Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[BY Bob]

Awesome photo!

She was limbo'ing under the bush to get to the garden.

 

[BY Bob]

@RoyalChick I heard you like black chickens..this mugs for you, says Raven:
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And this is for @BY Bob & all of you who like jail bait:
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Ooops, I meant jail birds (barred)
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You got me with Jail Bait. Too Funny!

 

[featherhead007]

MUM! It's me, Eggie!

How about “mom, I have fallen and I can’t get up!”

 

[ChicoryBlue]

Mugs Monday
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Love the symmetry, and then the little "fingers crossed" at the top!

 

[ChicoryBlue]

I apologize in advance for my very 'rough' sketches:

Get 2 14' 2X4s, and 2 8' 2X4s (your choice pressure treated or not, depending on your preferences) run the 2 14 footers on edge under long sides of greenhouse (can use 12' if it is exactly 12' long and don't want anything extending much beyond) From here, cut the 8' to fit between the 12 or 14's. and screw together (again, on edge).

You can attach the greenhouse 1 of 2 ways. I'm assuming the tubing is about 1/2 in diameter. Drill 1/2" dia. (or whatever the dia. of your tubing is) holes about 1 - 1.5 in. deep spaced at intervals to match your greenhouse support hoops. insert ends of greenhouse hoops. On inside of framing (or outside if you wish to attach bottom of netting to these) screw in eye bolts, and use bunge or wire or rope to loop around cross support frame of greenhouse & hook/tie to eye bolt to keep greenhouse secure to baseView attachment 3032672

2nd option: make base just a hair wider than greenhouse, and use u shaped brackets (can be found in plumbing aisle for supporting copper pipes) and secure 'legs; of greenhouse to wooden base with the u bolts. This will be a bit more tedious to 'take down' each fall, but will be quite sturdy and it the base is close to the ground on inside of wooden frame, it will almost completely eliminate the gap caused by teh 4" or so extended legs o greenhouse.View attachment 3032673


There is a 3rd option for base design. use either of the 2 above, but extend the runners about 6" in front of greenhouse & taper/round leading edge of 'runners', also slightly bevel lead-bottom edge of crossmember of base OR do what I have done...get ahold of some old skis and with carriage bolts, bolt them to the underside of the 2 runner (12') boards. They work reasonably well!!.

Just note that by extending the runners and/or putting skis on them, you won't be able to get the 2 greenhouses tight together unless you put the 2 'backends' adjacent.)

This is a great help, thank you, all these ideas are very good, and some things I hadn't thought of. I will run them by DH. I'm not sure I would undo anything except the netting seasonally, so probably treated wood? But if not treated it would be best to undo it. I have a water bowl sitting on a piece of 6x6 treated wood now, I have not seen any chickens pecking it and they don't stand on it. I use firewood logs for threshold steps and steps over the greenhouse frame bottom braces when they are kitty-corner to eachother.


That you have used skis with success is good to know. We have some old skis around, I've tied them to short sticks for bean poles. I would not be butting them up tightly, for safety of not leaving gaps I plan on having enough netting on each end to overlap onto eachother, and a lot for the run side to attach to the run even when the frames are angled to it.

 

[rural mouse]

I am contemplating making a 'chunnel' chicken tunnel and a home made gate to my chain link fencing to replace the actual gate (for this time of year), with a pop door for chickens built into it. Attach the 'chunnel' to the chicken pop door in the gate...and have it lead to a pen. I bought a 10X7 late last year (what I linked to for @micstrachan ) that, now that it is nicer (i.e. no snow!) need to get covered in garden mesh. I love @ChicoryBlue 's greenhouse thing. The reality is that it would require constant moving for me with the numbers of chickens I have....but if I can do this with my electric netting (for when I am home & watching) to expand it even more...it may be somewhat viable but safer until I get a new 'summer pen' made. The reality is, though, that I will never be able to completely fortify the summer pens from hawks given the sizes they will be...I'll have to rely more on lots of escape places and no dead-ends.

And a few goats in with the chickens....

 

[featherhead007]

And a few goats in with the chickens....

Good push!

 

[rural mouse]

I have had lots of cats here - they don't last the coyotes get them .

Not fair to the cats - I have a cat right now and she is good with catching mice but she lives in the house so she doesn't becomes coyote snack.

No easy answer with vermin, always a battle.

Go with the terrier then

 

[rural mouse]

MUM! It's me, Eggie!

I KNOW! GET YOURSELF TURNED AND HURRY THE BOK UP!

 

[micstrachan]

There is a guy who will come with ferrets to destroy rats. I saw him in the internet and don’t remember where he operates.
I imagine you could get someone with terriers to come every few weeks with their dogs until the issue was under control.

Edit: I meant dogs not digs - corrected - does anyone else have issues typing vowels correctly on their phone? I don't think it is Auto-correct, I think it is my thumbs.

I have issues with my thumbs AND autocorrect.