Consolidated Kansas

[ashncarson]

I am sure ready for it to dry up and stay dry for a bit!

Here is our project lately. I want my girls to be able to free-range more so I came up with the idea of making a "tractor" of sorts to be used in the evenings when we are home, but the dogs can still go in and out as needed (while outside with them, or in the kitchen that overlooks the chickens)

the door on top is "closed" here

The top door is open here.

You can see the door that top that will serve to "drop" the chickens in and then can just left the whole thing up when they are ready to return to their coop.


We opted to cover it with this thick plastic netting on 3 sides (and the top) then chicken wire on one side. They will not be left alone with us not home so I feel like this should be a safe enough option.

Depending on the rain tomorrow I hope to glue the plastic together and cover it with the plastic!

 

[ashncarson]

We transferred half of our 6-week-old chicks out to the silo coop when we got the silo cleaned out. We initially moved all 12 of them out to the run with our 8 full-grown hens while we cleaned the silo out, and we quickly discovered which ones could still fit through the holes in the chain link! I put my youngest to work watching to see which chicks were getting out. I told them, "If a chick gets out, catch it and put it back in the brooder in the garage." The 6, 6-week-olds that survived the run without being able to fit through the chain link holes are now transitioning to the coop quite nicely.

That is great to hear that they are doing well at only 6 weeks old with the grown girls! That gives me hope for our babies to join the rest soon!

 

[spree56]

Ashncarson, Cool. Love to see the finished product.

 

[Grain Gypsy]

@ashncarson , I love it, and I know your featherbabies will love it, too!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Grain Gypsy, Lots of work clearing out the silo, always so helpful when the whole family pitches in to help. I really appreciate the help I get around here. That is really puzzling how the silo filled like that. It sounds like you're right about the house changing the landscape.

sharol, You and I must be on the same page worry-wise. If I'm not worried, I worry about what I'm going to have to worry about next.

I guess that comes with a housefull of teens, even good ones.

ashncarson, Very clever little solution there. Would like to see it all finished up, too.


I spent yesterday battling weeds and am very happy with the progress I made. I give the weeds to the 7 week old birds and they love picking through them and finding any bugs or grubs I come across while weeding. It gives them something to think about besides picking on each other! My son has been placing 5 gallon buckets of water under our outside lights at night to catch june bugs for the birds, too. He then divides the "treats" among all the birds. The ducks go crazy for them. I found that idea somewhere on BYC and it works very well. Free treats! He has the birds undivided attention now as whenever they see him they think "Bugs!"

Last night DS also modified a double pen so the 7 week olds could get outside on some grass. They are getting big and messy and it's time since they are fully feathered. I'll take a pic once they are outside.

I am going to plant a few things today and have a bunch of things on my to do list around here. Not that I'll actually get them all done but I'll give it a shot! Hope you all have a good day!

 

[milomac]

grain gypsy you may consider filling silo with sand and eliminating the steps down. It would make entering more easy and eliminate the flooding

 

[chicken danz]

I am sure ready for it to dry up and stay dry for a bit!

Here is our project lately. I want my girls to be able to free-range more so I came up with the idea of making a "tractor" of sorts to be used in the evenings when we are home, but the dogs can still go in and out as needed (while outside with them, or in the kitchen that overlooks the chickens)

I've been looking for the pictures of my PVC pen with no luck. I built mine 10' X 10'. I put the door on the side rather than the top cause it was easier to herd the birds out the door than the top. I also added a raised portion and used plstic conduit to add a curved roof and covered it with a tarp so half of the pen has shelter. I have used that pen for everything and I can easily move it across the yard. I put an opening at the top and a drain at the bottom so I could fill the bottom pipes with water for weigh to keep it from picking up in the wind.
My big mistake was this. I used UV resistant fittings but only used normal plastic pipe. The results were the pipe deteriorated over time and broke or came apart. Had I at least painted the thing with fusion paint it would have lasted years longer. I used regular chicken wire on the sides for more protection and plastic netting on top to keep it lighter weight and more user friendly. You will love this pen and will use it for so many things. I particularly liked mine for raising ducklings and geese because they destroy an area so quickly. I could pull it to a new spot nearly every day.
It's cold here today, so I've been postponing going out. I need to get busy. We have more rain forecast starting tonight so I've got to make sure the birds are protected in case of another major storm. The ground is so saturated there is no place for water to go. The creeks around here are all flooded and I just don't know where the water will go next.

 

[Anderson Lowe]

I am sure ready for it to dry up and stay dry for a bit! Here is our project lately. I want my girls to be able to free-range more so I came up with the idea of making a "tractor" of sorts to be used in the evenings when we are home, but the dogs can still go in and out as needed (while outside with them, or in the kitchen that overlooks the chickens) the door on top is "closed" here The top door is open here. You can see the door that top that will serve to "drop" the chickens in and then can just left the whole thing up when they are ready to return to their coop. We opted to cover it with this thick plastic netting on 3 sides (and the top) then chicken wire on one side. They will not be left alone with us not home so I feel like this should be a safe enough option. Depending on the rain tomorrow I hope to glue the plastic together and cover it with the plastic!

Very impressive. Can't wait to see the finished product

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Little chilly and breezy today. I decided the weeds in the strawberries could have their way today, but I'll be back!

Made yet another doctor visit and they are taking me off another medication to see if they can stabilize my BP. Crazy. If they stop that medication, the irregular heartbeats will start again. They know. The type of irregular heartbeat I have won't kill me, the low BP might. But the irregular heartbeat makes me feel weak and tired. It's too bad they haven't figured out how to fix PVC's. My Cardio says it is a faulty signal from the brain, not an electrical problem in the heart, 9 times of 10. So an ablation can't fix it, most likely. So, I will just reconcile myself to being weak and tired and work around it. At least I don't have cancer.

My Walt'z Ark babies will be here tomorrow! 5 Speckled Sussex and 5 Light Sussex so I am so very happy in spite of another depressing doctor appointment. I spent some time with my chickettes today and it makes everything just kind of disappear. Chickens are so therapeutic. I tell my husband they save $$ on therapy bills. My story and I'm sticking to it!

 

[Jacob Vaughan]

Can anyone tell me if this is a male or female