maintaining floor of chicken coop in urban situation - help

[quailyroo]

wolfandfinch - thats perfect!! thanks!! , it does read like putting the coop on the woodchip under the trees and then fencing off the wood chip area with the big ferns on is the way to go - we can put down another pallet of wood chip to raise them up bit and then it can run off , and then hopefully they will find enough cricketts and things to occupy themselves there !!. I have just printed that off and stuck it on the fridge heheh , thanks again , I cant believe how fast the reply has been here!

 

[wolfandfinch]

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Glad to help! I have the same concerns (live in the Pacific Northwest) so it was one of my first threads too

 

[hallerlake]

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You only need to clip one wing. It unbalances enough that they can't fly.

 

[wolfandfinch]

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You only need to clip one wing. It unbalances enough that they can't fly.

they say it's painless too. They demonstrated it (not on a chicken) in my Chickens 101 class. Yes, chickens 101. I took a chickens class. these are the things you do when you live in a city and you want to pretend that you don't.

 

[quailyroo]

and that'll stop her from flapping up?? how high will she be able to flap with a wing clipped?? and is it just the ten long feathers from the top of her wing down when it is stretched out??

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Perhaps I skipped over this, but can you cover your run and seal up any leaks in the coop? It's certainly true that wet + chicken poop = smell.

 

[quailyroo]

heh - chickens 101 -thats a really good idea though!! , we just kind of started because we took a duck that was on the side of the road hurt to the bird rescue , and somehow ended up coming home with a chicken .... and then I thought she might be lonely... and now we have 6

not sure quite how we ended up with 6 , but there it is

and I wouldn't change it for the world , best kind of pets !!

Im glad it does not hurt them , I wouldent like to cause her pain - but I really dont want her to get flattened!! , - she my best layer too!

 

[BrattishTaz]

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You only need to clip one wing. It unbalances enough that they can't fly.

they say it's painless too. They demonstrated it (not on a chicken) in my Chickens 101 class. Yes, chickens 101. I took a chickens class. these are the things you do when you live in a city and you want to pretend that you don't.

I would have loved to go to chicken class! You just gave me an idea for a new business. We have a LOT of city transplants moving out here.

 

[quailyroo]

its top of the list - were just waiting for the wood to dry out fully so we can put some of that weather strip stuff over, but it cant be put on until the woods dry, should have a nice warm spell over the next couple of weeks so it is first thing on the agenda then. but its not the nesting house that smells - its the ground under the coop , that is open to the elements as it is their outdoor run - but I have been playing with the idea of putting some corrugated plastic over the top of it to stop the weather , perhaps with a little gutter along the edge?? would make for a good way to collect water for the garden!

 

[wolfandfinch]

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I'm sure you can find a book that would show you exactly where to clip - just to be safe. But yes, it keeps them from doing anything more than a large, lopsided leap.


ah, alliteration - alleviates all that ails.