Oh.. that's great sunflower.. how fun to have the hive.. / honey..
Trish.. I loved the post of some one who recieved a Barnevelder rooster from McMurray's.. it almose made me want to get some..
they sure look pretty..
hello all .. and new members.. I can relate to some one who.. is trying to get the photo.. posting ect.. figured out.. (I wish there were a youtube of the basics.. grin)
I have a couple of ?? for your in put.... 1) about my chicks.. 2) hoop coop attachment.
1) I have some BLRWyandott's. 3 wk. - that sound like "Flipper" the dolphin.. when they're pooping.. It was an interesting sound.. and it took me a while.. to figure it out.. but .. after watching.. I think they may be a bit constipated.. ( none of the rest do this). They ( or is it just one?) seem to take a while.. to get the job done.. and they make that Flipper .. sound. it may take a minute or more.. to get the poop out.
? should i be concerned.. ? ( this is going on 5 day's or so. that i have noticed this.)
2) I want to ask.. to the hoop coop builders.. here.. about which side of the frame.. to attach the cattle panels.
I've seen it done on both .. on inside and out side. My thoughts were to put on the inside of the frame work.. but .. wanted to know your thoughts.
Danz I liked .. your addition of wooden floor at one. for ? feed and supply ? storage at the end.
. I may try some thing like that.. I've got some scrap.. wood to use up.
I have a Tarp to cover.. any suggestions for longevity.. I have bungie cords.. but do I need to "snug" it on with twine or rope.. to keep from flapping?
I have ply board to cover the (east) one end.. and will try to put a recycle window.. for light and ventilation on E side..
I wonder ?? how much.. space for ventilation should I allow for.. If.. the West will be Open air.. ?
I will place coop W to E with human door on West end.. between a Shed and Cedar row.. for wind break
and .. getting the ador1 automatic door.. for when i go out of town.. ( make it easier.. for care takers.. and chickens. )
If .. I've forgotten some thing. your reminder is welcome.. thanks..
-- Im going to try and catch up on some post's.. with this cold again weather.. melting snow here in wKansas this am..
I put the panels on the inside of the wood frame. I use a tarp at the moment and got one of the more expensive heavy-duty tarps vs. the cheapest you can find at
Walmart. I think I got my tarp at
TSC and it was about $30 but the different in quality is really noticeable from the cheap tarps. A lot of people use zip ties to tie them on. I used tarp straps that you can get at Atwoods,
TSC etc. They were about 99c apiece but are made of really heavy rubber with an S hook at each end and make it easier to take it off an on, than having to cut off zip ties every time. I have one tarp strap through each grommet on the tarp and you can hear the wind moving over it but it really doesn't flap at all. I just ordered some shade cloth and my plan is to replace the tarp with shade cloth for the summer. That way the birds will stay a little cooler. The shade cloth won't keep rain out, but in the summer months, I'm more concerned about heat than them getting a little wet, and in any case, I have dog kennels inside the hoop coop so they still have a way to get out of the rain if they don't want to get wet. The panels are 16' long, so I got a tarp that is only 10'. Then I centered it, and there is about 3' on each of the side walls that is open to the air so ventilation isn't an issue.
If you notice that poop is sticking to the fuzz around the vent of the chick, they have what is known as "pasty butt" and it needs to be cleaned off, because if the vent gets blocked and they can't poop at all, they will die. It can be hard to get off. Some people just pluck the fuzz around the vent so there is nothing for the poop to stick to. You want to be careful doing this though because their skin is fragile and can rip easily. My DD is great at getting pasty butt off. She will sometimes soak them in warm water to help ease it off, or use a q-tip with a little olive oil. Once she has them clean she dries them and puts them back under the heat. In most cases once you have it cleaned off, it doesn't return, but keep an eye on them just in case. This is a stage they will outgrow. If you aren't seeing poop stuck to them, I wouldn't worry - some of them make quite a production out of pooping - DD and I get a chuckle out of them.
(Cue Europe's The Final CountDown) I always hear that music when ever I say 'count down'... I can't help it.
Where the heck is Hays?!?!? LOL I do all of my shopping in Wichita or Derby, I don't really know where all the other small towns are!
I TOTALLY agree that riding builds those core muscles!!! That alone keeps your back in line. Weak core muscles means a weak back. You could also do a tons of sit-ups and push-ups.... or go horse back riding! I prefer the horse method!
LOL about Hays! It is a fairly large town, about 3 hours drive from us. If you go up north to Salina, then turn west and go about another 90 miles, you'll get to Hays. There is a big University there and a dinosaur museum that is fabulous. If I'm not mistaken, it is also the birthplace of a couple of US congressman or senators. Or is that Russell. Yeah - I think its Russell. But anyway, they're not far apart.
Yep - that was what I figured too - I am not one to go to a gym and do sit ups and all that - far better to go horse-riding and get the same sort of work out.
Darn - now I'm singing 'The Final Countdown...."
I only have a few minutes because I hear a little jelly bean rousing in her bassinet which means it is yet again time to eat!! Just wanted to pop in and say hi to everyone and welcome to new comers!!
Cute frizzled red cochin chick in a pic a ways back, lucky draw out of a hatchery bantam bin!! Looks like two little cochin roos for sure in the first two pics, one of those looks like maybe a bantam brahma (silver laced one?)
This weather is miserable!!! I am so over the cold. Baby was wearing a onesie two days ago and toasty warm and now she is back in footed pjs and all bundled up!! It can rain for all I care but I could do without the 50 degree temp swings!!
Honey discussion is interesting. One of the girls DH works with has honeybees and she asked if she could put a hive on our property. It will be fun to see how it works. She will tend them we just "host" them and provide them with a territory to feed. And if all goes well get some free honey out of the deal!
Thanks Hawkeye for all your laundering of cloth diaper help! I think I am finally getting it down now. Part of my trouble is this washing machine is new to me so I couldn't figure out how to do an extra rinse at the end but I think I have it now!
We had a load of hedge firewood delivered yesterday to keep our 4th "last" fire of the season going and boy is it toasty in here with that stuff burning. We had been burning some very old nasty half rotten hackberry and it would just fall apart in the stove and not catch on fire so this is a huge improvement. Stay warm and dry everyone!
Good to see you around and glad things are going well for you!
