Leghorns -19 weeks to first eggs

[aart]

MY coop I can walk in but still bump my head on every other rafter!

So...it's a 'crouch in' coop?

 

[AllenK RGV]

Well, after nothing yesterday, I caught one of the hens on the nest having a private moment. I was curious when I was one hen short of a full flock. Yes, on the nest. No, not the one I thought was laying. She is one of the flightier ones that won't have anything to do with me unless I have mealworms. The way to a girls heart!

So 3 firsts today:
1) caught one on the nest
2) heard her announce the egg song - haven't heard it before.
3) found yesterday's egg planted in the dirt. I thought it was a piece of trash, nope. Someone planted that sucker and I only saw a small portion of the top.

So should I count that as yesterday's or today's egg?
2-1-2-1-1?-1 so far today.

Saw on another thread that switching to layer will slow down maturation? Anything to this? The feed store's flock raiser was older than I wanted and he only had layer feed. I wanted more flock raiser, but not enough demand. I need to ask him to order me some then. I wonder what minimum order is and how I can store it. I have saber toothed cockroaches that gnaw into everything and the MG paper bags won't slow them much.

We are using the Behren's Trash cans from TSC for dog, cat, and chicken feed + scratch(funny thing about the 5 grain scratch my birds only like 2 of em). Since I am storing the feed at the coop and outdoors I have run into 1 issue resolved with aluminum foil and duct tape. That issue is the venting in the handle on top rain gets in and had been, I thought, spoiling my feed. I threw it to the ground near their daytime haunt in the run and they seemed to be happy with it just the same.

 

[AllenK RGV]

So...it's a 'crouch in' coop?

oh I can walk in it just not for more than 18 inches

 

[AllenK RGV]

oh I can walk in it just not for more than 18 inches

Of course it'd be fully walk inable if I remove that useless 2x2 dog feed station near the front taking up prime real estate. Also it is a roosting chicken poo collection magnet too, probably why I haven't taken the circular saw to it yet.

 

[RUNuts]

Isn't it amazing how we will complain about something for years, hit our shin one time too many, rip/remove/burn/jerk or just unscrew the offending item and smile every time we walk past that spot for years later. People are strange. Some stranger than others...

@aart what are you using the plastic jar for next to your pop door? Grit or oyster shells and how does that design work? Refill as needed? Couple tablespoons and good for a month?

I need a solution since these ladies are flinging everything I put in a bowl. I put a dog bowl of egg shells and they scattered it 3 feet, ate the bottom ones and have been picking at the rest for 2 weeks sitting next to the empty bowl. Amazing.

I'm using your ingenuity. How does it work? and how to make it better? Thank you ma'am!

Cheers!

 

[AllenK RGV]

So...it's a 'crouch in' coop?

One last thing about my crouch in coop....ok maybe I should move the placement of the food and water as they too are in my way in the tallest part of it. I'd be much happier just stepping over a garden hose vs. keep hitting my head on rafters. I just hung the feeder somewhere and well where the food is I thought I should place the water too. At least this mistake is easy to correct. Thanks aart for helping me think about myself b4 chicken

 

[aart]

@aart what are you using the plastic jar for next to your pop door? Grit or oyster shells and how does that design work? Refill as needed? Couple tablespoons and good for a month?

Yes, plastic jar (32oz salsa) is for OS. Reusable zipties to attach to HC. Works great, I have a few of them. I keep my OS and egg shell mix in a small plastic bottle with a wide neck(corn syrup), just refill the wall bottle thru the front opening. I feed a low calcium all-flock feed, so OS gets replenished every day or 3 depending on use.

 

[AllenK RGV]

So my chicken taught me something last night during their evening forage. I have a 55gallon compost bin(open top and bottom) located kinda close to the kitchen. Apparently there are some good scratchins to be had around that thing as they went insane around it. I am now of the impression that compost bins belong in a chickens run and not in the yard. Of course when I saw how happy they were with it I had to spoil them, so got the dustbuster and my garden weasel and turned it man I sucked up massive amounts of those 2 inch long roaches we have in south texas.

Paid for by the alliance of chicken against daft humans!

edit- I'd asked RUNuts this question elsewhere, how did you and the flock manage during Harvey? I heard Kingwood took quite the flooding hit. Its the only town I've spent much time in that is in E Houston.

 

[RUNuts]

@AllenK@new2this - sorry, I did not see the question. We made it fine. I'm closer to Anahuac (but no one knows that town; think far east side) and had minor flooding in our neighborhood, but the new neighborhood up the road had several feet indoors. My neighborhood is an older one with proved drainage. The newer one was a rice field 5 years ago. Oops! New houses with water is a reoccurring theme. And not a good one.

The sideways wind blew water into the coop on one side. I was leaving everything open for summer (and now have to finish before February and cold temps). During daylight, the birds stayed under the coop and really wasn't worried about standing water. I piled woodchips for their pleasure under the coop and they stood on top of that out of the rain and wind.

Meanwhile, the dogs were trying to come into the house. Wet, smelly, muddy things that they were. All I ask is they sweep what used to be MY back porch. All they do is track more mud onto it. First world problems, what can I say?

Did you get any rain at all in the valley?

Dust buster and roaches - you MUST be fast with that thing. I have a hard enough time stepping on the nasty things. I had the feed in the garage in a plastic trash can and had several freeloaders. I took the whole thing to the coop and dumped it out. Chicken Football! Run roach, run!

Yes, I like the idea of chicken turned compost. The run will be my next compost bin. They are still working on the grass, but it is losing. Also need a tractor for the dogs or the chickens, they aren't getting along very well. Chickens are mine. Dogs belong to Crazy Lady. Eventually, I'll kennel the dogs to let the birds free range, for lack of a better word. Run free in the backyard is more appropriate. I'm afraid that Crazy Lady won't remember that I'm walking the chickens and let the hounds out.

 

[AllenK RGV]

@AllenK@new2this - sorry, I did not see the question. We made it fine. I'm closer to Anahuac (but no one knows that town; think far east side) and had minor flooding in our neighborhood, but the new neighborhood up the road had several feet indoors. My neighborhood is an older one with proved drainage. The newer one was a rice field 5 years ago. Oops! New houses with water is a reoccurring theme. And not a good one.

The sideways wind blew water into the coop on one side. I was leaving everything open for summer (and now have to finish before February and cold temps). During daylight, the birds stayed under the coop and really wasn't worried about standing water. I piled woodchips for their pleasure under the coop and they stood on top of that out of the rain and wind.

Meanwhile, the dogs were trying to come into the house. Wet, smelly, muddy things that they were. All I ask is they sweep what used to be MY back porch. All they do is track more mud onto it. First world problems, what can I say?

Did you get any rain at all in the valley?

Dust buster and roaches - you MUST be fast with that thing. I have a hard enough time stepping on the nasty things. I had the feed in the garage in a plastic trash can and had several freeloaders. I took the whole thing to the coop and dumped it out. Chicken Football! Run roach, run!

Yes, I like the idea of chicken turned compost. The run will be my next compost bin. They are still working on the grass, but it is losing. Also need a tractor for the dogs or the chickens, they aren't getting along very well. Chickens are mine. Dogs belong to Crazy Lady. Eventually, I'll kennel the dogs to let the birds free range, for lack of a better word. Run free in the backyard is more appropriate. I'm afraid that Crazy Lady won't remember that I'm walking the chickens and let the hounds out.

I stayed awake until 2AM watching Harvey as earlier in the day I didn't trust the spagetti models to be accurate as it looked like it was coming right for us in the Valley. We did notice something interesting we were the first in our neighborhood to board up, then the entire neighborhood did it. We took our boards down after it passed. So many neighbors even today still have theirs up.

Once I saw we were only going to get grazed by the storm and winds were gusting to 30mph max I poured myself a nice scotch then went to bed. We only had 1 band of rain from the storm for .25 inches total. Not even enough rain to make the grass grow and we were in a drought. I think we only experienced gusty conditions for 18 hours total

Oh if you look at the Texas thread a chicken keeper is asking for advice they just moved to a community that looks to be 15 minutes from Rockport, TX right on the bayside of Port Aransas from Utah. Possibly you can look at it and suggest things I have overlooked.

Oh for Roach proof storage containers go get those Behrens trash cans from Tractor Supply. Those lids fit tight and I have yet to find creepy crawlies in any of my feed, but if stored in the rain they aren't watertight at all do to the vent in the handle. For my outdoor storage needs I use those modified with duct take and aluminum foil.