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Delfts babies are moved off to their new home. She wanted hatched chicks after all. And she has my number for spring when she will want zombies and silkie mixes.
It wasn't as traumatic as I had thought. At bedtime last night I gently pulled the chicks into a box, then grabbed Delft and moved her to a different coop to sleep. She bukbukked a bit this morning then acted like a non-broody hen all day. Riddick was looking for them and giving me looks like "where did they go, bucket lady?" The chicks peeped for a bit until I provided fresh food in a bowl then they settled. 🤷 tis the way of the chicken...

They are in a good home. She wants at least one rooster in the group, she's very excited.
….meanwhile that one chick looks like she needs some support 🤭🤭
 
It's not built for Orkney weather - it gets full of rain. It'll be regulated to backup housing soon, once the final long-term rebuild is finished. A few of them are still choosing to roost in there for now and it's easier to just let them and avoid the hassle of teaching them to sleep somewhere different more than once.
Your Nestera is a nice coop. It's just that manufactured coops all leak. Locate it somewhere under a roof or a popup canopy should keep the rain out. We have garden popup canopies w/ legs buried 8 to 10 inches into the ground so they don't parasail away in high wind.
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IMO EVERY manufactured coop lets in rain!!! That's why we built a patio roof over our Chicken Condos Barn Coop. Over $2000 over 10 yrs ago & after one winter of rain using a tarp to keep the rain out it defeated our purpose having a weather-safe coop!

Coop always had to be covered w/tarp cuz we never know if/when it suddenly will rain here in "sunny" Calif!!!

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Got tired of using tarp & asked the home remodelers to build us two patio roofs ~ one over the coop & one at the back of the house for people. After 10 yrs BOTH patios are now open to the chickens & the coop stays leakproof w/ a roof over it! Also, coop stays cooler shaded from our brutal summer sun ~ not to mention we stay dry ourselves in the rain when collecting eggs or checking on hens late at night. We are a small cottage lot w/no space for a real actual barn or shed.
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Second roofed patio is a chicken haven where they have lots of places to hide/snooze.
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I would have to do something with pullets that are joining in. I don't know what but I would want to so that. 🤔

Again that's just me. I have the ability to segregate and isolate effectively. Some pullets might find themselves alone in a coop for a week. Breaking up that threesome, 2 isolated and 1 at large over a few weeks might slow their roll.

This is just me trying to think through how I might try to handle this and is not meant as any kind of suggestion. I really don't like her be picked on while a rooster is on top of her. Mrs BY Bob would have unkind suggestions for the cockerel himself.

Yes, I too would split up the hooligans. And have done so with the chooks (and the horses too).

What can happen is the pullets can be rotated out weekly, so that only one at a time is out with the oldsters who can teach those young ladies some manners.

A couple of the older girls can be put in with the hooligans to do the same thing, and they also can be rotated out weekly.

Meanwhile the one constant is Hazel remaining in the same location, it then becomes hers.
 
Yes, I too would split up the hooligans. And have done so with the chooks (and the horses too).

What can happen is the pullets can be rotated out weekly, so that only one at a time is out with the oldsters who can teach those young ladies some manners.

A couple of the older girls can be put in with the hooligans to do the same thing, and they also can be rotated out weekly.

Meanwhile the one constant is Hazel remaining in the same location, it then becomes hers.
I like this. Sounds like a very good idea.
 
Your Nestera is a nice coop. It's just that manufactured coops all leak. Locate it somewhere under a roof or a popup canopy should keep the rain out. We have garden popup canopies w/ legs buried 8 to 10 inches into the ground so they don't parasail away in high wind.
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IMO EVERY manufactured coop lets in rain!!! That's why we built a patio roof over our Chicken Condos Barn Coop. Over $2000 over 10 yrs ago & after one winter of rain using a tarp to keep the rain out it defeated our purpose having a weather-safe coop!

Coop always had to be covered w/tarp cuz we never know if/when it suddenly will rain here in "sunny" Calif!!!

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View attachment 4231398

Got tired of using tarp & asked the home remodelers to build us two patio roofs ~ one over the coop & one at the back of the house for people. After 10 yrs BOTH patios are now open to the chickens & the coop stays leakproof w/ a roof over it! Also, coop stays cooler shaded from our brutal summer sun ~ not to mention we stay dry ourselves in the rain when collecting eggs or checking on hens late at night. We are a small cottage lot w/no space for a real actual barn or shed.
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Second roofed patio is a chicken haven where they have lots of places to hide/snooze.
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Thanks for the suggestions but it lets in rain because the wind blows rain up under the roof overhang. One of those pop-up things would end up in the sea during the first storm here no matter how deep the legs were buried and tarp would just get shredded.

The wind means a lot of things have to be done differently here.
 
Your Nestera is a nice coop. It's just that manufactured coops all leak. Locate it somewhere under a roof or a popup canopy should keep the rain out. We have garden popup canopies w/ legs buried 8 to 10 inches into the ground so they don't parasail away in high wind.
View attachment 4231418

IMO EVERY manufactured coop lets in rain!!! That's why we built a patio roof over our Chicken Condos Barn Coop. Over $2000 over 10 yrs ago & after one winter of rain using a tarp to keep the rain out it defeated our purpose having a weather-safe coop!

Coop always had to be covered w/tarp cuz we never know if/when it suddenly will rain here in "sunny" Calif!!!

View attachment 4231404
View attachment 4231398

Got tired of using tarp & asked the home remodelers to build us two patio roofs ~ one over the coop & one at the back of the house for people. After 10 yrs BOTH patios are now open to the chickens & the coop stays leakproof w/ a roof over it! Also, coop stays cooler shaded from our brutal summer sun ~ not to mention we stay dry ourselves in the rain when collecting eggs or checking on hens late at night. We are a small cottage lot w/no space for a real actual barn or shed.
View attachment 4231393
View attachment 4231414
View attachment 4231415

Second roofed patio is a chicken haven where they have lots of places to hide/snooze.
View attachment 4231394
View attachment 4231401
We sure don’t want to get feather dusters wet!:old
 
Thanks for the suggestions but it lets in rain because the wind blows rain up under the roof overhang. One of those pop-up things would end up in the sea during the first storm here no matter how deep the legs were buried and tarp would just get shredded.

The wind means a lot of things have to be done differently here.
If you can set something up sheltered from the prevailing winds (most common direction, coldest winds) by something solid like a stone wall on 2 sides (maybe more diamond shaped so wind splits to either side)....
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playing with ideas....wind diversions....so basically build a maze with the coop in the middle. Wouldn't have to be a full maze, just set the walls across the opening in the next layer. Granted, more long term project, but could be upgraded to more durable and/or planted with trees/shrubs.

Doesn't help much with coop NOW unless there is a semi-sheltered location to START with, then build the windbreaks off of that.

In settling the Great Plains (Northern Mississippi River, Missouri River areas), people planted wind breaks 3-5 rows wide around the house and barn area. My brother's in-laws have 1 with the outermost a double row of berry type bushes, a double...or triple row (offset from each other) of deciduous trees with the inner most a double row of evergreen spruce trees. The windbreak wrapped 3 sides of the house/yard/barns area with a corn field on the 4th. The whole of the Plains gets wind incessantly, from any direction, and winter winds sweep down from the arctic circle. Northern winds are critical to break up. Summer/fall can get winds out of the southwest or northwest or anywhere in-between. East winds are rare, so that direction is rarely blocked.

Another thing to note. Completely enclosed creates more wind resistance which causes more damage in high winds. The idea is to separate and break up the winds so it's not as strong while still allowing it through. From the sounds of things, your place gets wind from all directions. That's why I'm thinking fully enclose the coop area with open ended walls. The wind has to change direction so much getting through that it loses much of the bite.

Long-term building project, start with the innermost walls, and if you've got a region where 2 stone walls come together, start there and build out.

Edit:

For that batter, building a baffles at the door would also help. Inside or outside doesn't really matter, but run some sort of blockage across that too.
 
I though I would show you how Flopsy is with her first big moult. She’s another one who doesn’t want to walk much, sinks down, goes sideways, backwards…. Though not as bad as Rose was with her first moult.

Aww, poor baby! 💔
 

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