*cough* Except for the roost poles *cough*
It is currently sitting in the garage waiting for the yard to dry out enough that I can carry it outside and to the new proposed site for the chicken pen. It shouldn't be too awful, but I'm not wanting to sink past my ankles in mud carrying it either.
There is a hanging feeder inside (15 pounds) which should be plenty large enough for the two Silver-laced Orpingtons that this was built for. I'm still undecided on what to do for roost poles, but I'm thinking 2x4 lying on their wider side so the Orps have a larger flatter surface to perch on. They do not seem very confident at all when it comes to perching currently at my friend's house who is keeping them until I get their pen finished. Nest boxes will be some milk crates I have stuffed with hay. I'd considered doing wood chips (pine) in the house for the bedding/floor, but after doing some reading here, I think I may do sand instead. It sounds waaaaaayyyyy easier to keep clean than the pine I used to use. If the price is right I may have enough delivered to just fill their whole run/pen. The land here is basically black clay, so it gets horribly sticky and retains water like nobody's business. It was so wet last week I joked that I should have gotten ducks instead. lol
I'll include an aerial shot of the property. The black lines I drew in is the extended yard I built for my dogs (two standard poodles and two long-haired miniature dachshunds). The pink lines are the proposed site for the chicken pen. The white/silver/green tree is a Bradford Pear and I have no idea what the larger tree to the right is. The propane tank also sits under the pear tree and has to be accessible to the propane company when they come out to fill it so I can't block it off. I'm a bit limited in the space that I can put it. The house sits on four acres but the majority of it is unmowed, and the ground is simply too wet to get a tractor out there to mow it until it dries out in a couple of months. The barn on the far left is actually quite large and has a concrete floor. However, it's basically surrounded by a moat of water that comes up halfway past my mud boots with all the rain we've been having so that's not really an appropriate place for chickens. At least not until some changes can be made to alter the terrain there. Any further out and I worry about the birds safety. The only other thing I worry about is aerobic septic system. The three red dots I added are the sprinklers that run off the septic system or round about as close as I can guess. They are positioned in a manner that only has them spraying away from the house and yard. Which is nice, but I don't particularly want the dogs or chickens to get into it. Does that position for the pen look okay? I have a little bit over eighty feet of five foot welded wire left to construct their pen from.
I've also never had to cover my chickens before and have not lost one to a hawk. For some reason every time I go outside my hawk senses start tingling and I think I need to cover there pen. It's much too large (what I have planned) to do in hardware cloth and I hate chicken wire with a fiery passion, but I could cover it in poultry netting. Are there any good recommendations for brands or suppliers?
What else am I forgetting? I've got their waterer already purchased. The feed store was out of the larger five gallon ones, so two gallon it is for the time being. I think I've picked a brand of feed to go with. Anyway, sorry for the disjointed ramblings of a very tired someone who just moved over the weekend and has been shoving furniture around and decorating a 3800 square foot house. lol Thoughts, criticisms, and concerns are all welcome.
It is currently sitting in the garage waiting for the yard to dry out enough that I can carry it outside and to the new proposed site for the chicken pen. It shouldn't be too awful, but I'm not wanting to sink past my ankles in mud carrying it either.
There is a hanging feeder inside (15 pounds) which should be plenty large enough for the two Silver-laced Orpingtons that this was built for. I'm still undecided on what to do for roost poles, but I'm thinking 2x4 lying on their wider side so the Orps have a larger flatter surface to perch on. They do not seem very confident at all when it comes to perching currently at my friend's house who is keeping them until I get their pen finished. Nest boxes will be some milk crates I have stuffed with hay. I'd considered doing wood chips (pine) in the house for the bedding/floor, but after doing some reading here, I think I may do sand instead. It sounds waaaaaayyyyy easier to keep clean than the pine I used to use. If the price is right I may have enough delivered to just fill their whole run/pen. The land here is basically black clay, so it gets horribly sticky and retains water like nobody's business. It was so wet last week I joked that I should have gotten ducks instead. lol
I'll include an aerial shot of the property. The black lines I drew in is the extended yard I built for my dogs (two standard poodles and two long-haired miniature dachshunds). The pink lines are the proposed site for the chicken pen. The white/silver/green tree is a Bradford Pear and I have no idea what the larger tree to the right is. The propane tank also sits under the pear tree and has to be accessible to the propane company when they come out to fill it so I can't block it off. I'm a bit limited in the space that I can put it. The house sits on four acres but the majority of it is unmowed, and the ground is simply too wet to get a tractor out there to mow it until it dries out in a couple of months. The barn on the far left is actually quite large and has a concrete floor. However, it's basically surrounded by a moat of water that comes up halfway past my mud boots with all the rain we've been having so that's not really an appropriate place for chickens. At least not until some changes can be made to alter the terrain there. Any further out and I worry about the birds safety. The only other thing I worry about is aerobic septic system. The three red dots I added are the sprinklers that run off the septic system or round about as close as I can guess. They are positioned in a manner that only has them spraying away from the house and yard. Which is nice, but I don't particularly want the dogs or chickens to get into it. Does that position for the pen look okay? I have a little bit over eighty feet of five foot welded wire left to construct their pen from.
I've also never had to cover my chickens before and have not lost one to a hawk. For some reason every time I go outside my hawk senses start tingling and I think I need to cover there pen. It's much too large (what I have planned) to do in hardware cloth and I hate chicken wire with a fiery passion, but I could cover it in poultry netting. Are there any good recommendations for brands or suppliers?
What else am I forgetting? I've got their waterer already purchased. The feed store was out of the larger five gallon ones, so two gallon it is for the time being. I think I've picked a brand of feed to go with. Anyway, sorry for the disjointed ramblings of a very tired someone who just moved over the weekend and has been shoving furniture around and decorating a 3800 square foot house. lol Thoughts, criticisms, and concerns are all welcome.
