"Louisiana "La-yers" Peeps"

[CackedNut]

My spoiled rotten girls taught my new rooster how to be spoiled! Usually when they want extra treats you can hear them coming up the steps and they start pecking at the door. Well yesterday I didn't pay any mind to them being on the porch and they stopped pecking at the door. Then I hear my rooster make a call that sounded like half his horrible crow and half screaming bloody murder. I thought he was being attacked, but nooo....I flung that door open to see a group of girls surrounding the door and the "proud" rooster standing on the trampoline next to the window. I gave them a treat and they were quiet for the rest of the day. This morning they tried it again, so I hit him in the head with a chunk of toast. It was funny seeing the girls try to get up there and even more so that the entire flock was up there.

Landmines on the trampoline!!!

So glad he's settled in there.

 

[LemonMeringue]

Happy Friday to all!

 

[CackedNut]

Happy Friday to all!

Are you feeling better?

 

[kuntrygirl]

How long would you say it takes to make a simple chicken tractor?

 

[foreverlearning]

How long would you say it takes to make a simple chicken tractor?

1/2 an hour. The bulk of the time is putting whatever fencing you have on there. I used chicken wire and will never repeat that mistake. I didn't have the worry of predators that could get threw it so I decided to use the chicken wire instead of hardware cloth. The chicken wire hurts your hands, sags if it is not pulled tight enough, and is a pain to attach. If you are using hardware cloth or feedlot panels it should be quick and easy. Also, zip ties are a godsend!

 

[kuntrygirl]

How long would you say it takes to make a simple chicken tractor?

1/2 an hour. The bulk of the time is putting whatever fencing you have on there. I used chicken wire and will never repeat that mistake. I didn't have the worry of predators that could get threw it so I decided to use the chicken wire instead of hardware cloth. The chicken wire hurts your hands, sags if it is not pulled tight enough, and is a pain to attach. If you are using hardware cloth or feedlot panels it should be quick and easy. Also, zip ties are a godsend!

Sounds good. I have those darn opossum and no telling what else, so I guess I couldn't use chicken wire. I would want them to be in there 24/7 and they would be in the back yard and not the chicken yard. I guess I could cover it with a tarp the size of the chicken tractor and nailed the sides down so that nothing gets in there.

 

[bugglesmommy]

1/2 an hour. The bulk of the time is putting whatever fencing you have on there. I used chicken wire and will never repeat that mistake. I didn't have the worry of predators that could get threw it so I decided to use the chicken wire instead of hardware cloth. The chicken wire hurts your hands, sags if it is not pulled tight enough, and is a pain to attach. If you are using hardware cloth or feedlot panels it should be quick and easy. Also, zip ties are a godsend!

Mother of... I wish I was a carpenter of married one. It would/did take us 2 days when we made the first one. We still have 2 more we need to do.

 

[PrimroseMom1]

How long would you say it takes to make a simple chicken tractor?

Depends on skill, tools and materials. Also on the number of skilled people. Really. A good table saw and a nail gun to nail on the hardware cloth goes a long. Also if someone else has good tools to cut the hardware cloth while the other is framing. I hated cutting the hardware cloth more than anything. I think it's easier to paint the wood first if you're going to paint. You can get good quality exterior paint cheaper from Lowe's in their paint dept. When the color doesn't come out right it is put on clearsnce and the colors are normal colors. If you have all those things in your favor and ready with an idea of what you want, a good person could do it in a couple of hard working days, IMHO. Don't forget the wheels and axel.

 

[LemonMeringue]

Are you feeling better?

I'm fine. Thanks for asking

This time of winter is tough for me. I'm using my boot straps very regularly. Sometimes by the hour. And pep talking myself "Suck it up, Buttercup" is a good phrase. Winter SAD combined with my darling stubborn teenager putting through the wringer. I got my hub to give me my B shot a couple of days early and I'm taking extra D. I am really glad that I have a husband who is silly and supportive. Its nice that he just blows it off like I have a cold. He says, "Well, its that time of year". Like we can just handle it. And so we can

Now we just need to get that message to my body. Keeping busy though. Making lists of all the home canned goods that we have enjoyed and want to make more of this next spring/summer. Planning things about the garden. And doing lots of research on different chicken breeds. There is a possibility that we may get to have a large rooster from the vet that does the decrowing procedure on roos. He has one that he is going to do that is a Silver Laced Wyandotte. They sure are pretty and would make nice size birds for eggs or if we crossed with ____________breed of hens(there are any number of hens that would fill that blank) they would be good sized for the table too. I am excited to see if the surgery is a success and I am waiting to hear back from the doctor on his (the roosters) weight and how long it would take for the healing process and to be sure that it worked well. He (the vet) has also encouraged me to consider caponizing

future roo babies to keep them around longer to make a better use of the bird instead of rehoming or butchering before they are of substantial size. I have read a lot about it......... but I would still have a long way to go before being close to strongly considering I could do that. Anyway I'm excited about maybe having the possibility of having a closed flock that is sustainable and we might not have to bring in babies for meat. That would be really nice.

I hope that everyone has a great weekend!!!

 

[CackedNut]

I'm fine. Thanks for asking

This time of winter is tough for me. I'm using my boot straps very regularly. Sometimes by the hour. And pep talking myself "Suck it up, Buttercup" is a good phrase. Winter SAD combined with my darling stubborn teenager putting through the wringer. I got my hub to give me my B shot a couple of days early and I'm taking extra D. I am really glad that I have a husband who is silly and supportive. Its nice that he just blows it off like I have a cold. He says, "Well, its that time of year". Like we can just handle it. And so we can

Now we just need to get that message to my body. Keeping busy though. Making lists of all the home canned goods that we have enjoyed and want to make more of this next spring/summer. Planning things about the garden. And doing lots of research on different chicken breeds. There is a possibility that we may get to have a large rooster from the vet that does the decrowing procedure on roos. He has one that he is going to do that is a Silver Laced Wyandotte. They sure are pretty and would make nice size birds for eggs or if we crossed with ____________breed of hens(there are any number of hens that would fill that blank) they would be good sized for the table too. I am excited to see if the surgery is a success and I am waiting to hear back from the doctor on his (the roosters) weight and how long it would take for the healing process and to be sure that it worked well. He (the vet) has also encouraged me to consider caponizing

future roo babies to keep them around longer to make a better use of the bird instead of rehoming or butchering before they are of substantial size. I have read a lot about it......... but I would still have a long way to go before being close to strongly considering I could do that. Anyway I'm excited about maybe having the possibility of having a closed flock that is sustainable and we might not have to bring in babies for meat. That would be really nice.

I hope that everyone has a great weekend!!!

Hang in there!! Ahhhh...teenagers...I have a 12 1/2 yr old. Look out July...here he comes!! I'm not sure I'm ready for that!
The idea of a closed flock that is sustainable is an interesting idea. I admit ignorance about caponizing. I have the general idea of the "outcome".

Keep pulling those boot staps, a beautiful spring is just around the corner!!