Maine

[superchemicalgirl]

Oh, I see. I must have miscalculated.
22 in the old coop, along with 12 (11 weeks old) in the back section
24 (7 weeks old) in the jail
13 on one side of the hoop coop/ 4 on the other.

I feel better already. Thank you for the math lesson.

Nicely done.

The coop is ready! I was seriously overthinking the door issue. I'm going with the KISS (keep it simple stupid) method now. One last thing that you all might be able to help me with: The coop door is 22" off the ground. Should I give them a ramp? I have standard size birds.

I wouldn't. What I don't like about a ramp is ease of access for predators. My chickens jump in my coop and it's pretty high off the ground. As long as the door is big enough they can get in.





I had a ramp back when the coop was littler (the left side of the above picture, before the addition) and I did not like it. It got poopy, soggy from the rain and they didn't use it much, anyway.

 

[CoopChick719]

I have the 50 bird limit, too. I'm "meeting" that goal right now with some creative accounting:

46 chickens and turkeys in the coop (BELOW 50!)
1 banty hen brooding one duckling (WAY BELOW 50!)
15 roosters in the tractor (ALSO WAY BELOW 50)
3 adult ducks (WAY BELOW 50... don't have to mention the 20+ eggs she's currently brooding)
3 juvenile birds in one brooder, 15 in another, 3 in upstairs brooder.

See... I'm not over 50.

I like your math!! I wish I had the space!

 

[buckabucka]

I can't wait to get the rest of the garden in, although I have serious doubts I can finish it this weekend. The whole hoop house needs tons of weeding, plus laying of soaker hose and black plastic. One thing going in there is the corn. We are trying the variety "Ambrosia" this year. Outside the hoop house, we're going to plant Floriani red flint corn, so we can make pink cornmeal! I hope we can get it to grow.

Somehow I need to make time to sort the chicks and start the bachelor pen. At what age do people separate out the boys? My older chicks are 11 weeks, and while I have not seen the pullets getting hassled, I'm thinking I should split them up soon.

 

[Widget]

I can't wait to get the rest of the garden in, although I have serious doubts I can finish it this weekend. The whole hoop house needs tons of weeding, plus laying of soaker hose and black plastic. One thing going in there is the corn. We are trying the variety "Ambrosia" this year. Outside the hoop house, we're going to plant Floriani red flint corn, so we can make pink cornmeal! I hope we can get it to grow.

Somehow I need to make time to sort the chicks and start the bachelor pen. At what age do people separate out the boys? My older chicks are 11 weeks, and while I have not seen the pullets getting hassled, I'm thinking I should split them up soon.

With all the chores we all seem to have ( fence building, gardens to plant, coops to build) too bad we couldn't rotate each weekend from house to house and tackle these things as a group. Instead of Habitat for Humanity it would be Habitat for Poultry.

I know my list of things to be done gets longer and longer. I also know there are not enough hours in a weekend to get things done and still relax a bit before heading back to work on Monday.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

With all the chores we all seem to have ( fence building, gardens to plant, coops to build) too bad we couldn't rotate each weekend from house to house and tackle these things as a group. Instead of Habitat for Humanity it would be Habitat for Poultry.

I know my list of things to be done gets longer and longer. I also know there are not enough hours in a weekend to get things done and still relax a bit before heading back to work on Monday.

That is the best idea I've heard in a long time. We used to be really prepared here and now we're the "just in time"ers. I keep thinking that if I can just catch my list up I'll be fine, but I can't.

My bees are arriving tomorrow. BF built the stand for the hive today while I was at work. Then he went to work and I went to trying to figure out where to put it (I know, really) and then get it level. Well I got the thing level and then tried to give it the "front tilt" and I swear that just made my brain stroke out and I couldn't figure it out (with keeping it level side to side) how to do it and the whole thing is fubared... so now he'll have to fix that tomorrow morning when I'm off picking up the bees. For those of you wondering what my problem is, there's not a remotely level spot on this property. I was digging to try to get level. I at least managed to figure out how to get the foundation in the frames this past Monday and didn't ruin too many doing it.

And that's just the thing at the top of the list today. Still have to roof the goat house (maybe getting a goat replacement Sunday) but it's still tarped from winter so that's not urgent... yet.

 

[gracejr]

Yes, the chores just never end! We still don't even have the loam for our raised beds yet. Ad don't ask about the nest boxes in the coop. They're still at floor level.

For cockerels, I was planning on leaving mine in the pen with everyone else until its time to process. Do I need to rethink that?

First chick from this batch just hatched! An adorable looking thing, even though its still wet. Ameraucana/Orpington cross. Really hoping I get a few pullets with feathered legs though.


What are you doing for heat? Mine were fine last summer, but today when I went to close up the coop my biggest ones were all panting. I think the sudden change bothered them as much as it did me today.

Also... One of my favorite pullets has turned out to have a cross beak. She didn't have this when I got her around 2 months old or so, it has just recently developed. What would make it develop now and not when she was a chick? Is it a hereditary issue that she can pass on to future chicks? She has been thriving thus far, do I need to do anything for it?

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Yes, the chores just never end! We still don't even have the loam for our raised beds yet. Ad don't ask about the nest boxes in the coop. They're still at floor level.

For cockerels, I was planning on leaving mine in the pen with everyone else until its time to process. Do I need to rethink that?

First chick from this batch just hatched! An adorable looking thing, even though its still wet. Ameraucana/Orpington cross. Really hoping I get a few pullets with feathered legs though.


What are you doing for heat? Mine were fine last summer, but today when I went to close up the coop my biggest ones were all panting.

I think the sudden change bothered them as much as it did me today.

Also... One of my favorite pullets has turned out to have a cross beak. She didn't have this when I got her around 2 months old or so, it has just recently developed. What would make it develop now and not when she was a chick? Is it a hereditary issue that she can pass on to future chicks? She has been thriving thus far, do I need to do anything for it?

I left mine in with the girls, but once you get so many they really start to harass the girls. I hit a tipping point when I was watching them 2 years ago. My girls were afraid to come out of the coop, and were being chased. The smarter boy group got together and worked together, if you know what I mean. It was awful. They got a grow out pen. I do keep a couple roosters in with my flock, but never >5 for my flock of 40ish. It's just too much.

I have a battery operated fan that I put in the coop window at night. Usually it cools down at night here enough that I only need it for a few hours, and go out and turn it off before I head to bed. Some nights I let it run all night. The batteries are rechargeable so I plug them in during the day and put them back in at night.

 

[buckabucka]

The Habitat for Poultry is a good idea, except we all have a list that needs to be done right now without delay. Every weekend I find myself looking at all the chores to see which ones could be put off for a bit. I may be a "just-in-timer" at school, but at home, I'm a "just-a-little-late-er". At least I did manage to get the tomatoes in bit-by-bit after school (normally I am too tired to accomplish much).

I do think you'll need to separate your cockerels, gracejr, but the fact that you were considering leaving them together makes me think I can probably put that chore off for another week!

The hoop coop is cool, but my other coop building gets very hot and could definitely be better ventilated. I have hung a fan in the window before. Last summer, I never set it up, and while they panted a lot, everyone made it through.

I have found (in limited experience), that the earlier the cross-beak is noticeable, the less likely the chick is to survive. The one I noticed at day 1, died at 10 weeks. The other 2, both survived to adulthood. The rooster was processed, but "Crossbeak" is our favorite hen, now 3 years old. She free ranges because she thinks fences are ridiculous and flies of them. When we get rid of our older hens this fall, Crossbeak will be staying.

 

[lazy gardener]

The Habitat for Poultry is a good idea, except we all have a list that needs to be done right now without delay. Every weekend I find myself looking at all the chores to see which ones could be put off for a bit. I may be a "just-in-timer" at school, but at home, I'm a "just-a-little-late-er". At least I did manage to get the tomatoes in bit-by-bit after school (normally I am too tired to accomplish much).

I do think you'll need to separate your cockerels, gracejr, but the fact that you were considering leaving them together makes me think I can probably put that chore off for another week!

The hoop coop is cool, but my other coop building gets very hot and could definitely be better ventilated. I have hung a fan in the window before. Last summer, I never set it up, and while they panted a lot, everyone made it through.

I have found (in limited experience), that the earlier the cross-beak is noticeable, the less likely the chick is to survive. The one I noticed at day 1, died at 10 weeks. The other 2, both survived to adulthood. The rooster was processed, but "Crossbeak" is our favorite hen, now 3 years old. She free ranges because she thinks fences are ridiculous and flies of them. When we get rid of our older hens this fall, Crossbeak will be staying.

My suggestion re: Habitat for Poultry is to wait until the weather is cooler and the time line is not so urgent. Then it could be operated on a "pay back" system, so that those putting the time into the project would be benefiting from reciprocation. Of course that should not eliminate the occasional need from someone who is not physically able to reciprocate. It's good to help those who really need it. This time of year is crazy busy. I often wonder what life is like for people who don't have yards and animals/kids to maintain!! I almost envy, then realize that I would be bored out of my skin if I didn't have yard and animals.

 

[lazy gardener]

Yes, the chores just never end! We still don't even have the loam for our raised beds yet. Ad don't ask about the nest boxes in the coop. They're still at floor level.

For cockerels, I was planning on leaving mine in the pen with everyone else until its time to process. Do I need to rethink that?

First chick from this batch just hatched! An adorable looking thing, even though its still wet. Ameraucana/Orpington cross. Really hoping I get a few pullets with feathered legs though.


What are you doing for heat? Mine were fine last summer, but today when I went to close up the coop my biggest ones were all panting.

I think the sudden change bothered them as much as it did me today.

Also... One of my favorite pullets has turned out to have a cross beak. She didn't have this when I got her around 2 months old or so, it has just recently developed. What would make it develop now and not when she was a chick? Is it a hereditary issue that she can pass on to future chicks? She has been thriving thus far, do I need to do anything for it?

My understanding re: cross beak is that it's actually a skull deformity. So as the skull grows, the abnormality becomes more noticeable. IMO, I wouldn't hesitate to keep a cross beak as long as she was functional. I definitely wouldn't allow her to be a breeder. She may be better able to handle a wet mash, if you were so inclined, you could hand feed her. Otherwise, watch and wait.