Hello From Jax, FL!

MACKLN308

In the Brooder
5 Years
Oct 5, 2014
14
0
22
Hey everyone! I've been scoping BYC for a couple months and have been in the process of building a coop. We went to a farm swap this morning and got 4 Rhode Island Red hens. I was nearly done the coop but not completely finished so I had to bust my but when I got back but here they are and the coop I made (it was inspired by a split level coop from william sonoma but I didn't want to spend 1500 buck-a -roos). I think all said and done I finished it for under $100 and if I want i can put a garden next to the hen house on the second level. I look forward to interacting with all of you and I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions in the months to come.

Nick



 
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Welcome to BYC from Pennsylvania!

Excellent job on the coop, I'm sure your girls will be very happy!
 
I guess right now I only have 1 question. Feeders are easy so I've got that covered but a waterer is a little different. I would like something that won't get bumped over but cost and easy of construction are a concern as well. I looked at the feeder and waterer section but wasn't sure which to go with. The kind with the jug and pan seems like a good fit for me but I'm not sure how they actually work. Any suggestions would be awesome! If i don't get any answers here I'll make sure to move to the appropriate area and ask there. Thanks!
 
Welcome to BYC, Nick. Glad you decided to join our flock. Wow! You really saved a lot of money on your coop. I've raised Rhode Island Reds and they are a hardy breed that lays lots of large, brown eggs. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your RIRs.
 
I guess right now I only have 1 question. Feeders are easy so I've got that covered but a waterer is a little different. I would like something that won't get bumped over but cost and easy of construction are a concern as well. I looked at the feeder and waterer section but wasn't sure which to go with. The kind with the jug and pan seems like a good fit for me but I'm not sure how they actually work. Any suggestions would be awesome! If i don't get any answers here I'll make sure to move to the appropriate area and ask there. Thanks!
welcome-byc.gif


Glad to have you in the flock…I use the plastic gravity fed type water founts..see Tractor Supply. Use to hang it, but girls bumped and spilled water often. Have it on a concrete block with a terra-cotta pot saucer on top and set the fount on top of that. If all is level works well for us. You can add a light in the center of cement block to keep water from freezing in winter. In middle Ga had only one day last winter the light was not enough..a record low 5 and high of 11 F that day. I keep 2 water founts, wash in dishwasher once a week - no heat drying. Has worked well for us.

Hope this helpls.
 
Some people like the nipple waterer system - keeps the coop dry and chickens can't kick dust and dirt into a water pan.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! You've gotten some good suggestions above. The nipple waterers are really popular and do work well. if you live where it freezes often the easiest thing to do is just some sort of heated dog water bowl (especially if you will keep the water outside under the coop like you could in your set up). The plastic water founts like sunflower mentioned are nice and simple to use, they are also nice for outside in the summer also.
Do you have any other pictures of your birds, or individual pictures of ?... I am seeing some feathers that look suspiciously like they may be male feathering coming in.
 
Ahhhhhh! Don't scare me like that! I'll take more pictures in the morning and post them then since they are in the coop and its dark. What should I be looking for if they perhaps were males?

On another note I think I will go with the nipples since they are cheap and clean. Thanks for the suggestions everyone!
 

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