Finally moving along...

[SemperChicken]

So we had move in day Monday night, into Tuesday morning. Keep in mind that the hens haven't laid for several days, and I think it may have been due to the reason that they were just feeling stressed... been pretty taxing on my wife and I keeping our twin newborns taken care of, let alone our dogs and the chickens. Anyway, it was pretty awesome to see Brooke walk into the coop and immediately go straight into the first nesting box and just turn around and settle into it. Then I watched her through the vent windows on the coop and she went into the next nesting box and did the same thing, lol! Needless to say, I think the girls absolutely love their new home.



Here's the first day after move in, and they're continuing to lay every morning now. Been trying to soothe Lola cause she hasn't laid in several days... I can only imagine how lonely she feels and probably doesn't feel emotionally well. Not sure what I can do because if I let her out with the other 3, they'll tear her up between Roo wanting to get it on with her and the other girls pecking at her.

Got my post hole digger yesterday in the mail so I'll be setting the run posts and getting the wire put up here in the next week or so. If anyone has any experience with those "Iwan Seymour" augers, they'll know how awesome this cheap $50 tool is. It took me no more than 10 minutes to dig down 2 feet through clay. Very well pleased with this purchase.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Congrats on the eggs and on them liking the new digs.
For the bantam about all you can do is either re-home her or try to find another bantam she would get along with. That being said lol chickens are fickle creatures and as you know do not always like each other. It could take 50 bantams before you find one she likes enough to hang out with.

WOW TWINS! I bet you are very busy with them. A giant CONGRATS on the babies.

I had to look up the auger. Neat tool. I wish I had one instead of the old clam shell style that takes all day and kills the back/shoulders.

 

[SemperChicken]

Congrats on the eggs and on them liking the new digs.
For the bantam about all you can do is either re-home her or try to find another bantam she would get along with. That being said lol chickens are fickle creatures and as you know do not always like each other. It could take 50 bantams before you find one she likes enough to hang out with.

WOW TWINS! I bet you are very busy with them. A giant CONGRATS on the babies.

I had to look up the auger. Neat tool. I wish I had one instead of the old clam shell style that takes all day and kills the back/shoulders.

Thanks so much! Yes, we are extremely busy... but it'll be nice since I've stepped down from my last job so I'll be able to be home more. Was with that company for over 4 years, did 2+ years of management and now I'm going back to school online... so figured I'd take a break from working. My wife enjoys her job more anyway, so it only made sense =)

So I think I've got all my resources for finishing my run. I've not really ever done anything this huge of a project before, so this is all new territory to me. I've done a good bit of research and stuff, but if anyone has anything to chip in... feel free. Just keep in mind I have basic tools and don't have anything fancy such as air tools, table saw, etc.

What I'm going to do is brace the 4x4 posts horizontally with 2x4's. I was going back and forth whether I wanted to mount them between the 4x4's or place them on the outside (which is what I've decided to do). That being said, I assume it would make sense for me to staple the netting on the outside face of the 4x4's then place the 2x4's overtop? I've been trying to figure out in my head how to frame the door way... running on 3-4 hours of sleep continuously for the past 6 weeks takes a toll on the brain lol. Supposed to be raining Monday-Wednesday here, so going to try and juggle my school paper, quiz, and getting the run finished by tomorrow night.

Here's some pics! (Cause we all love pictures.. right?)


Got all the holes dug. This is Kelsie, my Toy Fox Terrier, keeping an eye on any squirrels that want to hop around our backyard. I used to hunt them with her, but just have been busy.


Halfway done with the posts. These sit about 7.5 feet tall, with the one on the right being taller cause that's where the backyard slopes downhill (I measured it to only have to be 5" taller, so a very slight slope). I did finish setting all the posts last night, just didn't get a picture of it.


This is the netting I purchased. As for predators, we have not had an issue here. I know things can change, and I've read that some people had years of no issues then one day their whole flock was gone... with where we're at, I'm not too worried about anything major. That being said, I didn't go with a thicker gauge nor am I going to worry about the hassle of burying the netting. We are going to be building greenery around the run, so hopefully it'll establish some privacy for the chickens.


While I finished last night, the other 3 went to roost a bit early so I let Lola get some outside time. She is such a sweetheart. Her and I are always chatting lol.

Anyway, that's it. Stay tuned in the next couple days for a more complete look of the run. I have debated on what we're going to do with the roof and what style we're going to do. Wish I had someone close by who knew enough about carpentry to help me get rafters cut and all that cause I would prefer it to be angled the way the coop is. What I'll have done in a couple days will be good for now to help keep them contained while we clean up the backyard.

Thanks for looking!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I did a wire lid on my run so I did not have to do run rafters. Just a couple 2x4's across to help hold the wire up. I attached them to the 4x4's just like the ones on the top and bottom of your run will be then laid the poultry netting over the top. (read that as chicken wire) I used j hooks like the ones in this link to attach the poultry netting together and you may need to do the same since your wire is 4 foot tall. It is super easy to do. Put the J part in the tool so the hook is in the single and the straight is in the double to get a proper bend in the clip. Most places call them cage clips. Most farm stores carry them.

This very quick clip shows how they work. They are not expensive at about 10 dollars a pair.


Lola is adorable by the way.

 

[SemperChicken]

I might do that for the top as a temporary solution, but I do want to end up getting some sort of cover. Not specifically for the rain, but I'm thinking that it would be a pain to clean all the gumballs off the top if it was just chicken wire.

I do see what you are saying as far as the J hook things and the tool, but I had thought about the height of the wire already and use the 2x4's to connect them (if you can see that in the picture below).

As for an update, you can see I'm not even halfway done with the run... things have been a little busy with the kiddos and trying to juggle all that with school also. I ran out of staples the other day so I came to a stopping point and now it has just been raining and sprinkling since yesterday (and supposedly a chance of thunderstorms for the rest of the week...).




That 2x4 running across the ground is the side I'm going to build the door.

I think if I could do it over I would've gone with 8ft tall 4x4's instead of 10ft high. They are buried almost 3ft, so they do measure just over 7ft tall. But just looking at it sometimes I wonder if I went overboard with the height. I just didn't want to have any issues with walking around in there. Oh well! You live and you learn, I guess.

Until next time!

 

[21hens-incharge]

You totally needed the 10 foot 4x4's. Nothing worse than going in to tend them and getting a good knot on the head for it. My hubby is over 6 foot tall and YES he has had his share of knots. Our new run is taller than the old one lol. I am short so no issues for me. Besides remember when you get the run roof framed you will loose some height. That is where hubby whacks his head.

You are making nice progress. The run takes time to get done because of all the stretching of wire and all the staples.

 

[SemperChicken]

Well thank you for that affirmation, lol! Glad I'm not the only one, and I guess it's better to have it tall enough and be too tall than to have it short and wish it was taller.

Been raining every single day this week so I haven't gotten a chance to be outside and work on the run. I watch the chickens take shelter under the coop as I'm sure they're wondering "what the heck is going on?!" as it non-stopped rain Tuesday and most of yesterday. I even watched Brooke come out from under the coop, peck at some grass, then walked back under... lol.

So, I'm noticing my EE is having her back feathers tore up like Lola was from Roo. And since it may be a bit before we get more chickens, I'm contemplating getting rid of our Rooster until we get more hens (I even want a different type of rooster, not sure). Do you think I should "lock him up" until then? I'm also curious to know if raising a Rooster from day 1 will help with his behavior and be more friendly/social. He loves to attack my 10 year old, and one day caught him off guard as my son was knelt down and Roo came from his blindside and struck him in the head with his spurs.

Ah, the dilemma. Needless to say, I want a rooster... I just want one that some of the members here have where "he is so friendly" or "likes to hang out". Roo is very skiddish and isn't interested in the grown ups at all lol.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I forget what breed your rooster is. Some breeds are harder to tame than others. I have had the best luck with a bantam cochin that was raised from day one.
Personally I would not keep a rooster that goes after the children. Not worth the risk of injury and you do have babies that will be walking/toddling before long. No easier target for a rooster than a small child. Especially one that is toddling and cannot get away. Facial injuries and bacterial from the spurs can be ugly to deal with.

I say get rid of the roo and get a couple bantam cochins keeping the rooster out of the group that is the friendliest. Handle daily and have the 10 year old handle it too. ( Of course with a lot of hand washing lol) Some bantam roosters can be a nightmare but the cochins tend not to be difficult.

 

[SemperChicken]

I forget what breed your rooster is. Some breeds are harder to tame than others. I have had the best luck with a bantam cochin that was raised from day one.
Personally I would not keep a rooster that goes after the children. Not worth the risk of injury and you do have babies that will be walking/toddling before long. No easier target for a rooster than a small child. Especially one that is toddling and cannot get away. Facial injuries and bacterial from the spurs can be ugly to deal with.

I say get rid of the roo and get a couple bantam cochins keeping the rooster out of the group that is the friendliest. Handle daily and have the 10 year old handle it too. ( Of course with a lot of hand washing lol) Some bantam roosters can be a nightmare but the cochins tend not to be difficult.

That's the exact one I have, Gold Laced Cochin Bantam. We got him and Lola at the NC State Fair last year (August?... I can't remember), so obviously have no idea what kind of life he had prior to us picking them up.

I do agree that if he's like this now, best to get rid of him since we'd only be asking for trouble later. I'm sure it's happened with several members here, but just hate to have new faces around the chickens. We were hoping to have one of our original hens (the EE or the Wyandotte) to go broody, but it could be the conditions here as it's been a hectic start to the year. So we're probably going to put an order in for several more chicks (mypetchicken.com) and go from there. We may/may not get a rooster also, so we'll see.


Here's Roo. And this was a picture when I first joined BYC (no, it's not snowing in NC in June... lol!).

 

[21hens-incharge]

He is a handsome fellow.
Not sure why he is being a bugger. The one we had was an accident of sorts. We bought unsexed white silkies and he was mixed in. (The silkies were all males and were absolutely the most horrific chickens I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with.) You can trim the spurs to help reduce injury too.
Our cochin roo was a red cochin. My now grown son was about 11 at the time and carried him around a lot when he was a chick and continued to when he was grown.
I know of the wyandottes the gold laced I have had have been the meanest ones. Maybe variety has something to do with it.
I would not expect an EE to go broody. Their parent birds are bred for egg laying so the offspring tend not to go broody.
If you are wanting a broody chicken lol Bantam cochin female is the way to go. I have 3 right now and all are either just off being broody or still thinking something may hatch. They have been sitting well over a month so hopefully will give up soon. If you want a big hen that is broody I am sure there are options.
Some broody hens will kill chicks that are not the color they should be for the breed too. Like if they would have dark chicks and a yellow pops out the yellow gets killed. Cochins are said not to do that. I am sure there are many more that accept whatever pops out.
They do need to have a regular schedule and calm environment too before they will go broody.