Minnesota!

[duluthralphie]

Neighbors need to keep their eyes on their own stuff and not worry about what my yard looks like.

I could not agree more. But a fact of life in some places is neighbors that worry about others belongings, items and habits.

 

[Rani]

Rani is your coop elevated or on/near ground level. I find straw bales stacked around the base of the coop stops draft yet permits ventilation.

Of course they are a tad ugly. Being a farm kid that never bothered me, but I know many people find them unsightly. Neighbors could complain.

The run is on the ground - hardware buried down about 1 1/2 feet - the hen house is raised off the ground. So maybe I'll put the bales around the base - 2 bales high? I will attach photos. The roof of the hen house is wide open ( - there is a raised roof above the open ceiling and hard cloth covering it to keep out predators.) I'll attach pictures. I was planning on covering the whole hen house with a large piece of pink insulation foam and that way we can slide it open several inches for ventilation. There is a small piece on top of the house now, but it's not big enough to cover the entire ceiling.

I don't mind the 'farmy' look. I'm a farmer-at-heart raised in the burbs. And there are no neighbors near enough to see it, though - you raise a good point since, according to city ordinance, I'm not supposed to have chickens in the first place so I made sure that the nearest neighbors approved. I wouldn't want to jeopardize that.






so....
1. plastic around bottom half
2. straw bales around base of run for extra insulation (and extra bedding when needed)
3. cover hen house with a larger piece of foam insulation
4. add small side door so there is no hole in the floor and so I can shut it up at night and on very cold days
5. use deep litter method in hen house with straw
6. deep litter method for run, too
7. add base heater to waterer
8. add thermometer in hen house
OH! And go buy some chicken scratch. Someone mentioned that they give their chickens a handful of scratch about an hour before bed so that they scratch up the litter and kick their metabolism just before bed to bring up their body heat.

Thanks, Duluthralphie!

 

[Potbellied Yeti]

Wow! Lots of folks from Minnesota! I live in Perham not far from a lot of you.

 

[Chickenchick11]

Wow! Lots of folks from Minnesota! I live in Perham not far from a lot of you.

and to our Minnesota thread.

 

[MooseMtnFthills]

Hi chickenchick11,

We're brand new to the site as of yesterday. Lurked since July 4 when got our girls. Every Google search with a chicken question seems to end up at BYC eventually, so why not join?

Anyhow - where in Northern MN are you?

And, at the risk of being too forward...Would you be willing tell me how to enter some profile info like my favorite quote? Flock/breed info? It is not very obvious to me, or maybe I'm just at the wrong 'edit my profile' place...

MooseMtnFoothills (east of Duluth towards Two Harbors)

 

[Chickenchick11]

and to our Minnesota thread. I was a lurker before I joined BYC as well. I'm up on the Iron Range. To add stuff to your profile just click Edit Community Profile and then just click on one of the things like ICQ or Jabber and add your stuff ( I have no idea what ICQ or Jabber mean or are so I just added my own stuff to them.) Or if you mean the thing under all my posts just click Edit Signature on your profile and add your stuff. I hope I helped.

 

[MooseMtnFthills]

I think this will help. My avatar picture is of my grandma Lorene. She and Grandpa lived in Cook. As they got older cows left, sheep left, but chickens stayed. Off to work. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

I think this will help. My avatar picture is of my grandma Lorene. She and Grandpa lived in Cook. As they got older cows left, sheep left, but chickens stayed. Off to work. Thanks again for your help.

LOVE the Avatar MooseMtnFthills! Love old timey photos!

 

[Chickenchick11]

Your welcome MooseMtnFthills. Your avatar is really cool, I love old photos. I know where Cook is, we actually have hunting land near Cook.

 

[MooseMtnFthills]

Thank you both! Bogtown and CC11.

Well the moderators at BYC have mentioned that the forum machinery needs to see an unspecified number of posts from a new member before they are recognized as legit, and after that I can edit signature, add quotes, etc. No biggie. This is supposed to be about the chickens anyway. That's why I'm here.

Thank you so much for your guidance and kindness.