Checking-In On Peeps - Post Here To Say Hello!

[ronott1]

Hi! I finally built my new coop! This seems to be the only one I can find at the moment, when it was 85%ish finished. I had gotten my ladies in a week before this snow storm.

I LOVE the height. I made it tall enough to slip a trash bin underneath, when cleaning/sweeping out the bedding through a large access door on the end opposite of the nesting box. I also love that they have a spot to stay dry when it snows, rains, or when it’s sunny in this spot fall-spring. The coop is lit inside with the windows and it absolutely stays warmer during cold days. Other than the posts, roofing, and misc building material, everything was up cycled or free. I built it primarily using creativity and common sense and feeling it out as I went. Still using my DIY Automatic Door setup too!

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

It is nice to have a coop that you can stand in!

 

[ronott1]

I'm here. Just busy with. Life.

Life is very busy! I hope to catch my breath when I retire, hopefully in 6 months!

 

[ronott1]

So much has happened it’s difficult to keep track. We free range our chickens here in Florida. We have a large property so they are very free. They have very secure coops and are all locked down at night. Having said that we lost 3 RIRs to a ground predator that took down 2 horse fences to get to them next to our garden. It literally looked like a giant hog came through there. We really can’t figure anything else that heavy (considering the damage.)
So we ordered more RIRs and our mystery chick was another Roo. Cute as a button Buff Cochin. We named him Sampson but now he’s over mating Rhodies and killing them. I have had 2 die in my arms. No feathers on their backs, limping not good. I tried removing them for a couple weeks which helped but the problem is the rooster - it the hen. We thought of giving him away but I don’t want someone taking him and eating him. We are still deciding what to do.
Then my Buff Orpington (Buffy) hatched a Rhode Island Red-Buff Cochin cross. Our second natural hatch. (Dakota our African Goose was the first.) She is very unusual and the most adorable chick. Her name is Amica (Latin for Sweetheart.)
Lastly, my African goose Murray who is healthy as a horse suddenly could not walk. Couldn’t use the R leg at all. That was 2 days. Then on day 3 he got his R leg back and lost his L leg. He has very strong legs and bones. He intermittently stands with help; stays on his belly most of the day; not able to graze; will not initiate movement however I can coaxe him into walking short distances. He seems more passive (personality change) or he could be depressed. I know I would be. He’s my best bud - my feathered comrad. It’s breaking my heart. I don’t know what to do to help him.
We have given him comfrey, DE, natural antibiotics, electrolytes, vitamins, yeast flakes, romaine lettuce with sweet potatoes, self heal, white snow (a yummy ground cover high in Vit C), swimming therapy to try to get him to use his legs (seems to help.) He is not whining and complaining. He just lays quietly wherever I put him. That’s not normal for Murray. So I think he has a neurological issue or he had a heat stroke. I hope not but it seems that way. No bumble foot, no bites, no injury. He went in the coop fine and could not walk out with his coop mates (Jules and Dakota.) It doesn’t make sense.
So that’s the latest.
Other then that we have lots of wonderful eggs, a lot of happy chickens and happy friends and acquaintances who buy our eggs.
Pics:
Sampson, Buffy and Amica 5 weeks, Amica within 24 hours of hatching, Murray and Jules and Murray closeup (Winnie (Roo) with Penny and Pippin (Barred Rocks) in the background.

You do have a lot going on! Predators are terrible!

Could murray have been exposed to old lead paint?

 

[HavenAcresRanch]

Hello all,

I helped a friend re-home a trio of Roeun ducks to my place. One drake, two drams. They're now mature and about to start laying. As it turns out, I will be moving and cannot take them with me immediately. To make it simpler on everyone is anyone interested in this group of well-mannered quakers? They love cherry tomatoes and salad. Thanks...Sandy

 

[ronott1]

Hello all,

I helped a friend re-home a trio of Roeun ducks to my place. One drake, two drams. They're now mature and about to start laying. As it turns out, I will be moving and cannot take them with me immediately. To make it simpler on everyone is anyone interested in this group of well-mannered quakers? They love cherry tomatoes and salad. Thanks...Sandy

I hope you find someone that can take them!

 

[igorsMistress]

Howdy all, sorry for not being around much, been having fun with the coop, existing structure upgrades, and expansions, redesigning some areas. Added a connection to compost through the chunnel, added some more new babies. Daily egg production has slowed, time to cull the older birds but I just love them so much, it has been hard. Thanks for all the answers when I still have questions!!

Projects can be so much fun! Hope you post some update pics for us.

 

[igorsMistress]

I visit this site regularly but typically don’t post.

Latest news for my flock:

I got day old chicks for the first time ever this year (from TSC), and it has been an interesting experience. It looks like we may have three roosters in the mix out of a total of 10 chicks purchased. Not too bad, considering a couple of the varieties I selected were straight run - plus TSC is not known for being accurate in their breed/sexing identification. I was OK with that since they were having a buy one get one free special.

I’m not sure I’ll try this again to be honest- it was a bigger challenge than I had planned for, mostly in terms of housing and supplies. Until this year I always replenished from started pullets in the 8 to 10 week old age range. I’ve even added a few adult rescues after first quarantining them.

My next experiment will likely be letting one of my broody hens hatch a few eggs and see how that turns out.

Broodies are the way to go! They take care of everything for you, including integrating the babies into the flock. Plus, there’s nothing more adorable than a broody mama and her babies. Hope you post some pics for us.

 

[CollieFeathers]

Doing well and very busy. Have a beautiful young Wyandotte rooster and a hen I hatched myself. The Barnevelders are gone. They got very old. I kept them as pets for a long while even though they were not laying. A hawk got most of them though before I could build a new coop and protect them. Really miss the free range chickens. Also have some new young pullets of various breeds. We're all hoping for cooler weather soon. Photo of Tarzan.

 

[Bev1]

Hello everyone - just wanted to pop in and let you all know that the issue with my hens was resolved last night. Get ready for a long post.
As a refresher - our neighbor filed a complaint with the village about our chickens. We got a registered letter telling us to rehome them within 30 days or face court action.
I called the zoning enforcement officer immediately. He was really nice and alluded to our neighbor as being a "Gladys". But, we had to prove that the chickens were of a benefit to us. Well, duh... I was really nice and asked him if we had to get rid of them even though we were going to protest the complaint. The zoning dude - we will call him Dude - said no. We were in the process of filing a variance so any further complaints would fall on deaf ears. And we could take our time, as long as we got something in before the summer was over.
My husband put together an amazing package to put before the zoning appeals board. It covered benefits of keeping chickens, the cost of eggs during the pandemic, the cost of eggs in the surrounding area, the laws in surrounding towns and villages, and he included a letter from his therapist/phycologist that said his hens were protected by the ADA as therapy animals. (he place the barrel which he had them over last)
A letter was sent to all our neighbors giving the time and date of the hearing so any interested parties could attend.
I was amazed by how many people actually showed up! But our cranky neighbor was not amongst them.
When the meeting was opened for discussion, the Dude said he had driven by our house and had to drive by a couple of times before he even saw the hens. He said they were very unobtrusive and not a problem as far as he could see. The board proceeded to ask us questions about husbandry, pests, and odor. Easy...not a problem. Then they opened it to the floor.
People we had never met were telling the board how to write up our variance and what to include to prevent our neighbor from filing another complaint. I was floored. Everyone in the room was on our side!
After the meeting, we were told that the board had 62 days in which to respond with their decision. The Dude came over and told us that he would pass by after the meeting and let us know if a decision was made one way or the other.
He did pass by and told us that we could keep our hens and add 3 more if we wanted - bringing the total to 12. But we were not to keep a rooster, they had to be contained, and he would like to put his name on the list for eggs.
So our girls can stay!!! And meet Onyx, one of our Shetland hens.

 

[Bev1]

Doing well and very busy. Have a beautiful young Wyandotte rooster and a hen I hatched myself. The Barnevelders are gone. They got very old. I kept them as pets for a long while even though they were not laying. A hawk got most of them though before I could build a new coop and protect them. Really miss the free range chickens. Also have some new young pullets of various breeds. We're all hoping for cooler weather soon. Photo of Tarzan.View attachment 3886103

He is a handsome guy.