It has begun...

[lbeckm3]

Well we got our batch of baby chicks from TSC yesterday. They were labeled as "Red pullets" - which after some research it appears they are mostly Golden Sex Links (I think). I'm hopeful we got a good natured, healthy bunch! I'm very excited to show the kids what we did, but they wont find out until Easter Sunday as we have them "cooped up" at the in-laws right now. I made a small brooder out of a $9 semi-clear bin. Cut a hole on the top and attached a decent wood frame with hardware cloth to hold them for a few weeks;



Here is the underside of the frame - as you can see from above it is screwed into the wood through the plastic with washers;


The gang - they are bit camera shy...


This one I'm holding has a much darker head then the others so I guess I'm playing the "wait till they grow up to see what you got" game.


And finally as you can see off my deck - the weather in SD isn't exactly cooperating for coop building... It was mid 70's just 2 days ago... South Dakota...


What a fantastic resource this forum and website are! I've been reading like a madman and absorbing as much as I can! My coop plan is to build something similar to ascrawnychicken's coop, around 10' x 6'.

Thanks for looking! And if you have a thought on my birds "breed/mix/hybrid", please let me know!

-Lyle

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Cute babies!!!

Nice coop you are planning, too!

Since you live in a very very cold climate, you may wish to make your coop a full-fledged shed, so they have more room to basically live indoors during the worst of the weather. Just a thought. We only get down to 10 degrees here but when we have snow the girls don't like to go out in it if it is deep. You could still build the same run adjacent to the shed (covered). I bought a shed at Home Depot.

 

[lbeckm3]

Thanks much! That is a good point, I do plan to "enclose" the coop in the wintertime (I've seen others use some plexi and/or crosshatch stuff with plastic). Keep the snow out and see how things go. If all else fails my inlaws have a barn/outbuilding we can move them into with "plenty-o-space". Thanks for pointing that out - and I do plan on doing some supplemental heating as well. Something like the dog heater deal mounted to the wall of the coop.

Fun stuff! I can't wait to get crackin' on the coop. I may have to take some photos and document it - and if it turns out, I'll share it. If not, well...

-Lyle

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Sounds good!

 

[b.hromada]

So cute! Like your brooder! Good job!

Wow, what a change in weather, huh? Hope the snow clears up for you, and you can get started on your coop! Enjoy!!

 

[lbeckm3]

Thanks for the nice comments on the brooder!!

Yea, the snow is already almost completely gone and I'm probably going to start on Monday! Easter Sunday we are "revealing" the chicks to the kids and then the race is on before they outgrow the brooder. I may need to add a second room to it (I've seen others do this here and I think it makes it more "interesting" for the chicks). It's funny I go to the in-laws almost every day to check in on them, my mother-in-law says I'll be a good "mom" for them. Not sure if she's teasing me or serious, but I lean toward serious. I put a 2x2 pine board in the brooder as a starter roost for them. They are having fun hoping up and down on it and generally making a game of it. They still all huddle together for naps on the pine chips, but time will tell!

I think I'm in for an interesting ride here...