MARYLAND THREAD!

[SunnySkies]

There is a rent a coop with chickens sometimes on CL.

I have a GORGEOUS EE rooster I would give away, raised free ranging and seems to be very gentle...has never bothered my kids. But you would still need a coop. He was supposed to be a she.

Beat tick control, though, is guineas.

ETA: rent a coop http://annapolis.craigslist.org/grd/3725194821.html. They do have a web site

And here is the guy's listing I messaged with the other day. If I just had a need for 3-4 chickens, I'd get one of these and add ventilation http://baltimore.craigslist.org/grd/3741686868.html but I have at least 15 chicks in my grow out areas!

 

[Kiomey]

Guineas can't be beat for tick/bug control but be prepared for the NOISIEST birds on the planet xD My family refuses to let me get a few because they are loud and obnoxious. all the time

 

[SunnySkies]

QUICK! Help me rescue one of my former roosters!

I gave this lovely boy away a few months ago to a delightful family with a few hens. But a couple of the hens died, and now he is noisy. One of the family's neighbors, instead of talking to the dad, called AC, and now AC is looking for the rooster. Lucky for him, they had the wrong address! He has to be rehomed ASAP.

I said I'd take him back to get AC off their case, but that means he will end up living in my garage until either I get rid of some roosters or can build a run just for him to re-integrate hm into the flock. I already have a bunch of roosters free ranging (all birds but peepers and Silkies free range 100% of the time). It would be much better if he went directly to a home with ladies and could free range. He grew up free ranging and has done a good job for this family protecting the hens and caring for the hens. I would hate to see him eaten; he is not mean, just noisy.

Here is the ad the current owner put up. http://frederick.craigslist.org/grd/3756512426.html

 

[SunnySkies]

Happy outcome! A young man came after driving at least 50 miles one way to get the roo I hatched last summer and took the roo back to his farm, where he will free range and crow until the end of his days. Whew.

Now if only I could move some of my roosters into something like that...I have an EE and two interesting barnyard mixes. Hate to eat them when they are super nice and have never shown any aggression.

 

[Msbear]

And here is the guy's listing I messaged with the other day. If I just had a need for 3-4 chickens, I'd get one of these and add ventilation http://baltimore.craigslist.org/grd/3741686868.html but I have at least 15 chicks in my grow out areas!

I don't have any idea how he could afford to sell a coop that big for $340. It costs us that much just in materials to build them! And then about a week of evenings and one weekend of labor. If those coops are anything decent, that's a great price! Our materials are high quality and take a lot of time to construct so we can't even get close to those prices.

Madmwolf, is this one yours? It was one of my favorites. I keep telling Kerry he needs to build me a chicken village complete with chicky church and maybe an old tavern or gas station looking coop. The one in the middle just sold to someone who is building a frame for it so he can move it around... good luck to him. That thing probably weighs 700 lbs of solid oak.



SunnySkies, here is our price list for skeleton coops. I never really gave you an exact quote. You mentioned $600 and I said that sounded about right. We just started doing them as a more affordable option and honestly have never done one before this last week so we are still nailing down pricing. Having the materials definitely helps. We'd need the plans and what materials you have to take off from our price (which includes materials). If you cannot roust hubby up to do the job, send us the info and we will try and work it out.

For a 6 ft. tall coop frame elevated 18" up. (price includes materials and three vintage windows)
pick up on farm or we can deliver for mileage fee. (4x6 coop shown in pic.. hardware cloth not included)
3x4 275
3x5 300
4x5 325
4x6 350


Hicksville Lumber sells poplar boards (12" wide) for around a $1 a board ft. This is what a lot of barns are made of and, if those boards do not touch the ground, should last forever. Paint them once then let them weather. Hicksville is located outside of Clearspring, MD. and has some of the best prices around for lumber.


8 -9 ft. tall coop frames elevated 18" (Onsite Only.. mileage fee not included)
These coops will be made of 2x4 construction instead of 2x2. Footers will be in concrete. Larger coops will have 2 x 3 rafters (8x10+).
5x8 575
6x9 or 5x10 675
8x10 or 6x12 800
10x12 900
10x14 1,000

If anyone is interested, this is coop building season and we are knee deep but, give us a shout and see if we can help. We like to work with reclaimed materials and every coop is unique and built to last! Here's our website http://designercoops.blogspot.com/p/stationary-coop.html


AND< don't forget the swap coming up on June 8th. It's a ton of fun. We are expecting 100 vendors selling anything farm related/recylced/reused/homegrown.. rabbits, chickens, game birds, turkeys, waterfowl, coops cages, crafts, produce, vintage stuff, homemade soaps and lotions, local honey... and much more. We will also have a bluegrass band this year, a pig roast, pony rides and moon bounce for the kids and even a chicken show! seeya in June.

We will be running a promotion through June and the lucky winner will win a FREE coop! Promo will run on our Facebook page
...stay tuned.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maryland-Poultry-Swap-Farmers-Market/131707836905457

 

[SunnySkies]

Yeah, I don't know how he builds them and sells them for that. I asked, because yeah, we have built several coops and each one cost at least that much, plus our time. He didn't really answer the question. Maybe he has a source of free wood....

Which is what I have. I can get as much of anything that I need. A friend of mine is a structural engineer who works on job sites and has 17 (no, not a typo) semi-trailers full of wood and building supplies at her farm. I am hoping to get to her place and pick out whatever I want later this week. She gave us what we needed to build our run in shed too.

Issue is hubby. He likes doing this stuff, but he is out of town most nights. I keep asking WHEN....hopefully before these chicks need to move out of the grow out coop.

 

[madamwlf]

I don't have any idea how he could afford to sell a coop that big for $340. It costs us that much just in materials to build them! And then about a week of evenings and one weekend of labor. If those coops are anything decent, that's a great price! Our materials are high quality and take a lot of time to construct so we can't even get close to those prices.

Madmwolf, is this one yours? It was one of my favorites. I keep telling Kerry he needs to build me a chicken village complete with chicky church and maybe an old tavern or gas station looking coop. The one in the middle just sold to someone who is building a frame for it so he can move it around... good luck to him. That thing probably weighs 700 lbs of solid oak.

Yes, that would be the coop I bought and I absolutely love it.

 

[Thomas423]

Yeah, I don't know how he builds them and sells them for that. I asked, because yeah, we have built several coops and each one cost at least that much, plus our time. He didn't really answer the question. Maybe he has a source of free wood....

Which is what I have. I can get as much of anything that I need. A friend of mine is a structural engineer who works on job sites and has 17 (no, not a typo) semi-trailers full of wood and building supplies at her farm. I am hoping to get to her place and pick out whatever I want later this week. She gave us what we needed to build our run in shed too.

Issue is hubby. He likes doing this stuff, but he is out of town most nights. I keep asking WHEN....hopefully before these chicks need to move out of the grow out coop.

I don't know the guy but I do know something about the area he's in. First, there are many. many Amish builders in this area with many reasonably priced coops. If he is just starting out, he has to keep his prices low in order to compete. Second, the economy sucks in Cecil County so he might be thinking that any extra money is more than no money. I don't know about the wood situation, but from the pics that I've seen, his prices more than cover the cost of wood where he is still making some money for his time. Remember, some money is more than no money.

I personally have only bought 1 pre-made coop (a small one) but then hubby insulated it, sealed it up and made it more secure. With all the work we've put into our coops it's easier just to build them from scratch.

Erin, your coops are very nice and original. Well worth the extra money. The coops that I've seen (Amish built etc) are just basic coops.

Sunny Skies, I understand about the hubby thing. I'm still waiting on my new grow-out pen. I guess when I run out of room in the brooders, I'll have to start bringing them in the house. Maybe that'll motivate him into finishing the pen LOL

 

[Msbear]

Anne, I hope you can make the swap this year. It's been growing every year and getting more fun.. and we'd love to see you selling silkies

 

[creaney]

Hi Marylanders. I am looking for 1 to a couple if Brahma hens. Does anyone have any? Babies or not