I just wanted to say hi to all you chicken lovers out there and introduce myself and of course talk about my chickens! I have to admit I was not a fan of owning chickens when we started, thought it was a terrible idea mainly because I worried about drawing in the predators since I have small dogs and pretty much knew nothing about having chickens.
My husband and I volunteer at the American Eagle Foundation, a gal there had about 15 adult chickens she wanted to get rid of so my husband said he'd take them.
In November 2013 we became parents to 13 hens and 2 roos, my biggest concern for them was housing and safety. We have a very large barn that we wanted to convert into coup but the previous owners left it in such a bad state it would take us months to clean out so Mr. chknskratch converted a very large dog kennel into a coup, the sides and top are covered and there is a enclosed hutch inside layered with straw/hay and some perching. Everyone made it through winter very well but my roos started battling once spring came, so to avoid the little roo getting beat up we gave him and two of the hens to a friend of ours... he is now a happy roo with 5 of his own hens.
In April of 2014 Mr. chknskratch bought 110 more chickens with the thought of using that barn, the place we got them from made a mistake and sent us 220!
We needed another plan with the over crowding issue so we split them up into plastic totes but knew those would only last a short time since they grow so quickly.
We eventually built three large pens inside my dining room, using tarps which actually worked well until they began to perch on the sides.
I raised them in the house quite successfully minus the minor escapes that happened from time to time. My dogs did very well with them even found some hanging out in the dog beds with them.
However, the dust was too much to stand so we sold 160 of them to a few friends that wanted to have fresh eggs and lost 24 of them from the trip here and during the first few weeks. Once the weather broke I made Mr. chknskratch build 5 smaller coups with a run that kept the adults away from the youngsters until they were used to each other.
I had 46 happy chickens roaming my 5 acres until the other day when a fledgling hawk decided to make a meal of one of them. I tore out the door and scared the hawk off but it was too late for my Rhode Island Red.
My dream of letting them run my property went down the tubes, they were so happy taking over my porch
planters,
and peaking in through my windows when I was having my morning coffee.
So now in an effort to keep them safe and a little happier we will be tearing down this barn
and re-building it closer to my house, we will use most of the material from this one to construct the new one. I will also purchase aviary netting for the outdoor run from the foundation I work at to keep them safe from the hawks.
Sorry Redtails, no more free meals for you! After all this I have to say I am a huge fan of keep chickens! Thanks for reading and sharing my adventure! Looking forward to getting to know you all!
PS, I have no clue how many roos and hens I now have, still waiting to see what develops.
Sincerely,
Crystal AKA chknskratch
My husband and I volunteer at the American Eagle Foundation, a gal there had about 15 adult chickens she wanted to get rid of so my husband said he'd take them.
In November 2013 we became parents to 13 hens and 2 roos, my biggest concern for them was housing and safety. We have a very large barn that we wanted to convert into coup but the previous owners left it in such a bad state it would take us months to clean out so Mr. chknskratch converted a very large dog kennel into a coup, the sides and top are covered and there is a enclosed hutch inside layered with straw/hay and some perching. Everyone made it through winter very well but my roos started battling once spring came, so to avoid the little roo getting beat up we gave him and two of the hens to a friend of ours... he is now a happy roo with 5 of his own hens.
In April of 2014 Mr. chknskratch bought 110 more chickens with the thought of using that barn, the place we got them from made a mistake and sent us 220!
We needed another plan with the over crowding issue so we split them up into plastic totes but knew those would only last a short time since they grow so quickly.
We eventually built three large pens inside my dining room, using tarps which actually worked well until they began to perch on the sides.
I raised them in the house quite successfully minus the minor escapes that happened from time to time. My dogs did very well with them even found some hanging out in the dog beds with them.
However, the dust was too much to stand so we sold 160 of them to a few friends that wanted to have fresh eggs and lost 24 of them from the trip here and during the first few weeks. Once the weather broke I made Mr. chknskratch build 5 smaller coups with a run that kept the adults away from the youngsters until they were used to each other.
I had 46 happy chickens roaming my 5 acres until the other day when a fledgling hawk decided to make a meal of one of them. I tore out the door and scared the hawk off but it was too late for my Rhode Island Red.
My dream of letting them run my property went down the tubes, they were so happy taking over my porch
planters,
and peaking in through my windows when I was having my morning coffee.
So now in an effort to keep them safe and a little happier we will be tearing down this barn
and re-building it closer to my house, we will use most of the material from this one to construct the new one. I will also purchase aviary netting for the outdoor run from the foundation I work at to keep them safe from the hawks.
Sorry Redtails, no more free meals for you! After all this I have to say I am a huge fan of keep chickens! Thanks for reading and sharing my adventure! Looking forward to getting to know you all!
PS, I have no clue how many roos and hens I now have, still waiting to see what develops.
Sincerely,
Crystal AKA chknskratch
