Consolidated Kansas

[Ivywoods]

I use 2 x 4's. Flat side up. It's about 7' wide, 4 tiers and sticks out about 5 feet or so (guessing on that) The whole thing hinges at the top so it can swing up against the ceiling for easy cleaning.

 

[JulieNKC]

I use a 2 x 4, flat side up. It goes across the length of the coop, with a few beams under it for support. Only the babies roost there. The silkies sleep in the nest box(which I let them because if they don't they sleep under the big girls, it's easier to clean the nest box, lol). My big girls all sleep together on top of a wire rabbit cage. It's easy to clean, I just put some newspaper under them and change it. The ducks sleep in the coop too, on the floor. I am trying to convince them to stay out of the coop, but apparently they need their own run/coop. And since DF has a broken leg, it might be awhile.

 

[chicken danz]

I made a coop for my ducks out of an old drafting table. It's the perfect size.

 

[JulieNKC]

Quote:
I have a x large plastic dog kennel I figured would work for them until it gets cold. I'm just scared to have them out of the run all day unsupervised. We have a fenced in 2 acre yard, but there are a couple of labs next door...pretty sure ducks and labs don't mix. So, I want them to have a run before I move them out of the coop. All the chickens are out all day whenever I am home, but I feel better having them locked in when I'm not home. I'm not that worried about predators other than the dogs, but am afraid stupid neighbor kids might see them out when I'm not home and invite themselves in to play.

 

[chicken danz]

Aw the joys of living in town. I have my baby ducks in an old garage with some lights and a heater in there. It is old and drafty but they seem to do fine for now. I move them out when they get fairly feathered.

 

[HEChicken]

Quote:
x2. In my grow out coop, the roost is the wide side of the 2x4 but in the big girls coop I use a 2x6.

 

[bnjmik]

ELECTROCOOP update + questions

I have a few things to share plus some questions about my birds. Please read on and add your comments. Captions are below the pictures. Please bear with me, some of this is off-topic.

This is an entertainment center I am building. I wouldn't post it here but I read a post about a coop built from pallet wood. I acquired some pallets, let them age, then started building this. It looks pretty neat and appears to be built from old barn wood. The structural components are made from new framing boards and it is veneered with the aged oak pallet wood.

This is what I am using to haul water to the chickens. I almost bought a water tank off Craigslist but found this in my basement. This is a beer keg I modified for a moonshine still boiler. It has a fitting at the top to fill, and an outlet with a ball valve at the bottom. It holds 15 gallons of water, and with my 3 waterers, I only have to fill it and take it to the chicken houses once every 3 days.

This is my built-in brooder. I built it into the main chicken house because my wife was complaining about the smell of the cornishX birds on the back porch. I used it for 2 weeks then moved the birds to their new digs in the West building on my property.

Here's a pic of the cornishX birds in their new digs. They are growing very fast and quickly outgrew the brooder. I sectioned off an area in the West building, then moved them in. It only took a couple of hours to clean out the area and put up the netting for the walls and throw down some shavings for the floor. The birds seem to like the new place just fine. I installed the heater lamp just because it has been cold the last few days. They are almost all feathered out so I should be able to remove the lamp soon.

Some of these birds have a large bottom. I am wondering if this is normal. They all seem to be fine and don't have pasty-butt, but the rears look inflamed. I checked their vents and they are all pooping just fine. Is this normal?

This chicken appears to be partially blind. I need some help with this. I am not sure if he got his eye pecked out or if this is a product of disease. When I first go into the coop, he is standing in the corner not moving around. He clearly cannot see. The other birds run away from me but he just stands still. I pick him up quite easily because he cannot see me, but then one of his eyes opens partially. The other eye never opens at all. I pick him up and take him to the waterer, then the feeder just to make sure he is getting fed. The other birds seem to be picking on him. He is about the same size as the others and runs around with the others once I stir the flock up. Any ideas on this? I can live with a pecked out eye, but don't want disease hurting any other birds.

Here is a closer picture of the blind bird. I tried poking, prodding, and spitting on the closed eye to no avail. I can surely use some help on this one. These are meat birds, but I am trying to be careful to make sure they are all happy and healthy.

I also seem to have a white leghorn rooster out of my pan-fry group. He is starting to crow and the other day, I caught him giving it to one of the other pan-fry birds (hopefully a hen), but I know they are too young yet to produce any offspring.

Between the nagging wife, crying baby, and hungry chickens and dogs, I haven't had a chance to work on the electronic controller for the coop, but I have some good ideas to implement an electronic controller with a web-enabled SCADA system, so things will be getting interesting soon.

Thanks for bearing with me and thanks also for any help you can provide.

 

[chicken danz]

The chicken in question could have been injured or had some problem in the incubator that caused him to be born blind. I've always been told the signs of a healthy bird is that they raise one foot occasionally while standing. You might watch for this. How long have you had this bird? I had a Polish with a fantastic top knot but she couldn't see because of the feathers. I had to set her in front of food and water and then in the coop at night. When I finally trimmed her feathers she became a different independent bird. So I would guess this poor chicken is just blind. If you have only had it for a short time I would quarantine it. If you've had it as long as the others and have the room I would make an individual pen for it so it has access to food and water in a given place that it can find on it's own. And of course don't breed it. Hope this helps.

 

[chicken danz]

I forgot the other question. Are the broilers picking at their rear ends? If so it could be mites.

 

[Konza]

Quote:
This looks a lot nicer than the cheap particle board junk you find at Wal Mart these days. I bet the price was better, too.