Consolidated Kansas

[callducklover20]

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Well we looked at the wood on the pen it was some what weathered. His friend just picked up some new 3/8 plywood and, is on his way over to fix the pen for him.

Thanks for the heads up on the wood I will let Daren know.

 

[Ivywoods]

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Hawkeye go out with your hubby and decide on a place for the coop. Are you going to use a 3-point post hole auger? What has worked for us in the past is to go out a day or two before the planeed "dig" day. Lay a garden hose out right where you want to dig, and put it on trickle so the water soaks in as it goes and doesn't make such a big muddy puddle. Let the water soak in deeply where you are going to dig. If need be, dig a small "bowl" where you are going to put the post, then let the water soak in through the bowl. Then in a day or so when you dig your hole it will be MUCH easier.

I've had to put fence posts where there used to be an old driveway. It was so hard the auger wouldn't take a bite at all.

Using this method it went right in. Also, when you are digging and the ground is dry sometimes the dirt is so powdery it falls back in the hole around the auger and is hard to get out of the hole. The moisture gives it enough firmness that it will lift right out.

Hope this helps and good luck. Be sure to stay cool in this heat!

Not trying to disagree but we have the opposite problem. We have the worst clay soil in Kansas. If it is wet at all it sticks to the auger and acts like a suction cup. Then the tractor can't pull it back up. We can only drill post holes if it is dry. I dream of a farm with a mild climate, great soil, and just the right amount of rainfall.

Oh, yes. Wet clay makes a sticky mess. That's why it's important to get out a day or two ahead of time. You can get some moisture into the soil and by the time you are ready to dig it should be about right.

 

[Hawkeye95]

thank you all so much for the great advice! Ivywoods, yeah, we do have a 3 point auger that fits on the back of our tractor. And I know from experience that when the ground is this dry, it cuts down a few inches and then it's like hitting rock. In the past, we've had to rent larger machines to build our barn (for digging). But I just want to use what we have, our tractor/auger is not really that small... but it's not super duty heavy, either, I suppose. I agree with ChickenDanz about our clay soil and it mucking up when it gets overly wet. In fact, it takes a while to dry out after a lot of soaking and heavy rains. But I do think it's probably a good idea to run a sprinkler over the whole area the night before we go to dig so that maybe it'll be just the right amount of moisture. This could get interesting. But I don't want to kill myself in the heat figuring it out. ha!

CallDuckLover- WOW that is one determined raccoon(s)!! I am so very sorry for the loss of all of those birds! That is just awful! And with him being so sick, this couldn't be happening at a worse time.

I hope he starts to feel better quickly!

That makes me pretty worried about how I'm going to build my run/coop. I know they can tear apart the chicken wire, but can they tear apart the hardware cloth.. or is he ripping it away from the wood it's secured to? I was looking at someone's coop here recently and they said they had a lot of raccoons and they were using the hardware cloth, but sandwiching it between two pieces of wood, so there are no exposed edges to get ahold of. I'm pretty sure that's how I'm going to build mine. I realize that is a lot more wood to buy/hunt down.
My other worry- and not a lot of people really address this, is what about the predators trying to get UNDER the wiring? Even if I dig down a few inches, is that enough? I don't want to lay wire on top of the grass for an apron. I'm just too worried about mowing over it or having a lot of weeds get in there. Is there another idea for preventing something from digging under? Here's a crazy idea.. and possibly costly, but I was thinking that if I attached the bottom of my wiring to PVC pipe and wrapped it a bit around the pipe (pipe won't rot out) and screw it into that and have that burried down into the dirt maybe about a foot all around...?? Good idea, bad idea??? Any other suggestions?

ChicksChook- I'll go check out the polish forum, didn't know there was one! That will be fun to check out! Thanks for the info! And yes, I heartily agree with you- having your power out in these kinds of temps is very akin to having a power outage in the middle of a blizzard. It was miserable! I don't know what happened, but it effected a large portion of our CoOp.

 

[ChickiKat]

Chiming in from Ks.. I sure wish the heat would stop... Luckily strawberries and watermelon were on sale at the store so the chickers will have cold treats.....

 

[Hawkeye95]

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I saw in your Signature that you have White Crested Black Polish... where did you get them??

 

[redsoxs]

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I hear you - I came home with a couple bags of frozen peas, a watermelon, and two free cantaloupe the store was about to pitch. First thing when I got home I gave the birds frsh cold water and a bag of frozen peas - they perked right up!

 

[ChickiKat]

Whited Crest Black Polish came from Estes Hatchery in Springfiled Mo. We drove down there to get her and our Silver Seabrites...... She is such a spaz!!!
Tell me how to put a picture in a post and I will do that....

 

[tazcat70]

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Oh Katy, I am so sorry to hear that.

 

[Hawkeye95]

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Go to the top of the page and on the blue bar (where it shows you logged in) click on "Uploads" and follow the directions. Might want to resize your photos before you upload. You can simply right click on your .jpg file on your computer and click Edit and then click 'Home' and then Resize it to about 20%- if it was taken on a high resolution camera. If it was taken on your phone, it might be fine the way it is.

I'd love to see a pic! I looked at that hatchery online, and that is awesome that you can just drive up there and get what you want. The online shipping sales require a 25 chick min (I'm only wanting 10 at the most). What kind of coop do you have?

 

[callducklover20]

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yeah it/they have dug under too-we got concrete and concreted all over the edges of everything-stopped the digging but then they went to ripping the wire apart. Hopefully with the new wire and wood and live traps and Daren sitting out there nothing will be lost tonight