- Jan 28, 2014
- 21
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small roosts for the little guys
Hi There,
My husband and I decided to create a different life for ourselves and our 2 children, daughter who is 7 and son who is 15, so 7 months ago we moved onto an acreage and downsized our house. It's been an interesting ride. However one of the most interesting parts was deciding to have chickens. I have always been an animal lover, but I didn't think I would become "attached" to the chickens. We have gotten some beautiful, unique chickens and they are not what I expected at all. However we have had some bumps in the road and unfortunately have lost some, and each time it kills me. :,(. I wish we could have known everything there is to know right from the start. However from reading, some of these were not necessarily our fault (young chicks from a new breeder) but it didn't hurt any less.
Last week I found our Jersey Giant Smokey (one of the first pair we got) passed and every time I walk into the coop I am ready to cry, it seems so empty without her.
My husband wanted to start with 3 or 4, I wanted to start with 6, we started with 2.
It's addicting though, I want more!Anyway, we are constantly reading and trying to improve things. I don't understand how we seem to have gone over the top in many ways and my husband is sure I spend much more time with them then most, yet we have still lost some...
So we have a coop that has a large window that opens, but we are adding vents to the top sides in the spring, 2 large roosts with steps leading up to it, the other side has a shelf with 5 nesting boxes and a newly added "lip" (eggs were falling to the ground) with a step up to it. Under that is the "chick" area, that is where we put the chicks when they were 6-8 weeks old. It has 2 small roosts separate feeder, waterer and heat lamp. In the middle we have a hanging feeder and by the window is a heated waterer.
Their outdoor space is an old horse corral that is approximately 50'x60' it has fencing and netting going up 7'. There is a large tree in the middle of it for shade, plus we built a couple hiding spots and put a tree branch down that has two roosts going off of it. In the summer it is an area full of wild alfafa, clover and grass. Their yolks were ORANGE when we first put them out there.
I am currently trying to build a hoop green house that will be approximately 4'x12' for them to have extra outdoor space and sun during the rain and colder months.
I have started giving them feed that is fermented with some treats mixed in, however I would prefer to make my own feed, but I am still reading on that. So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I am trying to blog my experiences, but that takes a lot of time.
So that is a bit about us and our chickens.
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and Welcome To BYC! Sounds like your chickens have a really nice set up, good luck with your projects this summer.
