Illinois...

[homeschoolin momma]

I took some pictures today.

My handsome main man Taji

For @Faraday40 Her beautiful Blizzard

And finally opinions. I STILL cant tell with this one chicken. Girl? Boy? Big wattles, small comb no color. Pullet in the middle and the obvious cockerel behind her.

I want to say cockerel, but man that comb is.....underdeveloped. And the wattles have been that size for weeks while the cockerels keeps growing.

 

[Faraday40]

And finally opinions. I STILL cant tell with this one chicken. Girl? Boy? Big wattles, small comb no color. Pullet in the middle and the obvious cockerel behind her.

To me the guy in front looks male & his sister sits behind him.... and big bro behind her. Sometimes one male chick will be alpha and mature much faster than the others. He gets all the testosterone. It can actually slow the development of the other males.



I adore Blizzard. She's looking good. No chicks from her & Taj yet? He looks amazing! Next time you come, you can pick up Sweetheart. (Jennifer's orp) She fits in with the laced orps, but stopped laying. Even if she were laying, Awesome doesn't seem to be mating properly. I guess he'll be in for some trimming too.

Darling is doing OK with the chicks. She is big & clumsy though. I put them outside in a tractor and she stepped on a serama chick. Poor little thing was panting but seems to be recovering. Another serama chick just hatched, so I'll keep the incubator going.

 

[bellaisa]

Sorry in advance multiple pictures; and I am not a good photographer. These babies are almost seven weeks. Any ideas which are pullets or cockerels? The first picture shows my DD favorites so I am hoping at least one is a pullet.
.

 

[homeschoolin momma]

The 1st and 3rd picture are cockerels. Can't tell anything from the 2nd and 5th. The 4th picture you might have two pullets looking at the camera. You could also post this in the guess the gender forum. You should get several more responses there.

 

[bellaisa]

Th

The 1st and 3rd picture are cockerels. Can't tell anything from the 2nd and 5th. The 4th picture you might have two pullets looking at the camera. You could also post this in the guess the gender forum. You should get several more responses there.

Thanks. I was afraid the two in the first photo were males. I am enlarging my run and coop and planned on keeping one of the males but I can’t see keeping two and of course they are the friendliest and my DD favorites.

 

[SnootyHen]

I have a run question and I hate to post it in the coop forum because I feel like every time I post there I get responses that are either not helpful, not responsive or just snotty. But I'm a first timer and have a lot of dumb questions.

So the run I bought that attaches to the coop is pretty cool and I want to use it even though I cancelled the coop part of the order to build my own. The original one was 8' x 4' but since some of the pieces arrived damaged, they are sending me an additional two 8' pieces and one 4' side. The guy helping me says he can bang out the damaged ones and use them which means I can have a 12' x 8' run which is awesome!! I bought the predator protection pieces that are in this link but because the run was 8x4 I only have 2 8s and 2 4s.

https://chickencondos.com/predator-digging-prevention-bars-single-bars.html

Looking at the product, is it worth it for me to just order the extra pieces of the predator prevention from this company? Or would burying hardware cloth be just as good? Or is there something similar I can get somewhere else? I hate to give them any more business after how poorly the entire thing was handled but I also want to make sure my girls are safe and don't want to leave any openings.

Also, one of the 4' sides was originally going to be against the coop so it has a big hole where the chicken door would have been. We're using that piece as part of the run because my new coop is tall enough to not need it. What would you cover that opening with to make sure it's secure? Hardware cloth? Something stronger?

And since I'm here, here's what's done so far!

Thanks for helping a newbie out!!

 

[Molpet]

I have a run question and I hate to post it in the coop forum because I feel like every time I post there I get responses that are either not helpful, not responsive or just snotty. But I'm a first timer and have a lot of dumb questions.

So the run I bought that attaches to the coop is pretty cool and I want to use it even though I cancelled the coop part of the order to build my own. The original one was 8' x 4' but since some of the pieces arrived damaged, they are sending me an additional two 8' pieces and one 4' side. The guy helping me says he can bang out the damaged ones and use them which means I can have a 12' x 8' run which is awesome!! I bought the predator protection pieces that are in this link but because the run was 8x4 I only have 2 8s and 2 4s.

https://chickencondos.com/predator-digging-prevention-bars-single-bars.html

Looking at the product, is it worth it for me to just order the extra pieces of the predator prevention from this company? Or would burying hardware cloth be just as good? Or is there something similar I can get somewhere else? I hate to give them any more business after how poorly the entire thing was handled but I also want to make sure my girls are safe and don't want to leave any openings.

Also, one of the 4' sides was originally going to be against the coop so it has a big hole where the chicken door would have been. We're using that piece as part of the run because my new coop is tall enough to not need it. What would you cover that opening with to make sure it's secure? Hardware cloth? Something stronger?

And since I'm here, here's what's done so far!
View attachment 2181485

Thanks for helping a newbie out!!

I use 1/2" hardware cloth aprons and so far I have no issues. Usually hwc is cheaper online
If you were going to move it around the yard, Those panels would be easier.

 

[WhyDoILikeChickens]

I have a run question and I hate to post it in the coop forum because I feel like every time I post there I get responses that are either not helpful, not responsive or just snotty. But I'm a first timer and have a lot of dumb questions.

So the run I bought that attaches to the coop is pretty cool and I want to use it even though I cancelled the coop part of the order to build my own. The original one was 8' x 4' but since some of the pieces arrived damaged, they are sending me an additional two 8' pieces and one 4' side. The guy helping me says he can bang out the damaged ones and use them which means I can have a 12' x 8' run which is awesome!! I bought the predator protection pieces that are in this link but because the run was 8x4 I only have 2 8s and 2 4s.

https://chickencondos.com/predator-digging-prevention-bars-single-bars.html

Looking at the product, is it worth it for me to just order the extra pieces of the predator prevention from this company? Or would burying hardware cloth be just as good? Or is there something similar I can get somewhere else? I hate to give them any more business after how poorly the entire thing was handled but I also want to make sure my girls are safe and don't want to leave any openings.

Also, one of the 4' sides was originally going to be against the coop so it has a big hole where the chicken door would have been. We're using that piece as part of the run because my new coop is tall enough to not need it. What would you cover that opening with to make sure it's secure? Hardware cloth? Something stronger?

And since I'm here, here's what's done so far!
View attachment 2181485

Thanks for helping a newbie out!!

Looks awesome and I'm glad you are finally getting your coop!
Here's my thoughts.
What predators do you have in your area? A hungry fox or coyote will dig under but not sure much else would.
Tough question because it all depends how far you want it to go. Depends on if you are storing the nation's gold in with your chickens lol. Some people will completely let their birds free range and just write off predator losses and others will go to great lengths. Really need to know what predators are in your area and what degree of security you are comfortable with. I dont believe you've made a wrong choice yet so credit yourself with that.
I dont have any skirts and lots of holes in my defenses, but a few years with no issues is success in my book.
If you have the money to spend and want the security go for it. I would wait and see how it goes before burying hardware cloth, but that's me.

 

[SnootyHen]

Looks awesome and I'm glad you are finally getting your coop!
Here's my thoughts.
What predators do you have in your area? A hungry fox or coyote will dig under but not sure much else would.
Tough question because it all depends how far you want it to go. Depends on if you are storing the nation's gold in with your chickens lol. Some people will completely let their birds free range and just write off predator losses and others will go to great lengths. Really need to know what predators are in your area and what degree of security you are comfortable with. I dont believe you've made a wrong choice yet so credit yourself with that.
I dont have any skirts and lots of holes in my defenses, but a few years with no issues is success in my book.
If you have the money to spend and want the security go for it. I would wait and see how it goes before burying hardware cloth, but that's me.

Thank you both for the quick answers!

The biggest predators in my area are dogs, coyotes and raccoons. Also Hawks but I have a solid top for them. We get an occasional opposum but not very often and my dogs run those guys out fast. I probably expect some snakes with the rodents we may attract. Right now my 3 dogs keep bunnies to a minimum and everything else out out but with chickens and eggs in the yard, I'm sure their job will get harder. I haven't seen any foxes or weasels in the area but they've never had a reason to visit before so I don't know if it's just my own luck or if they aren't around here. I am a runner and spend a lot of time out on local trails and I haven't seen them out there either so maybe we just don't get them.

I don't think the ladies will free range at all just because we do have hawks and in addition to my 3 dogs, almost all of my neighbors have dogs. Mine are working hard on their chicken skills but I can't say as much for the neighbors' dogs. I might change my mind on that once they get outside and see how they do, but for now the plan is not to free range.

I'm hoping to avoid losses but I do understand it will happen. So I guess I'd like to take reasonable steps to prevent it without spending my retirement fund on it. LOL!! No plans to move the coop or run since the coop will be over a thousand lbs once it's done.

 

[Molpet]

Thank you both for the quick answers!

The biggest predators in my area are dogs, coyotes and raccoons. Also Hawks but I have a solid top for them. We get an occasional opposum but not very often and my dogs run those guys out fast. I probably expect some snakes with the rodents we may attract. Right now my 3 dogs keep bunnies to a minimum and everything else out out but with chickens and eggs in the yard, I'm sure their job will get harder. I haven't seen any foxes or weasels in the area but they've never had a reason to visit before so I don't know if it's just my own luck or if they aren't around here. I am a runner and spend a lot of time out on local trails and I haven't seen them out there either so maybe we just don't get them.

I don't think the ladies will free range at all just because we do have hawks and in addition to my 3 dogs, almost all of my neighbors have dogs. Mine are working hard on their chicken skills but I can't say as much for the neighbors' dogs. I might change my mind on that once they get outside and see how they do, but for now the plan is not to free range.

I'm hoping to avoid losses but I do understand it will happen. So I guess I'd like to take reasonable steps to prevent it without spending my retirement fund on it. LOL!! No plans to move the coop or run since the coop will be over a thousand lbs once it's done.

I have not seen a live weasel since around 2013 and the dog was chasing it... Big surprise because I didn't think they were around.. Found ones the dog killed and less than a month ago one got hit on the road in front of the house.

Coons dug under my neighbor's deck and got into the wall of the addition.