Getting the flock out of here - a diary of a crazy chicken man

[vehve]

Congrats on the chocolate eggs, Oz.

 

[freerangemanok]

Hi, Piglett

Yes I have lots of free range chicken in my area for brown egg production. The only concern is where to get volume supplies of quality layers.

thanks

Emer

 

[ozexpat]

@freerangemanok

I shot you an email.

Thanks for the opportunity to partner with you

 

[walkingbird]

I had some questions...
Oz, do you have any health issues with weather and the chickens? Obviously you don't have to worry about freezing weather or anything, but do you have to worry about rain getting the chickens wet, or humidity levels, heat, parasites, etc.?

I noticed in some pics of your coops several pages back that you had some coops that were enclosed on 4 sides with solid walls, and one that was enclosed on 3 sides, and the 4th side, where the coop met the run, was the same green mesh as the run. Is there a purpose to this design? I may never have chickens in a tropical region, but I am very interested in the logistics.

Also, how are the different breeds doing in the tropics? They are all breeds acclimated to a temperate zone, right? Are there any challenges so far with acclimating them to the phillipeans? Do you maybe have plans for hybridizing with the native breeds you mentioned several posts ago?

 

[ozexpat]

I had some questions...
Oz, do you have any health issues with weather and the chickens? Obviously you don't have to worry about freezing weather or anything, but do you have to worry about rain getting the chickens wet, or humidity levels, heat, parasites, etc.?

I noticed in some pics of your coops several pages back that you had some coops that were enclosed on 4 sides with solid walls, and one that was enclosed on 3 sides, and the 4th side, where the coop met the run, was the same green mesh as the run. Is there a purpose to this design? I may never have chickens in a tropical region, but I am very interested in the logistics.

Also, how are the different breeds doing in the tropics? They are all breeds acclimated to a temperate zone, right? Are there any challenges so far with acclimating them to the phillipeans? Do you maybe have plans for hybridizing with the native breeds you mentioned several posts ago

Overall my Chickens are pretty healthy. Our highs are not that high. We never hit 100F so we are milder than a humid summer on the eastern seaboard of USA.. The chickens dont seem to mind the rain but will seek shelter of its strong.

I treat with Ivermectin pour on for internal and external parasites and alternate it with Valbazen to mitigate worm resistance..

My coops are all designed to balance ventilation versus shelter. Our winds come from the North most of the year. Our original coops (A&B) have the runs facing the ocean and the onshore winds. They are built woth four solid walls but just to the same height as the side walls. The north gable side has green mesh above about 5ft and there is a triangle of solid wall at the front to prevent direct winds. The human doors on the rear are also mesh - to allow cross ventilation.









Coops 1-11 face the south and away from the prevailing winds so their open or partially open on their run side

 

[RunamokRanch]

good story

 

[ozexpat]

800 board feet of coco lumber. The sawing was aprox 120 dollars.


The photos were taken this morning at the "big house" as it is described by the locals in Kabankalan. My wife's grandfather made his money as a sugar barron and spent it being the local physician and then benefactor of education.




The kids earning their food allotment. lol



After loading as much wet wood as she could on the trailer, these leftovers will go out to the farm with the next sand and gravel order this week

 

[ozexpat]

The piggery extension after one week.











The construction does not seem to upset the girls much

 

[Tomtommom]

Beautiful pigs

Beautiful lumber too!

 

[scottcaddy]

Nice looking girls, real laid back. Don't the wood uprights sealed in the walls rot from retained water?
Scott