Dominique Thread!

[Alaskan]

Here is a link to the Woods coop.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/445004/woods-style-house-in-the-winter

 

[COPlains]

Wow, lots to think about! I like your ingenuity with re-using materials! If I hadn't just relocated I would be doing more of that! I think I will continue with my plan, but incorporate various venting options. The front was going to have doors for cleaning only but might as well screen them in also! I can always close them in! Since we seem to get an abundance of bright sunshine here I am incorporating passive solar into my design also.

Here is the basic design I am leaning toward. (couldn't paste the link, it is the Maxwell's house on the medium sized coop page)

Changes are size (either 6' X 10' or 8' X 10") and the main run this butts up to will be 8' X 18" and full height, 12" of it roofed. There is a 8' X 10" moveable run that can be rotated into three positions into the garden area before and after season.

I hope this isn't too confusing! Thanks to all for the advice and links! Hopefully I will be breaking ground in two weeks!

 

[Alaskan]

I love gaving the chickens in the veggie garden before and after planting season.

Chickens did not work well with my fruit trees (tasty leaves ) but the ducks are fine with my apple trees and raspberries (they do eat all low fruit and leaves but do not reach high)

 

[Zone3Dakota]

OMG, the post office called to let me know that my chicks are here.....on the 9th...they were supposed to be sent out on the 28th...later this month. NOT READY, and we are first-timer chick people. OUT come the big plastic storage units and heating pads. Hope our little bitty town has a hamster waterer. Emergency run to TSC (25 miles the other direction from the post office) as soon as chicks get settled.

and so, this is how it begins! In a panic, lol.

 

[hellbender]

OMG, the post office called to let me know that my chicks are here.....on the 9th...they were supposed to be sent out on the 28th...later this month. NOT READY, and we are first-timer chick people. OUT come the big plastic storage units and heating pads. Hope our little bitty town has a hamster waterer. Emergency run to TSC (25 miles the other direction from the post office) as soon as chicks get settled.

and so, this is how it begins! In a panic, lol.

I believe you have picked a VERY bad hatchery to deal with. Even if they are GIVING you the birds, this situation is totally unacceptable.

 

[Alaskan]

Good luck!

 

[Sylvester017]

OMG, the post office called to let me know that my chicks are here.....on the 9th...they were supposed to be sent out on the 28th...later this month. NOT READY, and we are first-timer chick people. OUT come the big plastic storage units and heating pads. Hope our little bitty town has a hamster waterer. Emergency run to TSC (25 miles the other direction from the post office) as soon as chicks get settled.

and so, this is how it begins! In a panic, lol.

Even when we're prepared for chickens there always winds up a need to go to the feed store for something else we need - never fails! I always use Poultry Protector on my chickens after a vent shampoo - we got the chicken wet and ready to blowdry her when we saw the Protector bottle was practically empty. DH had to finish blowdrying the chicken while I went to the feed store to pick up another TWO bottles this time!

 

[Sylvester017]

I believe you have picked a VERY bad hatchery to deal with. Even if they are GIVING you the birds, this situation is totally unacceptable.

True - that sending chicks out on the improper date is inconvenient but most breeders say they are at the mercy of hens and Mother Nature re: egg-laying and hatching and have no control over when the hens will lay. I agree that as inconvenient as it is I'd be inclined to give the hatchery/breeder a little slack - at least they notified the customer the chicks were on the way - they filled an order while the chick breed was available! Sometimes Mother Nature doesn't cooperate with the dates we have in mind. I like to have juveniles in the 2 to 3-month age from private breeders but sometimes I have to settle for older or younger ones as they become available.

 

[Zone3Dakota]

Well, there are some smalls that may not make it through the night. We got the little brooder warming them as fast as we could. I was dipping their beaks into a little sugar water,all morning. Most seem to be doing fine, but there are a couple that came out of the box with cold feet...littler tykes. Most of them attacked the hamster bottle, when that arrived, but the littles are just toasting/sleeping. I try to keep them hydrated. There were a couple with pasty butts, but not bad.

The only notification that i got was from the post office to come pick them up. I had no idea that the little birds would be here this early. Unless i missed a phone message...it happens. Anyway, they are here, and I will call the hatchery in the morning, after the A.M. inspection.

Right now, they are quiet and pretty spread out, sleeping. I need to check them before bed, as i covered the top of the 'hen' a bit more than they had during the day.

This afternoon was spent moving the shed/coop to the location that we decided on. Oh, what an adventure. With mud. It isn't much of a shed, there will be a lot of work to be done on that. But i need to get a bigger brooder going for them tomorrow. The hen is pretty full.

 

[blueclip]

This hen is walking very slowly. Notice how her butt is in the ready position for pooping or egg laying. Do you think she's got an egg stuck up there? If so, what do I do? And is this fatal?