Kentucky people

[McKennA]

Welcome to BYC and the KY thread!

McKennA - I know Lawrenceburg well. There is a very large, small animal swap at the Tractor Supply in Lawrenceburg on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month starting in March. I usually attend several times a year. PM me if you would like more info.

terrilee - I am in the northern tip of Owen County, so probably not far from you. I have Swedish Flower Hens, Svart Honas (Swedish Black Hens), Isbars, White Bresse and Black Copper Marans and a few combinations of the above. If none of those are what you are looking for, I can probably help you find what you do want. I have lots of friends who raise chickens.

PM me if you would like more info.

Hello KYTinpusher,
Thank you for thinking of me. My husband and I checked out the swap at TSC a few times last summer. I have also joined the group on Facebook. We didn't purchased anything chicken related, because we weren't ready yet, but we did buy some awesome farm fresh vegetables;-)

 

[kyyada]

Hello: I've been kicking around the idea of having chickens for a couple of years now and I am getting closer to taking the plunge. When I get my tax return I think I will invest in a coop and run and some chicks. I think I have settled on a 10 x 15 run and a 4 x 8 coop and having around 10 or so chickens. I have noticed you can only order 15 or more and that is something I will have to contend with. I guess I can give away a few and some may not survive the shipping and my lack of experience. I want the compost from yard waste and a few eggs, killing any of them is out of the question, I'm sure my kids will have them spoiled rotten. I want to put down 6 - 8 inches of sawdust and mulch in the run and add garden waste and lawn clippings from time to time. We have had a few hawks and a falcon flying over and this last summer a golden eagle has shown up and the hawks and falcons have left. I want to make the fence 8 foot and put fishing line overhead. If anyone has any advice please let me know because I need it! Oh, we have bears now too....so one or two strands of electric fence!

Thanks

 

[smarsh]

while it may not keep out raccoons, you can buy rolls of bird netting rather cheaply that works well (over the top of the run) at keeping birds of prey out. The best thing to do is use the same fencing used for the sides of the run over the top too. I don't lock my hens up in the coop at night, the run is quite secure, at least until minks move into the neighborhood. I am sure they could squeeze through the 2x3 wire fence, and it isn't out of the possibilities of having them here on the edge of town, what with a small stream near by.

 

[terrilee]

while it may not keep out raccoons, you can buy rolls of bird netting rather cheaply that works well (over the top of the run) at keeping birds of prey out. The best thing to do is use the same fencing used for the sides of the run over the top too. I don't lock my hens up in the coop at night, the run is quite secure, at least until minks move into the neighborhood. I am sure they could squeeze through the 2x3 wire fence, and it isn't out of the possibilities of having them here on the edge of town, what with a small stream near by.

You / we have minks around our area? I'm interested in seeing your run so hopefully you have a pic.

 

[smarsh]

i do not have a picture, but will try to post one in the next couple days

 

[terrilee]

i do not have a picture, but will try to post one in the next couple days

Great, I'll be looking forward to seeing.

 

[kittydoc]

Hello: I've been kicking around the idea of having chickens for a couple of years now and I am getting closer to taking the plunge. When I get my tax return I think I will invest in a coop and run and some chicks. I think I have settled on a 10 x 15 run and a 4 x 8 coop and having around 10 or so chickens. I have noticed you can only order 15 or more and that is something I will have to contend with. I guess I can give away a few and some may not survive the shipping and my lack of experience. I want the compost from yard waste and a few eggs, killing any of them is out of the question, I'm sure my kids will have them spoiled rotten. I want to put down 6 - 8 inches of sawdust and mulch in the run and add garden waste and lawn clippings from time to time. We have had a few hawks and a falcon flying over and this last summer a golden eagle has shown up and the hawks and falcons have left. I want to make the fence 8 foot and put fishing line overhead. If anyone has any advice please let me know because I need it! Oh, we have bears now too....so one or two strands of electric fence!

Thanks

I don't think sawdust is a good idea for the bottom of your run. It is dusty, small enough to eat (and they WILL eat it, but get no nutrition from it), and will be a wet mess in rainy conditions. I have read that a lot of people use landscaping sand (not play sand) in their runs because it's easy to clean and drains well.

Giving them garden waste and lawn clippings to eat is fine, as long as the clippings aren't too long. They eat them whole, and can get impactions from it. Believe me, I know, because I almost lost one. They were getting into some very tall "grassy" flowers we planted around our separate garden to draw good insects, and they eventually leaned close enough to the fence so the girls could get at them from their side. Had to fix that situation!

We bought some inexpensive bird netting (2" x 2") from Amazon.com that has done a superb job of stopping hawks from killing our birds. We only lost one that way, but that was enough, and it left her in quite a mess. I agree with others that there are minks and/or weasels almost everywhere in the US, whether you see them or not, and they will cause some predation losses if the birds stay up past their usual bedtime.

You will want to use 1/4" hardware cloth for your coop to prevent critters from tunneling in--we buried it about a foot, and nothing has ever gotten inside our coop. You may or may not need supplemental heat (if only for your waterers), so think about how you can tap off your existing electric supply or run very long thick gauge extension cords. My husband finally just ran a line directly from the house and it has made our lives much easier.

Good luck to you! It's addictive!

 

[McKennA]

Posting some pics of the old coop we are fixing up for our chicks coming in April.




The previous owners had the coop on the other side the shop, and you could not see it from the house. Soo, I asked my hubby if we could move the coop...he is so awesome, he said "where do you want it"?



Time to turn this chicken house into a mobile home. I wasn't sure it would work without tearing it up. It didn't budge for the first 10 to 20 seconds, I started to wonder if we could actually move it. After some creaking and groaning noises, it started moving like it was on wheels.



I can now see the coop from the kitchen, dining room, and living room.



One side of the roof had to be replaced, the wood door above the nesting boxes was rotten as well. We still have some minor fix ups to do on the coop itself, and of course paint. My husband has started working on the run. We have a lot of predators out here, the usual suspects, coyote, foxes, bobcat, (I was a little surprised/freaked out about that one), raccoons, possum. Surprisingly not a lot of flying predators, we do have quite a few crows, so I guess they are keeping them away. I have seen some kind of varmint around the pond, maybe a muskrat, hopefully not a mink. And, we have a bird dog...didn't know we would be getting chickens when we got him, lol. So they will spend the majority of their time in the run. I am thinking about having a small movable tractor type of run to allow them some semi-free range time.




The framing for the run is done, the roof is next. That's it for now.

 

[KYTinpusher]

KYTinpusher - Out of the ones you have listed are any particularly docile....good with kids and good layers? My niece lives in Sparta and works at ElkCreek Vineyards, which I believe are both in Owen County.

Sorry! I started this response 2 days ago and never finished it.

I am in Sparta, too! I have been to the Vineyard many times. If I had to choose, I would say my Isbars are hands down the winner, though my Swedish Flower Hens come in a close second. These are both rare breeds from Sweden. As heritage breeds go, they are both very good layers, but will not come close to a production red or other hatchery production breed.

The Isbars are a very rare, small breed that is very docile and lays lots of large, pretty green eggs in shades from olive to sage to mint. Generally 150 - 200 eggs/year. They are good foragers and very feed efficient. I find they get along well with other breeds. These are eggs from my second year layers (that is a quarter in the picture for size comparison).


The Swedish Flower Hens are a very friendly, rare breed that comes in lots of lovely colors. I often find it hard to walk in their coop/run because there are hens at my feet. I have quite a collection and am still adding more. You can see my album here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/g/a/6152521/swedish-flower-hens/ They lay a medium to large, cream to light brown egg. There has been an occasional belligerent rooster, but they are rare. They are good foragers and the roosters take excellent care of their hens.

For a dual purpose breed (eggs and meat), I would recommend the White Bresse. There are very good layers of medium-sized cream colored eggs as well as an excellent meat bird.

If you like a colorful egg basket, you need to add a Black Copper Marans. They lay large dark, chocolate brown eggs. They are also a heavy, dual purpose breed.

I forgot to mention that I have black Ameraucanas (true Ameraucanas, not EE), too. They lay a beautiful blue egg. They are in a project pen now, but I should have purebred later this year. They are a talkative breed and friendly to people, but don't seem to like other breeds of chickens, at least not Rhodebars.

I like a colorful egg basket

I hope this helps. I am sure others here would have other recommendations for you.

 

[KYTinpusher]

Hello: I've been kicking around the idea of having chickens for a couple of years now and I am getting closer to taking the plunge. When I get my tax return I think I will invest in a coop and run and some chicks. I think I have settled on a 10 x 15 run and a 4 x 8 coop and having around 10 or so chickens. I have noticed you can only order 15 or more and that is something I will have to contend with. I guess I can give away a few and some may not survive the shipping and my lack of experience. I want the compost from yard waste and a few eggs, killing any of them is out of the question, I'm sure my kids will have them spoiled rotten. I want to put down 6 - 8 inches of sawdust and mulch in the run and add garden waste and lawn clippings from time to time. We have had a few hawks and a falcon flying over and this last summer a golden eagle has shown up and the hawks and falcons have left. I want to make the fence 8 foot and put fishing line overhead. If anyone has any advice please let me know because I need it! Oh, we have bears now too....so one or two strands of electric fence!

Thanks

Welcome to BYC and the KY thread!

I agree on the sawdust not being a good idea. Sand is a much better base. You can buy chicks at your local Tractor Supply in the spring and their minimum (actually a state law minimum) is 6 chicks. Other farm stores probably have them, too. Another choice is a local breeder or small animal swap. There are lots of those in KY and there would be no shipping stress on the chicks. Where are you located? The swaps should start up again in March or April. There you will be able to find chicks, started pullets, or hens that are already laying. If you buy from a swap, just make sure you buy from a reputable seller and have some help picking out healthy chickens.

Posting some pics of the old coop we are fixing up for our chicks coming in April.




The framing for the run is done, the roof is next. That's it for now.

Nice coop! You're doing great with it!