Nevadans?

[americanvalkyrie]

Thank you!
My horse shelters are not permanent, I have been told that as long as they are not permanent I am ok well, no one complained.
The chicken coop, we are looking at 8x8 it was my understanding that if it is under 120 sq feet we don't need a permit, is that old code? Have you had any problems with wind? I am thinking of using concrete blocks as my base and not sinking them into the ground that way it us up off the ground by a about 8 inches (I think they are that tall).
No HOA's, sounds like we are in good shape as far as the neighbors complaining, we will clip wings so they can graze through our yard occasionally when the dogs are not present.
I am sure I have more questions as we get closer, and after our babies arrive.
Thank you for your input, much appreciated.
Jann

Are you new in this area?

Every year, we get several doozies of windstorms. They don't happen that often, and usually happen in spring and early summer, but they can get up to 100mph in Washoe Valley. We have pretty good shelter here in the downtown area, but I still have to run out and save seedlings or fish all of the neighbors' garbage out of the pond (with a 6' tall fence.) I would plan for strong winds. Just make sure it's secure enough to stay put.

If you're going to raise your coop, be sure you can get underneath to get eggs or chickens. Right now mine are really scoping out the garden steps, and squatting in the little area underneath. They can squeeze through the 4-inch gaps in the fence, so they're nice and cozy under those steps. Good thing I can reach eggs if they lay there.

I understood building code as something like that. My coop is 8x5x6 with separate nesting boxes and run, and able to be dismantled with removal of a few bolts. I consider that non-permanent.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Thank you!
My horse shelters are not permanent, I have been told that as long as they are not permanent I am ok well, no one complained.
The chicken coop, we are looking at 8x8 it was my understanding that if it is under 120 sq feet we don't need a permit, is that old code? Have you had any problems with wind? I am thinking of using concrete blocks as my base and not sinking them into the ground that way it us up off the ground by a about 8 inches (I think they are that tall).
No HOA's, sounds like we are in good shape as far as the neighbors complaining, we will clip wings so they can graze through our yard occasionally when the dogs are not present.
I am sure I have more questions as we get closer, and after our babies arrive.
Thank you for your input, much appreciated.
Jann

My coops are up on concrete blocks, (12"x12"w, x2'h). This is to give the chickens a place to escape the sun, rain and snow and also makes them "portable" so I avoid the whole issue of what requires a permit. One inspector at the county told me that any permanent structure required a permit but another guy said that was not true, that smaller structures did not. Since the county doesn't seem to train their folks very well on a consistant answer to these questions I try to just stay away from them alltogether. In all fairness it has been 5 years since I spoke to them.

We used a liberal amount of liquid nails between the blocks and between the blocks and foundations. We also used hurricane clips and the heavier duty comp shingles cause the other ones can tear away from the roof in high wind. So far so good but if I ever see either coop moving, even a little, in high winds I will add some guy wires to each coop as well.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Welcome Jann. Looks like everyone else has gotten you taken care of, :]

Guys, Im all kinda of bummed out today. It's get better tomorrow. I wanted to do my token post, but theres not much to post about.

Well I hope tomorrow is a lot better day for you then!

 

[aubreynoramarie]

sheryl I dont think shes egg bound. I am pretty certain they cant pass poop when they are and i think thats why they die quickly. I wouldnt be so hasty to say it isnt worms only because there are different kinds of worms that can cause illness. theres no point in not worming i think...
Also i have some antibiotics you can have if youd like. When i had petey on pennicillan i was told they could only have it once for three days, so if she gets past three days on the pen-g i have other stuff she can try...


also here is some good info that may help you. Peritonitis sounds like a more probible problem with her.

Likely, if she has been swollen for 2 days now and you cannot palpate an egg inside her vent (lube a finger and slide it in her vent- if you cannot feel an egg along the top of the rectum - oviduct sits above the rectum) then I doubt she's eggbound. She probably has developed egg yolk peritonitis (EYP) or ascites due to an infection or inflammation in the oviduct. Here's some info on fluid-filled abdomens:

Ascites (fluid pooling in the abdomen) and peritonitis (inflammation of the peritoneal tissue) can be caused by a number of things, most often by yolks missing the "funnel" or infundibulum, after being ovulated from the ovary, and falling directly from her ovary into her abdomen. Other types of infections and sometimes cancer can also cause peritonitis. There are also two types of peritonitis - sterile and septic. If your girl has sterile peritonitis, it means that the fluid in her abdomen is not filled with bacteria and is not caused by an internal infection. With this type of peritonitis, the best thing to do is leave the hen alone. If she is extremely uncomfortable and having a hard time breathing, you can try draining off some of the fluid to relieve pressure AS LONG AS you do the procedure under sterile conditions- if you introduce bacteria into her abdomen, she will get a nasty infection and the peritonitis will turn septic - then she will likely die. With sterile peritonitis, the hen will have trouble getting around and will have some loss of appetite, but she will continue to eat and will improve gradually over time- potentially she will recover totally or she will always have fluid build-up. I have a hen with sterile peritonitis and she has been this way for over 3 years now. She has a harder time breathing as the fluid has put pressure on her airsacs and lungs (this is especially evident when she lays down at night) but she is still hanging in there. When she stops ovulating for the year, usually in winter, the fluid is reabsorbed into her body and she is totally normal. She's running around and acting quite silly at the moment...

The other type of peritonitis is septic peritonitis- the fluid gets bacteria growing in it and then there isn't much you can do for her as the infection is so wide-spread and huge that usually even massive doses of strong antibiotic aren't enough. In that case, you can tell that your hen has this type because they go downhill rapidly and lose their appetite. Often they have a fever (hot comb- very hot under wings). You can try to drain them- this definitely offers them some relief- it takes the pressure off their organs. If the source of the infection is still there, though, they fill back up before long. If you'd like to try treating her then you need the following: 20 or 22 gauge 2" long catheter (or, if you can't find that anywhere, a 20 gauge 1.5" long sterile needle), 20 cc syringe, clear container (preferably measuring cup - at least 500 ml), skin soap, cotton balls or gauze, band-aid, iodine or rubbing alcohol.

Find the area on your hens abdomen near her rear end- I usually do it on the hen's left side. You need someone holding the hen firmly while you do this... Find the area on her rear abdomen that is relatively free of feathers- this will be easy if she is quite swollen from fluid. Find a spot that has no vessels under the skin to minimize any bleeding- there won't be any if you miss the vessels. The spot you find should be about 2 inches from her rear end, in the spot with no feathers and no vessels. Wash this area, scrubbing three times with soap and water, rinsing the soap off well each time. Wipe the area with either rubbing alcohol or iodine. Take the catheter (I'll tell you how to do it with the catheter as it is my preferred choice= the needle works too but there is a higher chance of accidently poking internal organs with the needle so I prefer not to use it)... take the catheter and poke it straight into the spot you have cleaned. Only poke it in far enough (1/4 inch or so) to get the catheter itself in, then remove the needle, leaving the catheter inside. You may need the needle again, so put this into a pan of alcohol or iodine to keep it sterile. Slide the catheter into her further, then attach the syringe. Fluid will start coming out quickly, but it's best to use the syringe to collect it. Start to draw off the fluid, being careful not to put so much suction on the syringe that you suck internal organs up to the end of the catheter. Leaving the catheter in the same hole, pull it in and out a bit, move it around and with your other hand, lift up the abdomen a bit to allow as much of the fluid as possible to be drawn off. Put all the collected fluid into a separate container- the 2 cup measuring cup. Drain out about half of the fluid then take out the catheter. By the way, if it comes out by accident during the procedure, you can reinsert it into the same hole using the needle that you have sitting in the alcohol - NEVER reinsert the catheter with a dirty needle or use anything other than sterile syringes and catheters or you will be introducing more bacteria than you are taking out and you might as well not do anything... Also, you don't want to drain all the fluid off in one go, as it might throw them into shock- losing all that fluid at once. Better to take out half, let her recover for a bit, then drain her again, taking a little more out the second time. Again, being sterile is very important. If the fluid is cloudy/opaque and pale yellow, the peritonitis is likely caused by egg yolks in the abdomen. If the fluid is clear and yellow, there is likely inflammation caused by a tumor or organ failure of some sort...

Anyway, once you are done and the catheter is out, put a blob of antibacterial ointment over the hole and cover that with a tiny gauze or cotton ball. Tape or band-aid the gauze on, just to keep the little hole from being exposed to further bacteria. Now, you can either start the hen on antibiotics or not- I've had equal "success and failure" with them on strong antibiotics and off. Baytril is the best choice for massive infections, but it is only available through a vet or online (waiting for delivery...). Other drugs are good, too- broad spectrums, sulfa drugs and Pen G procaine will all work alright.

Your hen may fill up again in a day or two or she may not. It will be up to you to decide how well she is doing and whether or not to drain her again. Do not reuse the catheter- always get new ones (find a friend who is a doctor or nurse- they can usually get them for cheap for you....). If she rallies well in between drainings and you're not draining her daily, then keep going. If she is miserable, not eating and refilling almost immediately, then she is probably past the point of treating and, sadly, she will need to be put down...​

 

[aubreynoramarie]

Please forgive my lack of knowledge on the etiquette of forums... I have a question, I live in the County of Washoe (South Reno) and we are getting our first chicks next week. We are still in the process of planning our coop. I searched through the thread but could not find my answer so I am sure I will ask the same question as many have before me... I have cranky neighbors, short of calling the county to find out ordinances, does anyone know of any problems with having chickens in the county. We are on over half an acre, already have horses. Can the cranky neighbors make trouble for our family? I don't plan on having roosters... (well maybe one)
Jann

youll have to look into city ordinances rather than county. In reno there are no laws against agriculture, however Sparks has very strict laws against it.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

How long are antibiotics good for? I still have some from when Rotisserie got her name changed to Gourmet.

 

[aubreynoramarie]

I believe if it is in powder form or if it has been safely refrigerated it should last at least a few years.

 

[horseshowmomnv]

Welcome to the Nevada thread horseshowmomnv!

I have added you to the opening post.

In answer to your question, outside of city limits there are no laws stating you cannot have chickens except that you cannot have 10,000 or more without putting in a special waste disposal system. The nuisance laws are not well defined and, unfortunately, are interpreted differently depending on who you talk to. The consensus when I spoke to the county was that as long as you kept the chickens on your property and did not have problems with smell and noise that was at such a level that general laws came into play that you were just fine.

Here is the problem I had with the county. All buildings require a permit. Yes this includes chicken coops and horse shelters. If your neighbor were going to cause problems for you this would be the sticky area. Unless you live in an HOA. They have their own set of rules and regs (CC&Rs). Good luck with your new peeps!!!

Thank you!

 

[Elko Stacy]

Sheryl! If she has hung on this long please check out "ascites"..I thought my Main BR was egg bound, but it ended up being this collection of fluid which initially seems like eggbound-ness..

It's very easy to take care of..is the hen getting very heavy in her bottom- cushion area. (aka as abdomen in chicken anatomy)..mine wasn't eating wasn't drinking water..I was soaking her every day and she just kept getting heavier! I did tetracycline which reduced her inflammation..but it wasn't taking care of the swelling...some young person was having the same problem at the same time and he finally let me know what it was..all you have to do is get a syringe, poke her in the water sack and drain the fluid..it may sound bad, but to see her be relieved so quickly made it all worth while..I would hesitate to stick anything into a chicken internally unless it was the very last resort, or you could feel the egg and knew that was the problem!

I wish you luck!

 

[horseshowmomnv]

Are you new in this area?

Every year, we get several doozies of windstorms. They don't happen that often, and usually happen in spring and early summer, but they can get up to 100mph in Washoe Valley. We have pretty good shelter here in the downtown area, but I still have to run out and save seedlings or fish all of the neighbors' garbage out of the pond (with a 6' tall fence.) I would plan for strong winds. Just make sure it's secure enough to stay put.

If you're going to raise your coop, be sure you can get underneath to get eggs or chickens. Right now mine are really scoping out the garden steps, and squatting in the little area underneath. They can squeeze through the 4-inch gaps in the fence, so they're nice and cozy under those steps. Good thing I can reach eggs if they lay there.

I understood building code as something like that. My coop is 8x5x6 with separate nesting boxes and run, and able to be dismantled with removal of a few bolts. I consider that non-permanent.

No, we are not new to the area, we live off Toll Rd been in this house 10 years, so we are very familiar with the wind gusts here, along with fires Just an after thought, as I walk through this process of constructing a coop the concern about wind popped into my mind.
Thank you for the insight about squeezing through small openings... Lots to think about, I appreciate all the advice from all those who have gone before me!