What is everyone's favorite dog (pure breed or mix) that they own/have owned, or have known that someone else owned?
INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!
- Thread starter Chaneys Ranch
- Start date
Mriley0902
Chirping
- Sep 3, 2019
- 22
- 62
- 56
No I have not. We aren’t sure how we want to go about building one. Any advice I can get is greatly appreciated.
On BYC there are plenty of coop-build threads. Look for something that will fit the number of chickens you plan to own (always make it a little bigger because of "chicken math" and a little extra space in winter when they're stuck inside is better than overcrowding. If you plan to free range, your run can be smaller but you will also have to deal with loss due to predators.
I also feel it's good to think about cleaning & bedding. You want something that requires min time spent cleaning and avoid any awkward angles/ hard to reach places. example - removable roosts are great because you can take them out to hose off and then pop back in.
WINTER:
I'm further north by Chicago & we get some very cold arctic blasts. (a couple nights can drop down to -40'F wind chill) I attach vinyl storm windows (clear vinyl sheet attached to wood frames) to make my run like a green house. (I do not do heat in my big coop b/c I'm too nervous about fire hazards. But for my seramas, I have a small coop on the patio with a wall heat plate. They get moved into the tiny coop for the winter and it's used as a broody house during the spring/summer.)
Whether you heat or not, you'll have to think about how you're going to prevent their water from freezing and how you're going to give them water when the hose is disconnected.
I also feel it's good to think about cleaning & bedding. You want something that requires min time spent cleaning and avoid any awkward angles/ hard to reach places. example - removable roosts are great because you can take them out to hose off and then pop back in.
WINTER:
I'm further north by Chicago & we get some very cold arctic blasts. (a couple nights can drop down to -40'F wind chill) I attach vinyl storm windows (clear vinyl sheet attached to wood frames) to make my run like a green house. (I do not do heat in my big coop b/c I'm too nervous about fire hazards. But for my seramas, I have a small coop on the patio with a wall heat plate. They get moved into the tiny coop for the winter and it's used as a broody house during the spring/summer.)
Whether you heat or not, you'll have to think about how you're going to prevent their water from freezing and how you're going to give them water when the hose is disconnected.
- Thread starter
- #56,434
Hello and welcome to our thread!
Please ask away, glad to help you get started.My #1 favorite is the Rottweiler. Very smart, devoted to its family and very protective. I've had a few and each one was the same demeanor. Also a good LGD. I chose dogs from a reputable breeder.
Have to admit close 2nd is becoming Great Pyrenees. My daughter has had 2, and I've owned our Belle close to a year now. I've read that they were supposed to be stubborn, I've not seen it. Large but very gentle especially with elderly and children. Excellent LGD, Belle watches over our goats and the Leghorn flock. ETA she was almost 3 when she came here, and I had no problems lead training, and a few other manners.
- Thread starter
- #56,435
I did a quick coop search on byc, came up with these links.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threadloom/search?query=coop&tab=620
- Thread starter
- #56,436
Everyone is molting! Geez feathers everywhere and half bald birds lol. The American Bresse are only about 5 months and they are molting too, odd. My 6 BR pullets are doing good at 17 weeks and I have a friendly social rooster saved for them. EE flock has 1 broody hen we've put her in a safe place with her eggs. My adult Maran hen is also brooding eggs. And amazed I have a broody Leghorn! Hope all these girls are good moms.
Muscovy hens all appear to plan one more clutch. The hard rains last month damaged all the eggs on the ground. I'm seeing all 4 girls start new clutches.
Muscovy hens all appear to plan one more clutch. The hard rains last month damaged all the eggs on the ground. I'm seeing all 4 girls start new clutches.
Got a lot of molting here too.
This is Cookie's brooder. She's using her maternity leave to molt. At 1st I though she exploded. She only has 5 chicks & the cage was cleaned 2 days ago. All that black is her feathers!!!!
My Dominiques and a few others molted over the summer.
The articles may include this, but if not: DO NOT purchase a pre-fab coop from TSC or another farm store. They are inadequate to house as many birds as they say, and so cheaply made they will likely only last one year, unless a predator tears it apart first.
Our first coop was purchased as a quality built shed and my husband then renovated the inside to suite chickens. Sturdy, predator proof, and roomy as long as I don't overcrowd. Never, never allow over-crowding. I don't go by recommended square feet per bird, as it just takes some common sense to see whether they're crowded.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #56,440
Have to agree. I had a TSC coop that just fell apart a year after I bought it. Lost a very expensive English Orpington flock from raccoon family tearing it apart in one night.
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