Consolidated Kansas

[chicken danz]

Tweety the pen is 32' X 24' and 6 foot high. The building I built is 8' wide X 6 foot deep, 6 feet high in the back and 7' high in the front. I used all 8 foot treated lumber to build it and the pen. We built panels all the same size then hooked them together on the posts. They are all bolted together so we could angle them to fit the contour of the ground. Once attached to the posts, we put the wire on them. The netting was the hold up. I didn't have enough on hand and had to order some more. Then I had to do a lot of lacing and piecing to get it to work around the tree limbs.
I got some rock moved over to the peafowl pen base and put what straw I had in there. DH just got home and he is putting an extension cord out there to hook up my building. (I had no idea where he had stowed all the extension cords.) When I wired it last year I just wired it so it could be plugged into an extension cord until I get rich enough to run underground power out there. So maybe tomorrow I'll finally start relocating peachicks.
I had a dead lavender orpington hen when I was feeding. She was sitting on the nest. They have all been perfectly healthy and have not had colds or anything. This nest is an open top one so I am wondering if the rooster might have jumped on her and broken her neck. I need to go an necropsy and see if I can find out what is wrong. I am down to only 4 hens now. I have a few pullets but they aren't breeding age yet.

 

[chicken danz]

I just did a necropsy on the hen. Everything was perfectly healthy about her. But the cause of death was am impacted sour crop. She had whole milo packed in there. I haven't fed whole milo for 4 weeks. I guess I'll add some more grit out there and maybe put a little veggie oil on the food to make sure the rest of them are okay. I hate loosing a valuable hen.

 

[HEChicken]

That sucks, Danz, I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Trish44]

Ooohhhh - I found it! http://www.walmart.com/ip/Anchor-Hocking-Heritage-Hill-1-Gal-Jar-with-Lid/16486706

It is only $7.44 at my store right now so next time I'm there I think I'll grab one. Actually, the reviews from people mostly were using them because they hold a whole 5-lb bag of flour, sugar, rice etc, so I may end up getting more than one. I get really tired of the paper sacks that flour comes in - so messy.

Wow, that's a lot cheaper than I figured it would be, I think I'll pick up one of those too for when I get duck eggs. Thanks for sharing that HEChicken!

I'm sorry about your hen Danz, it's just the pits to lose any let alone a valuable one.

 

[chicken danz]

That's the problem with trying to specialize in high quality breeds. When you loose one you loose a lot more at one time.
We got quite a bit of rain during the night. There is a huge puddle where the pool used to be. At least it is entertainment for the geese and the ducks.
I'm really not anxious to get out and get all muddy today.
I've seen those jars at Walmart and wondered what I could use them for. My problem is finding a place to keep one when I am not using it. A couple of those would be handy for making ACV other than you couldn't use the lid.
I'm attempting to use a plastic bucket. I'm not sure it is going to work because after I got it all done I read it was supposed to be non-clorinated water. I just used tap water. It took a couple gallons of water. But I use tap water for my fermented feed and it works so maybe it will develop anyway. I guess we'll see.

 

[ctrymama]

Well I just came from my meeting with planning and zoning and we are good to go. We are zoned agricultural so no permit needed. We also stopped in at the heath department and we are good to go with them as well. Now all we have to do is build a coop and then get some chickens. But can you build a coop on a slope, all of the pictures of them are on flat ground and all I have is slope.

 

[chicken danz]

Congratulations. Yes you can build on a slope. The best way of course is to build supports or a foundation that is level. I have my houses on blocks and I built the floor frame, leveled it using blocks then built up from the floor. You may have to do a little digging to get your support blocks even but not that much. You can use concrete blocks, pavers or whatever you have on hand. If you don't have a floor you can use post for corner supports set in the ground. Just be sure they are plumb before starting to build from them. You can also pre build a house then move it into position on top of supports if you have a tractor or other equipment to move it.

 

[sharol]

Well I just came from my meeting with planning and zoning and we are good to go. We are zoned agricultural so no permit needed. We also stopped in at the heath department and we are good to go with them as well. Now all we have to do is build a coop and then get some chickens. But can you build a coop on a slope, all of the pictures of them are on flat ground and all I have is slope.

That's really good news. I'll say the same thing as everyone else. Plan ahead for the number of chickens you think you want and then double that number and multiply by 4 for the square foot space of the house. ;-) Chicken math is not a joke.

Enjoy.

 

[Trish44]

Well I just came from my meeting with planning and zoning and we are good to go. We are zoned agricultural so no permit needed. We also stopped in at the heath department and we are good to go with them as well. Now all we have to do is build a coop and then get some chickens. But can you build a coop on a slope, all of the pictures of them are on flat ground and all I have is slope.

That's great, you can join us crazy chicken people! But seriously you can build as Danz said on a slope, that is all we have here since we live on a big hill & our whole property is sloped. We built a breeder coop last year & we used cement blocks to level it for the foundation. You just have to use a line level to get it leveled right. It took some digging & adjusting but we got it done. I agree with building a bigger coop than you think you need because believe me once you get chickens you will get more than you think right now you will. Once you see little fluffy chicks you just want more & there are so many breeds to choose from.

We did get some nice rain last night, slightly more than HEChicken got at her place. I'm glad it's not raining all day though. We have to take our oldest cat to the Vet today to get her checked out. She has had a cold for awhile & now she's congested so maybe she needs some antibiotics to get over this finally. I have been putting some VetRX on her nose & neck to help her breathing & it has helped some.

 

[ctrymama]

So I have been looking through breeds and reading all about them, now I have come back here to ask. What birds do you like? We are looking for egg layers and show birds for 4-H but they must earn their keep too. I was wanting to do a few meat birds a couple times a year but the county did say no to the tractor and I am not sure about a stationary coop/run for those stinky things, suggestions on that would be great too.