Helpful hints for building coops

[jvls1942]

Ah yes, ticks.. but they do show up before the snow is gone..
We got some good tick and bug treatment from the vet. It expensive, but it lasts at least 3 months. it kills existing ticks, and repels any new ones..
easy to apply, just squeeze a few drops along the spine of the dog, every few inches. done.
my dogs used to find dead deer in the woods. that was a prime place to pick up ticks.
even in the dead of winter..
Frankie insists on being petted every day.
she would prefer that I never stop, but I limit her time to a few minutes. that is when I check for ticks.. If I find any, it is time for a new dose..
.......jiminwisc....

 

[Molpet]

I hate ticks
Dog took off for an hour or so in October, probably chasing coyotes.. didn't notice until they were falling off that he was full of ticks.
Pick up almost two dozen in the house alone.
Haven't had a tick problem in the yard since the poultry. Just when he goes on a walkabout.
The fleas seem to be resistant to the treatments from the vet... House had been full of fleas on it. Last spring I had quit giving the dog a bath... I had read they like clean dogs better. Max hates baths, I had to cross tye him between trees and lug out warm water..
I also started poofing him with sulfur every month ... I had no ticks after on him after a walkabout.... had no fleas, first time in years... usually by July I am going crazy and the flea traps are full, they didn't have a single flea.... Good to keep people away from this hermit though
Yes he stinks, but better than fleas.

Since I didn't have a problem, I forget to poof him since I did the August dose... come oct ticks
I put the spot on vet stuff on him and the indoor cat... So far no ticks on either or me...
So I am wondering if ticks that fall off for the winter become active by warmth, time or daylight? I can't believe I found every bloated tick that fell off in the house.

 

[aart]

I can't believe I found every bloated tick that fell off in the house.

Hopefully <cringe> same here, creeps me out!

 

[Molpet]

Hopefully <cringe> same here, creeps me out!

Totally creeps me out too.
I have been having nightmares about it. ...dog gets a Lyme shot but they don't have one for people... Well they do it your high risk... A taxidermy buddy got one,

 

[jvls1942]

Yeah, ticks used to gross me out when I pinched them off with my fingers. but I learned how to bite them off and don't have that problem anymore..

what a difference a few degrees makes.
the extremely low temps have gave way by about 16 degrees. still about -5F but the sunporch is warmed up to 44F with no more added heat than the one electric heater.
the sprouted shoots all came out of it just fine..

 

[aart]

Jim...that's disgusting!!

 

[Molpet]

Yeah, ticks used to gross me out when I pinched them off with my fingers. but I learned how to bite them off and don't have that problem anymore..

 

[NewBoots]

Yeah, ticks used to gross me out when I pinched them off with my fingers.

Holy... **blinks**
You won!

 

[koko365]

I am so sorry about the mishap with your door and the poor chicken that got caught under it.

I guess I can't ask "Where were you when I needed you?" The answer is you were right here on Backyard chickens.com.
Wow, Great Thread!!! I thank you for creating.
I spent the whole summer of 2018 building my first chicken coop while taking care of my first baby chicks in the house.
I did not know what I was getting into...the time, the cost $$$, and the mess.Watch your step...
I do agree that it took way longer and cost more money than planned. I am so glad that I decided to make a walk in coop.
One thing that helped me was to spend time looking at as many coop builds as possible and I took these ideas and tried to keep the best ones and put pencil to paper.
Please see my short video tour of my first chicken coop.

This is a summary of materials and cost.
I was way over budget.

My biggest regret and it cost me the life of one of our favorite chickens was a poorly designed door. Do the research. I made the mistake of buying the Guillotine style door that had No safety features and was not forgiving. It came down on a shaft and trapped my chicken and crushed her. I got rid of that immediately and after spending hours in research I believe I found the best door on market in my opinion.

This is the company I bought the second door from,
I was so happy with it that I made them a promo AD :

I also made an installation video
Please check out.

Thanks for reading my Post. Hope it works out and keep it fun.

"Keep Moving forward"

 

[koko365]

Oh! That's exciting, show us some pictures if you want to share.

Hi... sorry, I never even thought of taking pictures of it before, but I will and will share them. The coop is still in the works because I'm relying on a guy I know who has the cutting tools necessary. Right now the coop has sides and opening for window and door and a circle-shaped opening near the roof on the left side. It's been cold and raining here off and on in Florida, so work has been going slow, esp since it's mostly getting worked on for a couple of hours only every other saturday or so. It's pieced together with plywood, (bought 6 pieces for a cost of $60), but the screws for the plywood walls have been placed in a way that we can take them out (so we can find another person with a truck to get it to my yard) and then the walls and ceiling/roof will be put together more correctly once we get it to my yard. The window and door will be screens with some framing and maybe even little shutters on it too. My landlord has the paint that matches this place where I live, so eventually the coop will match the house. I'm not going to have any fenced in area cuz the chickens are very free range anyway. Oh, I do have a primer coat of paint on the exterior walls completed now. (the two hens and one rooster still lives in my backyard and they come running towards me when they see me)! It is sooo cool to see them running towards me. They seem to have a taste for the worms from my worm condominium too. Warm Smile...