or if your ground is rock like mine you skirt it out two feet overlapping to get the corners. Then you secure it to the ground while the grass grows up through
If you watch Amazon you can get your 4x50' roll for around sixty each.

If you get extra chicks you could try selling them on Craigslist.

If you are new to brooding chicks you should check out Blooie's thread Mama Heating Pad.

 

[daxigait]

@Ayriad There are several good threads on interior stuff like Poop boards (Aart posts there a lot and has all kinds of coop pictures) love the boards, several on nest boxes and feeders, etc. Definitely put in more ventilation then you think they need, and of you have a slanted roof I would put extra vents (just hardware cloth over an opening works, and put your roost away from the peak that can get condensation so easily even with venting in Missouri's humidity and quick change temperatures.

 

[daxigait]

If anyone in SW Missouri near Joplin is interested in ordering from Hoover Hatchery (certified mycoplasma free and NPIP) I would like to order some general layers to add to my EE group, but I don't need 25 either.

 

[Ayriad]

I'll definitely read up on taking care of the chicks. Thanks for the info about the wire! My old pigeon loft has a turbine on top for venting. It gets too much air in winter when that thing is spinning hard. I usually just stop the spinning in winter and just have the vent. I never had a condensation problem in past. It has a shingled room. I'm thing of building a small fenced area before the door so I can use the whole footage of the coop. Thanks for the suggestions on posts to read!

 

[daxigait]

I'll definitely read up on taking care of the chicks. Thanks for the info about the wire! My old pigeon loft has a turbine on top for venting. It gets too much air in winter when that thing is spinning hard. I usually just stop the spinning in winter and just have the vent. I never had a condensation problem in past. It has a shingled room. I'm thing of building a small fenced area before the door so I can use the whole footage of the coop. Thanks for the suggestions on posts to read!

Though CC lets it all blow through, most of what I have read says as long as there is not a direct draft on the roost cold is not the enemy. I know from experience with a frost bitten comb in one of my coops with the roost in the peak that it is moisture combined with cold. Like when it dropped fifty degrees in a few hours. I had one in a summer coop with roosts in the peak and cross windows that were just cracked for quarantine get frostbite and loose all the tips on his comb.

 

[SueT]

Daxigait, if you just want general layers, what about driving over to Estes Hatchery in Springfield and picking up your chicks yourself? You can buy however few you need, get them hours old, and spare them the stress of shipping. We've done that twice, we got 4 the first time, and just 2 the 2nd time.
We went on their hatch days as indicated on their website. Do you have any objections to Estes? It's on the west side of Springfield so is a pretty easy drive on I 44 from Joplin....It's quite an adventure to go there in person.
http://www.esteshatchery.com

 

[daxigait]

Daxigait,  if you just want general layers, what about driving over to Estes Hatchery in Springfield and picking up your chicks yourself? You can buy however few you need, get them hours old, and spare them the stress of shipping.   We've done that twice,  we went on their hatch days as indicated on their website.  Do you have  any objections to Estes?  It's on the west side of Springfield so is a pretty easy drive on I 44 from Joplin....It's quite an adventure to go there in person.
 http://www.esteshatchery.com

They are not certified mycoplasma free not that that means they have it. I just don't ever want to deal with MS again.