Colorado

[samsr]

Woo Hoo!e

What flavors are these again?

These appear to be australorp leghorn cross at this point. The silkies will be full blooded silkies.

 

[rosecjr]

Reply to an OLD post. We are off Tomahawk too! I love it out here

 

[suncatcher]

From my Doms, got 12 eggs from 14 hens yesterday!!! And 3 EE eggs too!
7 of the 8 breeders laid yesterday. Pen 4 is picking up!

Sounds like that bigger brooder will come in handy with this years hatch!! Nice! How long before you may have some pulltets for sale???? Thinking of adding a Dom pullet to my laying flock.

 

[suncatcher]

Woo Hoo!e

What flavors are these again?

These appear to be australorp leghorn cross at this point. The silkies will be full blooded silkies.

Nice cross, should be some great layers!!

 

[trsturself]

I cleaned the brooders out yesterday, refilled the food (haven't had a chance to buy different food, the feed store is 30 min in a direction we don't travel often), and gave fresh plain water. No dead ones this morning. I also gave each brooder a dish of yogurt. It took the LF awhile to figure out it was food but then they all were devouring the dish. The bantams were checking it out right away but I never saw them eating. That brooder is in my daughter's room so I haven't checked on them again.

Candled the eggs again today. 1 silkie was not viable and 1 more is questionable, the rest are growing nicely. Out of suncatcher's mixes I think one maran egg is clear but I'm leaving it in there because it's just so hard to tell on those dark eggs. Everyone else is developing nicely. I saw a lot of movement. Hopefully they'll survive better than these shipped birds! If not then I'll definitely know there's something wrong somewhere!

 

[suncatcher]

I cleaned the brooders out yesterday, refilled the food (haven't had a chance to buy different food, the feed store is 30 min in a direction we don't travel often), and gave fresh plain water. No dead ones this morning. I also gave each brooder a dish of yogurt. It took the LF awhile to figure out it was food but then they all were devouring the dish. The bantams were checking it out right away but I never saw them eating. That brooder is in my daughter's room so I haven't checked on them again. 

Candled the eggs again today. 1 silkie was not viable and 1 more is questionable, the rest are growing nicely. Out of suncatcher's mixes I think one maran egg is clear but I'm leaving it in there because it's just so hard to tell on those dark eggs. Everyone else is developing nicely. I saw a lot of movement. Hopefully they'll survive better than these shipped birds! If not then I'll definitely know there's something wrong somewhere!

 

[CAKtoDIA]

Hey guys, just came across this site yesterday in the early stages of my chicken adventure. I had a couple questions and was looking for some advice from people in the area (I'm in Stetson Hills).

I'd like to get our allotted 10 hens and keep them as layers. I took a couple pictures of our back yard where we plan to keep them:




Judging by the amount of birds that frequent our yard I think there are quite a bit of bugs for some of their diet and some weed/overgrown vegetation. I'd like to keep them soy/grain free and am still doing research on what else I'll need to add to their diet.

Here are the questions I was curious about.

Do you clip their wings to prevent them from flying or have you found that not to be an issue? I would prefer to let them run around during the days and then coop them at night. We also have a neighbor with a small dog though have never had any issues with it getting into our yard or anything other than barking(though chickens may increase the odds of that).

I plan to DIY as much as possible. Are there any good 10 chicken coop plans that people have found? Again I'd like to let them roam during the day so I'd think that would cut down on the actual coop size? I also would like to build a self waterer and with our winters I was concerned about how to keep it from freezing. On that same note do people in CO typically use a heat light?

Any location specific tips you guys have would also be great. Looking forward to having my own flock!

 

[trsturself]

Hey guys, just came across this site yesterday in the early stages of my chicken adventure. I had a couple questions and was looking for some advice from people in the area (I'm in Stetson Hills).

I'd like to get our allotted 10 hens and keep them as layers. I took a couple pictures of our back yard where we plan to keep them:




Judging by the amount of birds that frequent our yard I think there are quite a bit of bugs for some of their diet and some weed/overgrown vegetation. I'd like to keep them soy/grain free and am still doing research on what else I'll need to add to their diet.

Here are the questions I was curious about.

Do you clip their wings to prevent them from flying or have you found that not to be an issue? I would prefer to let them run around during the days and then coop them at night. We also have a neighbor with a small dog though have never had any issues with it getting into our yard or anything other than barking(though chickens may increase the odds of that).

I plan to DIY as much as possible. Are there any good 10 chicken coop plans that people have found? Again I'd like to let them roam during the day so I'd think that would cut down on the actual coop size? I also would like to build a self waterer and with our winters I was concerned about how to keep it from freezing. On that same note do people in CO typically use a heat light?

Any location specific tips you guys have would also be great. Looking forward to having my own flock!

My opinions:
1) We don't clip wings. If you get larger breeds they flying over your fence isn't likely (but definitely not impossible). If you get some of the smaller breeds or flighty breeds this is more likely. I walked out to put my trash this morning I found one of my polish in the front yard. They are in a coop that is covered in large hole netting. Somehow she keeps finding ways out and she can easily fly over a fence. I have seen our larger breeds on top of the 5' chain link fence that surrounds their area but never more than that.

2) google coop images and see what speaks to you. In my experience we like the nest boxes to be on the outside, the bottom off the ground a couple feet to make cleaning easier, and a large human door that allows access to all areas of the coop easily. If you are going to let them out everyday you don't need as much room in the coop, but keep the weather in mind, they don't like to go out in heavy snow or rain so if you don't give them access to a weather proof area, they'll be spending a lot of time in that coop.

3) I would be worried about foxes and coyotes coming over your fence from that open area behind you. A friend of mine had a fox come over her 6' fence while she watched from her kitchen window, it killed all 4 of her chickens before she could make it outside to scare it off. And she lived in a suburban area. We have had trouble with hawks here. 3 attacks in a year.

4) waterers - we use a self waterer in the warm months but bring water out to a rubber bowl each day in the cold months. There is a thread on byc about winterizing waterers and after reading that and other threads, find this way the easiest for us.

5) Heat light - I only provide warmth when it is below 0 for prolonged times. I don't put it in the coop but rather shine it on the side of the coop to provide a little ambient warmth.

6) location - If it were me I would put my coop on the side of the house and build an enclosed run off of it to the edge of the house. This way they have a safe dry area and you can let them out to the yard when you want.

 

[Euarto Gullible]

3 weeks ago, I set 9. 3 were infertile (the breeder's eggs...not from my flock). All 6 remaining chicks hatched.

 

[Araucana16]

Lord, aren't those babies just precious?