Hello and welcome to my post! 
I haven't updated in some time. It's been a very busy New Year for me. I purchased 4 more birds to add to my current flock of 4.
Now, I have four 10wk old Barred Rocks and four 1yr old hens: one Barnevelder, 2 more Barred Rock & a Red Star. They integrated into my younger flock without any issues. At first, I was concerned but now that they've figured out the pecking order...all is well.
As soon as this snow melts I'll be doing some updating and remodeling my current coop(see last photo). Now that it's seen it's first winter here I have realized it needs some things to make it better for the girls when it snows. I thought by them having 2 of 4 walls they'd be protected from the snow but it seems I must add some boards to the upper portion of the coop to keep the wind here at bay during the winter storm months. I'll be adding a slanted corrugated roof with venting at the top and the bottom will remain open for ventilation. I don't want to spend too much money and time on it as we rent our property and this is not a permanent coop. The next one will have much more thought put into it since this was my first coop.
I get up with the sun and let the girls out everyday and check for eggs and they pretty much put themselves to bed every night. They are quiet and not as messy as I thought they'd be. If I come out do take trash out or give them a snack they come running to me or my daughter. My cats alert me if there are strays sitting on the fence and I have a BB gun sitting next to the back door, just in case. All my neighbors know I have them and I have warned them about what will happen if their cats venture into my yard. So far, I've only had to use the BB gun once. I aimed for her a** and landed the shot and she hasn't been back. So...we shall see. I have one raccoon that likes to frequent my trash cans in the far back but he hasn't attempted to infiltrate the yard YET. I think I throw enough goodies away to keep him occupied for now. If it were a female then I'd trap and rehome her. But since there isn't really a risk of a hungry momma coon for the time being...I think my setup is safe enough. Once we find a place out in the country I'll have to employ stronger fencing and MAYBE a rooster. Might just get another border collie. My last one was amazing at guarding the house.
Sorry to rant.
Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
I haven't updated in some time. It's been a very busy New Year for me. I purchased 4 more birds to add to my current flock of 4.Now, I have four 10wk old Barred Rocks and four 1yr old hens: one Barnevelder, 2 more Barred Rock & a Red Star. They integrated into my younger flock without any issues. At first, I was concerned but now that they've figured out the pecking order...all is well.
As soon as this snow melts I'll be doing some updating and remodeling my current coop(see last photo). Now that it's seen it's first winter here I have realized it needs some things to make it better for the girls when it snows. I thought by them having 2 of 4 walls they'd be protected from the snow but it seems I must add some boards to the upper portion of the coop to keep the wind here at bay during the winter storm months. I'll be adding a slanted corrugated roof with venting at the top and the bottom will remain open for ventilation. I don't want to spend too much money and time on it as we rent our property and this is not a permanent coop. The next one will have much more thought put into it since this was my first coop.
I get up with the sun and let the girls out everyday and check for eggs and they pretty much put themselves to bed every night. They are quiet and not as messy as I thought they'd be. If I come out do take trash out or give them a snack they come running to me or my daughter. My cats alert me if there are strays sitting on the fence and I have a BB gun sitting next to the back door, just in case. All my neighbors know I have them and I have warned them about what will happen if their cats venture into my yard. So far, I've only had to use the BB gun once. I aimed for her a** and landed the shot and she hasn't been back. So...we shall see. I have one raccoon that likes to frequent my trash cans in the far back but he hasn't attempted to infiltrate the yard YET. I think I throw enough goodies away to keep him occupied for now. If it were a female then I'd trap and rehome her. But since there isn't really a risk of a hungry momma coon for the time being...I think my setup is safe enough. Once we find a place out in the country I'll have to employ stronger fencing and MAYBE a rooster. Might just get another border collie. My last one was amazing at guarding the house.
Sorry to rant.
Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
