Nevadans?

[vegaschick]

So. I know it's been forever since I posted. I've been very busy. My family has a home in the mountains of southern UT where it is much more pleasant during summer. My parents want to spend 6 months of the year here. We'd been considering something like this for awhile now and after losing a couple of hens to the heat we decided my girls should be 'snowbirds' too! We spent a grueling 4 days clearing rabbit brush, two massive ant beds, removing the remains of an old wood barn, putting up chain-link fencing, piecing together pallets for a base to set an OLD camper on as a chicken coop (after sitting in our backyard for about 20 years it took 10 people to move this dinosaur), and sawing logs for roosts. *whew* Then, we came back to NV and packed up our poultry and headed for the hills. We did have some casualties along the way but experience is a great teacher. We will get this process streamlined for next time, and in the meantime, my girls are living the good life! The only panting I see is when they're laying. They love the leftover rabbit brush for the shade and cuz theyre finally able to hide eggs from me! I thought that the trauma of the move would put them off laying but no...they are doing great!

Here's our 2nd recycle coop! We only purchased the screws and the netting for the top of the run everything else we had on hand or got free off CL. The pallets are backed with chicken wire on the left and center sides. The right is open for chicken traffic. The hole in the top of the camper was covered quickly on the first day they roosted on their own as one young pullet thought she'd take a look see. We have also added a tarp in front and a sheet on the right side for shade. Notice the pine trees in the background?

Here's the inside. We have temporary nests up but are making some to fit over the window openings to the left and center that will be accessible from outside the run. They will feel safer with the nests in. As is, no one sleeps on the roost nearest the left side window though it's covered with a screen. The right side window is also open for chicken traffic but the shade sheet is attached here so they feel safer sleeping on that roost.

About the pine trees...We had our first brush with natural predators yesterday. I came up to the run and couldnt see/hear a single bird. Then I heard a low growling from inside the coop. It was one of my mama hens warning her chicks to stay put! They weren't even with her, but were hiding in the rabbit brush. I finally noticed a HUGE bird in my aunts pine trees next door. It was an eagle. Wow! Turns out we put up the bird netting super quick. It may not be much of a hinderence but the poles we put across the run to support it will help. We also have some garden fencing on top too. We realized we would possibly lose some birds in this venture but so far it has been totally worth it. I do wonder though...is there a way to put a target on the ones I wouldn't mind losing?

Waterers and a feeder filled with All Flock pellets. We have another waterer in the back corner of the run too.

Here's another feeder (strawberry pot) filled with Flock Raiser crumbles (for the youngens)and the bird feeder house has oyster shell in it. We have another feeder that will go inside the coop once I get a poop hammock up to protect it.

These old rabbit hutches provide a lot of shade and storage. I may find more uses for them later. *laughing maniacally and rubbing hands with glee* This is their favorite rabbit brush for shade and I apparently the dustbathing there is incredible. Also a really really great place to hide from eagles.

Well, I don't have very consistent internet connection here so I will keep you updated as I'm able. In the meantime...

Peep_Show - you're a veritable fount of information! AWESOME! I will pass this info on to my sister who is dying to have some mini goats.

SunnyDawn -

for you and your birds.

sherylreno - loved the comment about Holiday Inn! LOL!

db -

's NV thread.

gaitedhorse - CONGRATS on the EAGLE!!! Awesome job!

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:
WOW! You have been busy! I'm tired just reading about all you've been doing!

Love the innovative coop setups! I love it when folks recycle old items into new awesome coops. Those are some great pics.

Peep I would love that recipe for ricotta! I know I should have printed it before, when I came across it, but I put it off and have no idea where to look now.

db welcome to the Nevada thread!

I'm always so excited when somebody new pokes their head in and says "Hi"! I will add your name to the opening post right now.

 

[wolftracks]

Quote:
Ditto!
If you put out flock raiser until they are all laying they will be better off. Usually some will start laying and others will wait. You can put out crushed oyster shell for the layers until they are all laying, then switch to layer feed.

Thanks for all the sympathy everyone! I appreciate it very much!

I can't wait til we retire then I can have as many critters as I want!

Sunny I'm sorry I can't get up there to get all of them. Car is back, but I need something else taken care of before I can drive a distance. Haven't even been to the cemetery since February 4th.

I hope you find all of them good homes and when you're ready for new ones, I'll try to have at least some eggs ready for you.

Are you still going to be able to hatch and sell chicks?

Anyway, I've been on and off of here and just hadn't searched my posts for this thread. Could have pmd I guess, but my mind isn't here right now.

Hope things are working out with the new place

((HUGS))

 

[Peep_Show]

Sunny

Just type "Nevadans? Ricotta" into the Google search bar at the top of this forum.... Or you could go to Post 2122 for the recipe.

- - -

One last word on goats and milking ventures: Once you commit, it IS a commitment. It's twice a day milking. And if you want to jet off on vacation or a weekend or overnight or something, you need to find somebody willing to do the deed for you....which is more difficult than it sounds unless you know goat milkers who are willing to help you out. Failing to faithfully milk is painful... The udder swells immensely (your milker will make a lot of intense noise about this discomfort as the skin gets stretched to its elastic capacity) and then you've inadvertently started the process of "drying off" your doe as her body will realize milk production isn't necessary and your milk production will steadily decrease.

And lastly, just to keep y'all safe and sound, remember that cleanliness is paramont. A lot of home milkers do not pasteurize their milk (that is, heat it up for a couple of minutes to kill the nasties that may be in it). Therefore it is vital to properly cleanse and wash the udder before milking so you don't give everybody a dose of e. coli or some such gut wrencher. Not to put the scare into folks, but goats do lay down in the dirt and their underparts do pick up dust, dried manure, whatever happens to be hanging about. The upside: Goats *really* like having their udders washed and massaged and pre-milking can be quite a bonding moment as your darling goaties are getting a snack for staying in the stocks (c'mon, you know you need the grain for a bribe to get them to stay put), a spa treatment wash and rinse (do use warm water) and relief from having to lug about some uncomfy milk all day.... Positive rewards get positive results! If you're into it, it's a win-win situation.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Thanks again peep. More stuff to go over with Markie. He wants them so bad but doesn't want to let me get a duck. Haha, were gonna keep talking about this

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Oh I also just wanted to add for all of you guys-

If you do not de-worm and de-louse your flock please do so. I lost one of my favorite hens to worms this week. She is the first pet I have ever lost and I was absolutely devastated. She went from being a big healthy hen to weighing less than a poun and having all of her bones protruding in three days. She could not even hold her head up. It warmth painful to watch her die so slowly. But within four days she was gone and all she left me was a big fat lesson.

 

[Peep_Show]

You're welcome!

Of course, milking aside, goats are fun pets. They're very personable and truly interested in what you're doing.... which I found uniquely refreshing compared to my horses which were truly interested IF you had food. I started out with pet goats and then advanced into the milking stuff, although doing it visa versa is fine, too. I had some brood does with beautiful udders that got me into it. Who knew my Martha Stewart I-can-do-this-and-this-might-be-my-calling moment would be in a barn? By the time I was done with my farming venture I was the "Go-to Goat Lady" and had a steady stream of clients for kidding and disbudding, etc., plus had sales to 4-H and the local feed stores of surplus kids.

(I am a firm believer that everybody should have at least one eyebrow-raising job on their work resume just to keep it interesting...... This could be a new thread topic.)

 

[Peep_Show]

Aubreynoramarie


So sorry to hear about your bird there. Parasites suck (literally and figuratively) and they're insidious because most of them you cannot see. But I bet from now on your flock won't suffer that problem.....Lessons learned. When you know better, you do better. That's why it's so valuable for folks to share both the good and the bad.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Kim I have no idea if I am going to be able to do any hatching right now. I wanted to but my marans are now going to someone on CL so I won't be able to get eggs from them and the marans were my favorites.

I think I am just going to concentrate on saving something for retirement so we can retire in a few years and then I'll get a couple hundred chickens.

Thanks Peep! Now I remember what happened to my plans. I put it off thinking I would get a new crockpot and then print it out. Well this time I printed it out so I won't forget about needing a crockpot.

Great info on the goats. I've always said as much as I love fresh milk I'll never have a milk cow, or goat. I'm just not that committed. I sure do appreciate those farmers that do though! They make having fresh milk doable.

Aubrey I'm so sorry to hear about your loss!

I'm going to go put some DE out now.

 

[sherylreno]

Quote:
I use DE all the time, does it work on round worms too? If it does then that makes me super happy.