Colorado

[madileana]

@cdlord
We bought a coop kit from Costco and it was a waste of money. We ended converting a playhouse into the new coop and insulating it. Anything you build is going to be better than the kit coop. There is zero insulation and it will end up being a fast food joint for raccoons.

 

[uzisuzuki]

I agree with Percheron chick. The first one looks like a cream brabanter. They are pretty birds. Thanks for the heads up on the rain as there are a ton of chores waiting on me. Just wishing I had a day off before the weekend. I have half a pick up load of compost to wheel to the back yard since I need the truck for other things this weekend. Mother Nature always messing with the plans lol. madileana, Glad that handsome pup is good with the gals. Bummer bout the coons getting the birds. I put hasp latches on the coops here and keep a padlock on them to keep the nasty critters out. (This includes someone stealing eggs from our yard the last couple years.) Humans have been my greatest threat but we have coons here in Loveland too. COChix, They are growing like weeds! Looking quite happy too. Uzi, You have a lot going on! I do not know how you keep it all straight. I would be a mess trying to remember when I started which egg. I hope they all hatch for you. I know I am missing responding to several posts. Been busy around here too. The ladies made a mess out of the back yard last fall and I did not get it fixed all up yet. Please forgive the mess in the pic as well..... life happens here a lot. I had to share one of the new garden beds. I am rather tired of mowing so am going all gardens in the back yard. (I know I know..... the yard is a mess.) The mulch path was decimated by the chickens last fall and I never got round to fixing it as I plan to do a stone path there when we do the stone patio. Lots to do but progress being made.

Your yard looks better than ours (the rabbits tunnelled out of their pens & took over)! I bullet journal to help with my TBI, so I'm in the habit of writing everything down now. If I didn't have it written down, I wouldn't be able to keep track!

 

[renzanity]

Hi Colorado chicken people,

I am moving to a new house in the same neighborhood, and I'd like to take my chicken coop with me. Problem is, it wasn't built with moving in mind, and we don't have an alley. So it's either a crane, or taking it apart and rebuilding at the new house.

Can anyone recommend a builder who might be able to do this in Denver? I know there are some shady folks on Craigslist, want to find someone reputable. Thanks!

Hi! If you haven't found someone yet, I can recommend my husband. I know, not much better than Craigslist, but he is a pretty fabulous carpenter. I can show you some of the work he's done. Of course...I should probably ask him if he's interested first. Buuuuut oh well.

 

[renzanity]

@lomine
I started last year with two RIR's, one Salmon Faverole, two bantam EE's, one Barred Rock and a speckled Sussex. Then a racoon happened and left me with one RIR and the Barred Rock.

So, this spring I wanted to restore the flock. I got two EE's and two Polish. We also installed a large dog kennel around our coop so they are better protected. The Racoon broke in through the nest box, which was taken off and replaced with plywood.

Big Red and Blackstar. After the racoon got my other girls, I brought this home:

He grew into the rooster!

He stays with the girls from the moment they wake and herds them into the coop for bed.

What a beautiful pup! How did you train him to guard them? I know Border Collies have instinctual herding and protective-of-flock instincts; I'm just worried about our dog. He is a lab/boxer mix and great with other dogs. Any other animal though? That's lunch.

 

[renzanity]

Hi cdlord, I would also like to suggest trying to make one yourself. Murdoch's has nice designs BUT they are overpriced and cheaply made. There are some fantastic plans on BYC that can help you maximize your coop for less money. DH and I built ours based on a design from here and it ended up being about $300 for a 3x4 foot house with a 12x24 inch nesting box. (This does NOT include the run, just the house, but I imagine a run like the one in the photo would only cost about $150 max to build.)

Here is the link to the house we based our duck house on:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-coop-est-2013

 

[COChix]

all the newbies. Wow our board is getting more people all the time, how cool is that. Of course it's been said many times don't be strangers, feel free to ask questions, share first eggs and of course we love chic pics!

 

[madileana]

@renzanity
I didn't train him to do anything for the chickens! He just does it, it's completely instinctual. He loves them with his whole doggie heart. They are magical creatures that he can control and they reward him with delicious butt treats. We brought him home last August and he was my first puppy, as an adult. I'm not sure if it's a BC thing, but he spent 80% of his day outside. He was just happier out than in the house. The chickens replaced his pup mates so he wasn't alone. We also have four children that kept him busy. By routine he was just used to me taking him out in the am and waking the chickens and then in the evening, putting them to bed before he came in for the night. Our chickens really think he is the rooster and he takes care of them all day.

I read that there is a huge difference between bred working BC's and show BC's, so I got Emmett from a working line. He is all business in the backyard, won't even let you pet him, but in the house or beyond the backyard, he is sugar coated in love. He does the school marathon weekly with our special needs daughter and is a celebrity to a flock of ten little girls that take turns holding his leash.

 

[COChix]

@renzanity
I didn't train him to do anything for the chickens! He just does it, it's completely instinctual. He loves them with his whole doggie heart. They are magical creatures that he can control and they reward him with delicious butt treats. We brought him home last August and he was my first puppy, as an adult. I'm not sure if it's a BC thing, but he spent 80% of his day outside. He was just happier out than in the house. The chickens replaced his pup mates so he wasn't alone. We also have four children that kept him busy. By routine he was just used to me taking him out in the am and waking the chickens and then in the evening, putting them to bed before he came in for the night. Our chickens really think he is the rooster and he takes care of them all day.

I read that there is a huge difference between bred working BC's and show BC's, so I got Emmett from a working line. He is all business in the backyard, won't even let you pet him, but in the house or beyond the backyard, he is sugar coated in love. He does the school marathon weekly with our special needs daughter and is a celebrity to a flock of ten little girls that take turns holding his leash.

Wow what a great dog.....

 

[Mtn Margie]

Hey Newbies! That is a cool dog for sure.
I have one chick out this AM and hoping for more. Haven't really looked for more pips and this one is early for my usual hatch days, which are always 2 days late. I don't know.... wasn't expecting to be setting eggs, so the precare was not there and I lost power twice during this whole thing. Now we have another storm coming in and will probably lose power, so the babies will be hanging out by the wood stove yet again!
I was so happy to see the ground and start cleaning the critter pens and garden. At least it melts quickly.....

 

[COChix]

Hey Newbies!  That is a cool dog for sure.
I have one chick out this AM and hoping for more.  Haven't really looked for more pips and this one is early for my usual hatch days, which are always 2 days late.  I don't know....   wasn't expecting to be setting eggs, so the precare was not there and I lost power twice during this whole thing.  Now we have another storm coming in and will probably lose power, so the babies will be hanging out by the wood stove yet again! 
I was so happy to see the ground and start cleaning the critter pens and garden.  At least it melts quickly.....

Yea and congrats on your hatch. From what I am reading it has been a weird hatching year for people.