Hello BYC'ers. I've been lurking this forum for several months and finally decided to post.
First I'd like to thank you all for the great info I've read on this site.
Secondly I tend to be long winded, so I'll apologize in advance!
Since lurking I've: Learned how to care for chickens, learned *some* of the different breeds, learned how to build an effective coop with roost's, & nest boxes, and about feeders & waterers.
So THANK YOU ALL!
For a coop I used an old wood 6'x6' shed that was on the property when we bought it. I put up plywood on the inside to insulate it, then built in a roost, and a shelf to hold 5 gal. nest buckets. I built a run onto the outside that's 5'x6' (but I'm thinkin it needs to be bigger)
I know how everybody here asks/want's to see pictures so I came prepared.
The coop:
"C. Higgins" = chiggin's if you didn't get it. he he
We have a few feral cat's that wander through our property so the wire mesh extends down below ground level and out a foot from the coop. I then covered it in several inches of gravel. I also put two foot tall plywood around the bottom so a cat couldn't reach through and try and grab a chicken.
With the coop built it was time to buy some chickens. Since the coop is somewhat small and we didn't want *too* many we decided on a couple good layers and a couple fancy birds.
So we bought a Rhode Island Red, an Australorp, A Cornish, and a (young) Silver Seabrite.
We've had them now 2 weeks and we figured it was still a bit too cold for them to start laying. (60-70's day, 20-30's night)
Well today I went out to find two egg's in seperate buckets (both from the RIR) Unfortunately the second egg was broken.
But she made it up to me by laying a third egg while I was standing there taking pictures!
<CLUNK!>
I was leaning against the roost and she hopped up next to me.
"You're not thinkin of stealin those egg's are ya?!?"
At least that's what I think she said... My *chicken* is a little rusty.
I do have a question (which may need to be in a different thread) I've noticed the RIR scratched/kicked most of the shavings out of the bucket prior to laying. I'm wondering if the fall (or her scratching) was what broke the first egg. Should I line the bucket with some other sort of padding to keep the egg's from breaking?
So again, thank you all for the great source of knowledge that makes this site great!
~C!~ (first time egg father)
First I'd like to thank you all for the great info I've read on this site.
Secondly I tend to be long winded, so I'll apologize in advance!
Since lurking I've: Learned how to care for chickens, learned *some* of the different breeds, learned how to build an effective coop with roost's, & nest boxes, and about feeders & waterers.
So THANK YOU ALL!
For a coop I used an old wood 6'x6' shed that was on the property when we bought it. I put up plywood on the inside to insulate it, then built in a roost, and a shelf to hold 5 gal. nest buckets. I built a run onto the outside that's 5'x6' (but I'm thinkin it needs to be bigger)
I know how everybody here asks/want's to see pictures so I came prepared.
The coop:
"C. Higgins" = chiggin's if you didn't get it. he he
We have a few feral cat's that wander through our property so the wire mesh extends down below ground level and out a foot from the coop. I then covered it in several inches of gravel. I also put two foot tall plywood around the bottom so a cat couldn't reach through and try and grab a chicken.
With the coop built it was time to buy some chickens. Since the coop is somewhat small and we didn't want *too* many we decided on a couple good layers and a couple fancy birds.
So we bought a Rhode Island Red, an Australorp, A Cornish, and a (young) Silver Seabrite.
We've had them now 2 weeks and we figured it was still a bit too cold for them to start laying. (60-70's day, 20-30's night)
Well today I went out to find two egg's in seperate buckets (both from the RIR) Unfortunately the second egg was broken.
But she made it up to me by laying a third egg while I was standing there taking pictures!
<CLUNK!>
I was leaning against the roost and she hopped up next to me.
"You're not thinkin of stealin those egg's are ya?!?"
At least that's what I think she said... My *chicken* is a little rusty.
I do have a question (which may need to be in a different thread) I've noticed the RIR scratched/kicked most of the shavings out of the bucket prior to laying. I'm wondering if the fall (or her scratching) was what broke the first egg. Should I line the bucket with some other sort of padding to keep the egg's from breaking?
So again, thank you all for the great source of knowledge that makes this site great!
~C!~ (first time egg father)
I see you are from the Cal high desert, is that over around Alturas, canby , Newell area?
