Consolidated Kansas

[Hawkeye95]

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The heat has been insane! I know I could have gotten a lot more done on my coop if only the weather would let up so I could work during the day. During the hottest part, I'm spending a bit of time on here browsing reading about chickens!

But it just makes me more anxious to get back out there and get it done. I have a baby turkey (teenager now) that really needs out of her temporary pen under our deck. At least it has shade, but not a lot of room. And I worry about the neighbor dogs coming over and getting her.

No progress on the coop today, I had to go get grain and do horsey type chores before it got hot. Sigh.

 

[chicken danz]

Ivywoods, I am so jealous. We got some sprinkles this morning. Lasted maybe 2 minutes tops. That's it. Nothing else in weeks and weeks. I am so envious. This little bit this morning just made the humidity higher.

 

[HEChicken]

Kansans, I need your help! After years of keeping chickens with never a broody, including keeping breeds that "frequently" go broody like BO's and a SS, it appears that my BSL has decided its now or never. Go figure. And in the middle of a heat wave in what is shaping up to be the hottest summer on record too. So...the poor girl is sitting on her nest, panting and panting, stopping only to scream at me when I check on her. I've been wanting a broody for awhile but wish she'd waited a couple of months. Oh well.

Since I cannot have a rooster, I don't have any fertile eggs. I know a lady from whom I could get some, but they would be indeterminate breeds and since there are a few breeds I've been hankering for, I decided this may be my chance. I had planned to order some hatching eggs in the spring and incubate them anyway, so its only moving it up a few months. However, because of the heat, I'm reluctant to order eggs as I'm afraid they'll get too hot in transit to me and never start. So here's where you come in. If anyone has fertile eggs in one or several of the below listed breeds, could I purchase them from you and, more importantly, drive to pick them up? That way I will feel I've done my best to give her eggs that are likely to hatch.

The breeds I am interested in are:

Buckeye
Java
Welsummer
Silkie (well, this was so I might get a broody; now I'm not so sure it would be a good idea since a silkie in a flock of LF may not fare so well?)
Ameraucana
Araucana
Brabanter
Lakenvelder

If you have any (or preferably multiple) of these breeds AND have fertile eggs, could you PLEASE PM me? Obviously, closer is better but I'm willing to make a drive if I have to, even though these will end up being the most expensive chickens I own by the time I add up gas, road tolls etc

The things we do, eh?

 

[Hawkeye95]

okay, I'm framing up the nesting box side with the window... I need advice! Do I want the opening to be 16 or 18 inches high? That will bump up my window a bit higher too... I'm making the wall 68 inches in height... or should i just go a bit higher and make them 6 feet???? I just figured that might be over kill and try to make a bit shorter... or not??? help!

 

[Hawkeye95]

okay- just read a thread where a bunch of people chimed in at 18 inches high for nesting boxes... what about the wall height? It's not exactly a "walk-in" coop, but at 68 inches I can stand up. If I made it at 6 feet... it would REALLY be tall. Advice?!?! Going to cut the cross beams for the boxes now... I'll check back in a bit for the wall height. I didn't expect to be so indecisive

 

[sharol]

Honestly, it probably isn't important as long as the roosts are higher than the nest boxes. Remember to figure in your shavings or straw bedding on the floor of the coop. If you are going to do deep litter (I really recommend it - I use a modified version of it) method, you need to figure that the bedding will be 10" or so deep by the end of the winter. That will impact headroom as well as the height of the nest boxes. The chickens won't care how high the boxes are as long as they are snug and darkish for quiet laying.


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[Hawkeye95]

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OKay- I am 6 inches off the floor right now for the nesting boxes. (accessed from the outside). Perhaps I should raise them and make the wall height 6 feet. I'm just worried about haivng this crazy tall coop in my back yard! LOL! But a few inches won't really matter, I guess. Okay, going to for 6 feet and deep litter method (which I had planned on anyway. Just didn't realize it would get up to 10 inches deep!! Isn't that REALLY deep?? Oh, not going to worry about it now. You all have birds, I don't!

 

[sharol]

Mine was about 8" in March. I wish I had added more as I went along. I think I would have been even happier with it. I do pick up the poop under the roosts though, so it isn't the true deep litter method. If you look around there is a thread on dlm somewhere, just not sure where.

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OKay- I am 6 inches off the floor right now for the nesting boxes. (accessed from the outside). Perhaps I should raise them and make the wall height 6 feet. I'm just worried about haivng this crazy tall coop in my back yard! LOL! But a few inches won't really matter, I guess. Okay, going to for 6 feet and deep litter method (which I had planned on anyway. Just didn't realize it would get up to 10 inches deep!! Isn't that REALLY deep?? Oh, not going to worry about it now. You all have birds, I don't!

 

[LN2008]

So it looks like I might be building my coop all by myself.... I need some encouragement and some great advice!

 

[sharol]

I started over in the coops thread and read everything I could find. There are lots of good free plans available from members here. Good luck, and welcome.

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