MJ's little flock

[RoyalChick]

You should not be amazed that she finds that much food. Just look at the target rich environment you provide. Then pair that with a chickens ability to hunt, forage, and fill themselves and this is what the outcome should be.

I know, but I can still marvel at it.
Both she and Babs have an evening face cramming session just before bed and it always makes me laugh how full their crops get.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

Great coop! I love that shade of blue.

The non-slip came from Ikea. They sell it as an underlay for rugs. When I saw Perris had used it, I recalled there was a roll of it in the cellar going to waste.

Would your chicken with a disability do better with a staircase of shallow stairs?

I'm not 100% yet.

Great coop! I love that shade of blue.

The non-slip came from Ikea. They sell it as an underlay for rugs. When I saw Perris had used it, I recalled there was a roll of it in the cellar going to waste.

Would your chicken with a disability do better with a staircase of shallow stairs?

I think the staircase idea would be cool, but, hubby may not agree based on the price! We still need to save the money for the roof for the new coop. I do have all the 1/4inch hardware cloth, washers/screws for the run assembly tho, so thats good. Man, 2 new pullets into an established flock of 5 has been difficult! (With 1 coop and a fox attack one quite, early morning at week 2 has my patience!!). 6 weeks ago when a friend gave them to me, I nestled them in the back of the run under the henhouse with a barrier between the flocks. Perfect until the fab5 realized the noobs need to pass by them through the run to get in/out. I swear these chickens are more like raptors from the dinosaur times! They stalk, communicate, and strategically place themselves in a circle around new pullet who is now disabled from the fox. I am always there. Every day. For the past 6 weeks. Fab5 knows not to mess with disabled hen (I named Golden Chicken, because 'Goldie' wouldnt cut it), when I'm around.Today, she has a small gash on her little comb. The blood has dried and I will help her this evening. Yea... her name used to be 'Flighty'. Shes finally not heading for the literal hills anymore when she sees me which is good, but, getting my hands on her is next to impossible. Shes a lovely buff orpington, blonde and beautiful like my aunt Phyllis (same color hair and hair do, lol) until last night when she brushed up against some lavender colored paint So, i guess I have a lavender, buff Orpington That little house behind her is a freebe I am painting to convert to a dust bath station between the two coops

 

[MaryJanet]

This is amazing! I got my first flock a while ago. Make sure that you don't use chicken wire for the coop. This will let things like raccoons and rats, maybe even foxes, in. Use 1/2 inch hardware cloth for everything. If you have a coop with chicken wire, that's ok, but make sure that it is predator safe, or at least as safe as it can be with chicken wire. You might also want to put 1/2 in hardware cloth 3 inches down around the coop, to protect from moles and things like that. You should give them a space to take dust bath, and have grit in there in a separate container. If you have any more questions, I have time to spare.

Thanks for the offer. At this stage, I don't have any questions. Also, I don't live in the US, and there are no raccoons or moles in Australia where I live.

Long ago, I asked for advice in this thread and received loads of great suggestions, most of which have now been implemented.

 

[RoyalChick]

hubby may not agree based on the price!

You could make your own staircase using scrap wood if you have access to any old pallets for example..

 

[MaryJanet]

Well done! I just did the same NYT one. Took me three.

Wordle 798 3/6





A chicken at little risk of imminent starvation. Bernie. It is amazing to me that she finds that much to eat. That is mostly, or maybe all, foraged food.
View attachment 3619730

Your feed expenses must be quite low!

 

[MaryJanet]

So nice. It looks wonderfully comfy.

Thanks Bob! It's comfy for me too, easy to clean and a bench to sit on.

 

[MaryJanet]

Looking lovely.
Non-slip like that carpet underlay stuff?
And why do you hinge it up? The whole thing is open. Or is that in case you need to get under?
Sorry - this comes across like an interrogation - I am always interested in construction projects for chickens, so just want to understand.

I was thinking of mice climbing up at night time and making a nuisance of themselves. At this time, there is still one mouse access point, which we're going to deal with next weekend. I'm going to put an angled barrier in that spot to stop them from having access to the chickens.

 

[MaryJanet]

Sorry. Should have read ahead. I have a roll of it taking up space in the attic. Mine have ladders rather than ramps but watching them use them I think they might prefer a ramp.
That said, they all definitely find the staircase the easiest because they can hop gently.
On my to do list is to replace one of the ramps with a staircase.

I was thinking of a staircase too, but a ramp is much faster to construct and I was getting impatient to move the hens in.

You could use up the non-slip on stairs if you really want to use it up, although from your description of the crew hopping gently up and down, it seems unnecessary.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

You could make your own staircase using scrap wood if you have access to any old pallets for example..

I do!!

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I do!!

I painted them brown because I had the extra paint and the original is sooo ugly,