OK I didn't feel a thing. No earthquakes here.
Hawkeye, I use 2" X 4" welded wire and then use chicken wire along the inside of that. The smaller 1" X 2" opening welded wire is so expensive you could probably build a gold plated pen for about the same. The 2" X 4" welded wire has doubled in price the past year. But it is totally worth it to give the extra strength to keep predators out. I usually buy a 2' and a 3' roll of chicken wire to cover the height of the welded wire. Using 6" wide deck boards on the top and bottom make a total height of 6' for your pen. In pens without the wood I bury a few inches of wire along the edges and place a center pole to lift the top netting up for more head room.
Hawkeye, I know you are a tidy person or I would think there is a dust build up in your chick brooder. If they are just sneezing and not having breathing problems it is probably nothing serious. This is where a little Vet RX in their water might stop it cold in it's tracks.
I like your wind break Sharol. That is a good idea. My silly chickens would be sitting on top of it.
Trish, the only house I have insulated is my brooder. Chickens love picking at insulation. Unless you are going to put a separate interior wall in to cover it, I wouldn't waste my money. You don't want a chicken house air tight unless it is down at floor level. I kept a heat lamp in my coops a good deal of the winter last year once the temp dipped down to the 10's or so. I recommend using those spot light bulbs rather than heat bulbs. They are much lower wattage, put out as much heat, and you can find them in red which keeps pecking down. If you have the money to spend you can buy a temperature regulated controller to manage auto turn on and off heat bulbs, and they also make several ceramic non lighting heat bulbs that are made for reptiles and stuff. They are pretty pricey though. DO NOT COMPLETELY CLOSE YOUR VENTS unless it is just for 12 hours or so like in sub zero temps. The built up humidity can cause frost bite and respiratory problems for your birds. If you have auto closing vents I would make sure to put at least a small block in them to keep them from closing air tight. I never shut my vent on my hen house last winter. The birds put out some heat and humidity, and add a heat bulb for the coldest times and it will be warm enough. I also had some birds that even though they had a building to go into, slept outside even in the coldest of weather. I think the difference there was that the building protected the run from the north wind.
just kidding, I don't have that kind of gas money. For anybody wanting to know about it (I know I'm a little late) there is a swap in the TSC parking lot in Manhattan tomarrow morning from about 7:30 til noon, I will be making a breif appearance (around 9) to drop off a feral pigeon I caught today at work to a freind.
