Medium Coop Build Thread

[EquiSally]

I picked them up yesterday. One of the chicks, not pictured yet, was given to me by the clerks as an extra. She was looking pretty droopy, they said she hurt her leg in the brooder and couldn't get to water with the cage flooring they had. I'm not sure if that's really what happened or if she was hatched this way...
Anyhow, I didn't neeeeed another but they really didn't want to watch her get trampled by the others. Sooooo, I took it home, fully expecting it to need culling, I won't let her suffer unnecessarily, but I'm willing to give it a chance. I gave her some honey water out of a syringe as a quick pick me up. Since then she has been eating and drinking pretty well. It doesn't look like splay leg. We'll see.

 

[EquiSally]

Well. I had to cull the "injured" chick. She had been eating and drinking but was not getting around anymore and stopped wanting food this morning. So today, I followed her bone structure with my finger tips and I could feel that she was deformed. With both legs stretched, her left femur to hip was was located closer up the ribcage, toward the wing, & her right was relatively normal. Both hips in socket, tendons in place, but felt like a crooked pelvis structure. Knowing there is not a fix for that level of deformity; I didn't want her to suffer, so I did a very quick snip-off-the-head with some shears. And before anyone gets hurt feelings, Dad is a vet who works on the occasional bird. I wasn't making uneducated assumptions. Anyhow, those things are really sharp so it was very fast. Still a little sad, but so it is with life.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Sorry about the little one, even when it's the right thing to do it takes a toll

 

[EquiSally]

Sorry about the little one, even when it's the right thing to do it takes a toll

Thanks, it does suck. I lost another one to unknown causes. The lakenvelder chick died last night. She would have been a week old. She was breathing rapidly on day 2 then perfectly fine; the fastest of the 4, ate very well, drank very well, crop functioning normally.
Checked on them late last night and she was breathing much faster than the others. So I told myself I would start her on a round of antibiotics in the morning, thinking maybe she picked up something from a dirty incubator, hatchery chicks so ya never know. Went in this morning and she was gone. They're kept in my office, no draft, warm side and cool side of a very clean brooder with paper towel bedding changed every other day. There are only a few and being started inside, I feed non-medicated chick starter. I have 4 big girls outside, so I always make sure to wash well before I handle the wee ones. Now I'm down to three, all different breeds. Sometimes there's nothing to be done.

 

[EquiSally]

Today I disinfected the brooder, waterer, and feeder; I'm using a large plastic Rubbermaid, so it's pretty easy. Just being cautious.

 

[EquiSally]

We got some work done on the coop this weekend, yay! Getting closer! Bottom 2 feet will be tin and upper portion wood. I'm super excited about my big window facing the trees.

On another note, my sister in law has a white crested black polish pullet that had her top knot pulled out and bloodied by other chickens, so she gave her to me knowing I would let her heal then try mixing her in with mine after the new coop is finished. Two days into her isolation, cleaned and healing, and she might be a he: great looking tail and saddle feathers. Just my luck. Now I'll be looking up polish chicken recipes just in case.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

We got some work done on the coop this weekend, yay! Getting closer! Bottom 2 feet will be tin and upper portion wood. I'm super excited about my big window facing the trees.

On another note, my sister in law has a white crested black polish pullet that had her top knot pulled out and bloodied by other chickens, so she gave her to me knowing I would let her heal then try mixing her in with mine after the new coop is finished. Two days into her isolation, cleaned and healing, and she might be a he: great looking tail and saddle feathers. Just my luck. Now I'll be looking up polish chicken recipes just in case.

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Yay for progress, it can seem so infuriatingly slow some times. Good job nursing the polish, hopefully not a he

 

[EquiSally]

It's coming along! Yay!! The DH finished framing out my windows and got a couple walls up.

About 70% of the wood we're using came from an old play fort and the neighbors house. They're doing a complete interior and exterior renovation and we were given a stack of good 2x4s that we're torn out and originally headed to the trash. All we had to do was pull out some nails and cut to fit.

We also had some Thompson water seal/stain, left over from a previous project, that came in use. So excited!

 

[EquiSally]

 

[EquiSally]

We worked on the coop today, yay! Hopefully going to put tin up on the roof tomorrow and continue staining everything. Doors will be last. Here are some updated pics: