Consolidated Kansas

[Hawkeye95]

Danz, yes my husband had to help me put those huge pieces of plywood up! They are way too heavy for me! I as able to cut and put up the little end caps on the nest box myself. My DH also brought out his huge pneumatic nail gun. That went fast! It was getting the pieces cut down and put up that took soooo long! Can't wait to get the other walls up! It's cool enough I'm goign to go out and work on the little knee wall so that we can put the plywood on it, too.

Sharol- wish I could help! I have no idea! It'll be interesting to see what the other's say.

 

[Ivywoods]

I know they make some stuff called "no pick" or "no peck" that is supposed to stop feather picking. I have had problems with it off and on, just with certain chickens. I think it gets to be a habit more than anything else.

Well, the collection process for my new poultry barn has begun. I went to a farm auction today. I got 3 nice louvered, screened vents for $5. I also got enough lumber to finish the inside of the barn (not the studs, trusses or exterior posts) for $25. I will still need my exterior sheeting, too, but by the time I'm ready to build in the spring I should have everything I need gathered up. We have decided to build the trusses ourselves, so hubby is calculating what we will need for that. It will be a lot cheaper than buying tusses. There's a lot of information on the internet about different truss designs and what you need to use for the size, slope and snow load for the area. With all this lumber, hay and everything else, our shed is going to be pretty full this winter.

There was also the strangest automatic chicken waterer I have ever seen. It looked rather difficult to set up and manage, so I didn't bid on it. It only went for a couple dollars, so perhaps I should have bid. It was quite the oddity.

 

[chicken danz]

I recommend pine tar to stop feather picking. I used that on my polish when they got their heads picked and it stopped it. It is messy and it stinks but it does the job. There is also a natural antibiotic in it to help any wounds heal. If it stops it and then they start again just reapply to the affected area and it will stop again. A little goes a long long ways.
Chickens do stuff like that when they are bored often. I made a toy for my chickens when they started pecking last year. I just strung a wire just above head high and strung a bunch of silver washers on it. They liked the shine and pecked on the washers instead of each other. Just one warning about that. They wire has to be strung tight or the washers will all fall toward the middle.

 

[sharol]

We put pine tar lightly on the picked areas. She HATED it and tried to scratch or rub it off, but she is on the roost and no one is pecking at her or pushing her around. I am hoping this will resolve the problem. Thanks for the input.

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[Hawkeye95]

where do you get pine tar? What is is actually supposed to be used for? Or what is it marketed for? (guess is a better way to put)

I think I got a lot more done tonight. No pics- I'll post something after I get more done tomorrow. I need to put braces in the bottom of the nest box so I can cover it and put in a floor. Didn't realize that until tonight. ha!

Did get the front side (that has a window and the clean out door) nearly covered with plywood, too. Getting there! Feels like something is actually happening now.

 

[sharol]

I got it in the vet section at Bluestem (farm store). It is used on horses' hooves for something or the other. It is about twice as thick as molasses and smells icky. I held the chicken and my DH spread on a thin layer over the area without feathers.

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[Hawkeye95]

oooh!! omg, I know what that is! Yeah, I (meaning my dad and I- because I was a kid then) used that on one of our horses many, many years ago when we had a horse get a hot nail. I forgot about that! He got a really bad infection and we had to put that stuff on him twice a day as well as soak his foot in a warm epson salt tub of water. He recovered. The vet gave us a rubber hoof cast that we slipped over his hoof and then wrapped vet wrap around to keep on. But like I said- it came off twice a day for the treatment and tar. Wow... forgotten about that. I bet that was like 18 yrs ago! Well, sounds like it has a lot of uses, thats great! But it's so thick and goopy- that would be no fun to put on feathers. Eesh!

 

[ByN8ureHomstead]

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I have used Vicks with my chicks.

 

[chicken danz]

Pine tar is marketed for horse hooves. It used to be what they put in dandruff shampoos as well. (Strange!) Normally when you apply it there aren't many feathers in the way, and it just takes a little. You only put it on once normally and the picking stops. It's not a 2 times a day thing for sure. Since I have this can of it I have used it for other injuries on the chickens as well. It works better than antibiotic cream for them. The worst part is getting it off your finger!! Throw away rubber gloves helps

 

[Hawkeye95]

taking a mini break here to get water and sit down for a minute.

Is anyone following the chicken in a bag thread? This kid is using a breathable bag to experiment with and see if he can hatch a chick without a shell. He's been doing it a while and getting a lot of flack for it- being called cruel, etc... but then someone showed him a link to where highschool and college level classes had attempted to do the same thing- but not with the bags he's using. They tried other means. It looked like those biology classes failed, but he has gotten several of these embryos to live a few days before something happens to them. Crazy! He has an 11 day old chick with feathers, legs and eyes in a bag right now.

Wow... this whole coop thing is taking For-EVER!!! More progress. I'll post pics when I'm done for this morning. I put the braces in the bottom of the nest box so I can put in a floor and have been working on the knee wall. Then I can start covering it again with plywood.