Colorado

[krcchickens]

Ok
ok I'm going to turn off heat totally!! And ill move them to the garage without heat. I still have to secure some fencing on the run

And let me just say it took an hour to clean all the chicken dust from my laundry room

 

[Mtn Margie]

I have enough starter for maybe another week or so and they are 5 weeks so I hate to buy more starter if I can go ahead and switch them to grower. Don't eat to waste it.

They will be fine, switch away!
On a different note, I am firing up the 'bator again because I have two eggs, that I know came from one of my best chickens through the years and most of the other ones will be BRx and so after today's egg haul, I am going to set eggs and hope the Spring weather plays nice with me for the next 3 weeks or so. I love the two BRx's I got from my first test hatch and so am gonna try it again.
Wendell, I hope your new batch of eggs make a go of it. Maybe things have settled down stress-wise for the "new family".

 

[gardendufus]

We have put Abe on vitamin suppliments, and traded places with the breeders / non-breeders. All the Breeders are now together in the main hen house, while the non-breeders are split up in pens 3 & 4. Plus with the warmer temps we have had, we should see better fertility.

New batch goes into the incubator on Saturday evening......

Wendell, was the reasoning for the change in your pens that you thought it was too stressful on your roo being moved back and forth and that might have caused the lack of hatch?

I'm also wishing you better luck this time.

 

[wsmith]

Wendell, was the reasoning for the change in your pens that you thought it was too stressful on your roo being moved back and forth and that might have caused the lack of hatch?

I'm also wishing you better luck this time.

Thanks. That was part of it. and it is a little warmer inside the main hen house. Also, when I put the vitamins in the water, I don't have to worry about which pen and which waterer, and using twice as much.

 

[jgurshtein]

This weekend we're going to be getting some of the supplies for our run and I wanted your opinions! We live in Denver just off the South Platte River so we have our fair share of predators: coyotes, raccoons, fox, cats, dogs, predatory birds.... A lot! I want to keep my girls as safe as I can, but still happy.

We're building our coop/run in the 10ft space between our house and the fence line on the North side of our house (not so much direct sunlight in the summer, but good wind protection and some sunlight during the winter). So it will be protected on two sides by privacy fence, one half of a side by the house, and then we will be constructing all new fencing on the remaining 1.5 sides. I'm sure my description is not easy to follow, but the run will not be completely between the house/fence, some of it will jut out into the main yard and this is the part where we have to build all new fencing.

We plan to bury hardware cloth (about 2 inches under the dirt), frame the run in 4x4s and build panels with 2x4s covered in hardware cloth for all the sides except the privacy fencing areas where we will just staple the hardware cloth directly to the fence. We will also frame in the area next to the house so their run will be an inch or two from the house itself. This was the only way I could think of to prevent the possibility of some smart critter prying the hardware cloth away from the house and weaseling in there.

The roof will be framed in hardware cloth and then part of it will have suntuf clear plastic corrugated roofing panels to keep them dry for those 5 days out of the year when we get moisture.

The coop will be elevated in the run and closed up at night. I've also given some thought to a motion activated flood lamp to help deter predators.

What do you think? Will my girls be safe? Also, I know this is a stupid question but do I staple the hardware cloth to the INSIDE of the 2x4s or the outside? Couldn't some critter just push enough and work the staples out? But then I suppose one of them could pull hard enough if they were on the outside and get the staples out that way! BAH! I just want my girls to be safe and to have some peace of mind!

 

[wsmith]

What do you think? Will my girls be safe? Also, I know this is a stupid question but do I staple the hardware cloth to the INSIDE of the 2x4s or the outside? Couldn't some critter just push enough and work the staples out? But then I suppose one of them could pull hard enough if they were on the outside and get the staples out that way! BAH! I just want my girls to be safe and to have some peace of mind!

I would use U nails stapled to the outside of the frames. That way the predators won't be as much of a danger.

 

[Pozees]

I would use U nails stapled to the outside of the frames. That way the predators won't be as much of a danger.

Excellent suggestion. The only other thing I can think of is that if you do start seeing predator problems you can buy the step-in posts and the polywire and a charger and strong electric fence around the whole shebang.

 

[ColoBecky]

Quote:
Not sure how your run is designed, but I have the hardware cloth stapled to the back of each 2x4, and then sandwiched it with another 2x4.

 

[Chook Chick]

Well, after weeks of trying to get someone to build a coop for me, I decided to build one myself. By going to a couple of local places that sell used building materials, I am building a 5' x 6' coop. much bigger (and it will be much stronger too) than these cheap-o ones you see on Amazon.com and many other sites. With the winds we have here in Colorado, I have no doubt it will stand up to them.

I'm really hoping it doesn't snow this weekend....I could probably be almost done with it by Tuesday (The 26th). Mind you, I have no real help. When I say I'm doing it by myself, I MEAN by myself. The only help I've had was my son putting the blade in the Sawzall (I didn't know how) and my daughter held the first wall up while I added some temporary side supports. That's it.

I'm a 54 (soon to be 55) year old mother of 5 and grandmother of 3; I have no carpentry skills whatsoever. I read alot about framing. chicken coops and watched a couple of YouTube videos.

Here's a few pictures:






My son tried to do some leveling of the legs.....needless to say, I had to do that job over again!


Last Sunday:


The brown box is an old 30" cabinet that will be a future nesting box.

This coop will end up costing me about $300; that includes a few tool purchases I needed. The only thing that will be new on/in this coop is the peel and stick linoleum tiles I will be using for the coop flooring. Everything else has been purchased reused at the "Restore" which supports Habitat for Humanity, and the "Used Again" building materials place on the westside in Colorado Springs. If an old grandma like me can do it, so can you!!

 

[jgurshtein]

Not sure how your run is designed, but I have the hardware cloth stapled to the back of each 2x4, and then sandwiched it with another 2x4.

I am familiar with the U nails... we might even already have some! I was also considering sandwiching the cloth with another piece of wood but I wasn't sure how much extra protection that would provide (especially when you compare it with the added costs).