Helpful hints for building coops

[CapricornFarm]

I was supposed to go to the Dr. this morning for the results of my stress test on Wed. I got a call. cancelled the appointment. Dr said the scans look fine and an office call is not necessary .. got all showered and shaved for nothing .
this morning I got up early and put the gasket on the stove door. It looks real nice, I hope it lasts for awhile.
.....jiminwisc.......

Great news!

 

[CapricornFarm]

Yup, we have 2 mama hen plates and three groups. The newly hatched chicks have been with a heat lamp but it's too hard to keep the temperature in the correct range. I took the 3 day olds out of the bin with the second mama plate and shoved all the new hatched kids in and under the plate, instant bliss and contented peeps. The heat lamp had been cooking them (98 to 104). And the 6th one to hatch was crooking her neck strangely. I held her head up and got her to take some water and she seemed to perk up. Current plan is to leave the 3 day olds in a warm (87) area till they start to complain of chill, then dim the lights and put them in with the new hatched.

I called every feed store in the area (a lot of them) and no one carries the chick plates. What the heck?

Update, just added them all together. Older kids are not too sure who is in THEIR brooder but at least they aren't pecking them. We'll see how much sleep I get tonight. Did I mention they are in my bathroom? I'll give them a few days before they go out to the outside brooder but out they will go.

I just ordered a heating pad with no auto shut off. Those plates are expensive unless you can find them on clearance.
Did I show you guys how I have been moving chicks? By the bucketload!

 

[mshaymez]

How to use plywood to attach perches. I sometimes peel my sticks to help discourage mites. Right now i am more worried about racoons since one popped open a latch last night on the brooder! Good thing i had two latches on it since the snake episode.
I cut two pieces of plywood and run two parallel screws into the middle so the tip of the screw just pokes out of the plywood. The plywood goes on the outside of the wire, the stick on the inside, then drill the screw into the stick. If you use larger mesh, you might want to use a big enough piece of plywood to shield the chickens from predators while on the perch. View attachment 1101413

That looks great!!!!

 

[NewBoots]

Holy Moly! Everyone is alive today! Even the one with the crook to her neck (not crooked at all now and acting normal) AND even the slow one that hadn't hatched yet and had the scary veins last night!

The 3 yellow ones are my store boughts, the other six are our hatched kids, there's one still drying out in the 'bator.

 

[jvls1942]

early this morning I was awake in bed and I had a thought.
that truss I built could easily be modified to make a roof for a small building like a chicken coop.
as it is shown, it would span six feet. with a little modification it could easily handle an eight foot span. No bird's mouth to figure and cut out.
simple:
( x squared plus y squared = z squared)
( run plus rise = slope )
just make up a bunch of them and then line them up along the top of the walls.
a few purlins and metal roofing and you have a roof that will last a lifetime.
......jiminwisc......

 

[NewBoots]

a few purlins and metal roofing and you have a roof that will last a lifetime.
......jiminwisc......

And will look pretty darned sharp too from the sound of it.

Temporary brood space solved. I have a very large flat bottomed bath tub and there's another shower in the house so the new hatched chicks are now happily learning chick stuff from the 3 day older chicks in my bathtub.

 

[jvls1942]

the truss shown is 36" run and 24'' rise resulting in about a 7/12 pitch.
If you would put two of them together, you would have a gable roof.
the only difficult cut is the sharp 29 degree cut of the run board. however it is not impossible ..
those angles would naturally change with different lengths of trusses.
If you would make a tractor coop . the horizontal member could be used as a roost.

 

[NewBoots]

Found an interesting and easy recipe for sausage rolls, you use frozen puff pastry. They're in the oven now and smell lovely. We keep watching British Baking Show at night and I plan to make everything. But even the bakers say to buy the frozen puff pastry.

 

[aart]

Found an interesting and easy recipe for sausage rolls, you use frozen puff pastry. They're in the oven now and smell lovely. We keep watching British Baking Show at night and I plan to make everything. But even the bakers say to buy the frozen puff pastry.

That sounds lovely!
Share the recipe?

I love the BBS! Just watched an episode, another coming on in an hour.
I still like watching even tho I've seen them all.

 

[NewBoots]

Hopefully this will post correctly:

Sausage Rolls
Easy Homemade Sausage Rolls with flaky pastry rival any bakery! A flavourful
sausage filling wrapped in golden puff pastry make sausage rolls the perfect little
appetizers for game day! Full of bacon, beef, ground pork, aromatics, herbs and
spices.
20 mins 30 mins 50 mins
Appetizer Australian sausage rolls
20 sausage rolls 290kcal Karina

Instructions
FILLING

7 oz (200g) bacon, minced or finely chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely shredded/grated
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
8 oz (250g) ground pork mince
8 oz (250g) ground beef mince
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 large egg
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt
Cracked black pepper
2 1/2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten


1. Fry bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes until just starting to crisp and bacon
releases grease. Add onion, celery and carrot to the pan, sauté for 2 minutes or until veggies have
softened. Sauté the garlic until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
Transfer to bowl and let mixture cool for 10 minutes.
2. Add remaining FILLING ingredients to the bowl and mix well using your hands.


1. Lightly flour a work bench. Cut one pastry sheet in half and lay one half down in front of you.
2. Spoon 1/5th of the filling down the middle of the sheet and press/shape into a compact log.
3. Brush edge of pastry with egg then roll up. Lightly press/seal on the edge with egg wash and arrange
seam-side down.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly grease with
nonstick cooking oil spray.
2. Slice each log into four equal pieces for party-sized sausage rolls, or two pieces for long full-sized
sausage rolls. Brush the tops with egg wash.
3. Arrange rolls on baking sheets and bake for 30-35 minutes, rotating baking sheets around halfway
through cook time to ensure they bake evenly. The pastry should be crispy and golden brown.
4. Let cool to the touch. Serve hot (or warm) with ketchup/tomato sauce.

I dipped mine in bbq sauce and they were so delicious! Once we can socialize again I'll make them for Aggravation nite.