New to chickens - what do you think?

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Debo's Chickens :

Ok, thanks Terra & Pat. I didn't think (or know) about the fact that the chickens wouldn't want to be outside all day in the rain, but it makes sense!

I thought it made sense too, however, my brilliant birds stayed outside for hurricane Ike. They practiced flying and even got a free shower.​
 
It looks like your Wyandotte had its beak clipped at some point. I think she is so beautiful though.

My water is up on blocks and it is fine. I don't have to hang it. I do hang my feed because it was always full of shavings.
 
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I wouldn't try deep litter in the little downstairs 'run' just because it is exposed to rain and ground moisture and will turn into a fetid stinking swamp.

Yes, by all means get raccoon-proof latches (padlocks are fine), this afternoon if possible
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The Wyandotte looks either debeaked and then well-filed-down (which they can do themselves if ranging on gravel), or deformed, yes... but she is likely to do just fine nonetheless so personally I would keep her rather than trying to return her to what is likely to end up a stewpot.

Hanging the water and feeders is better than putting on blocks, from the perspective of keeping shavings etc out (on blocks, a drift of shavings can pile up and spill over into the waterer/feeder). OTOH blocks are better than hanging from the perspective of not spilling (hanging things can be bumped, and swing, and spill). So it's kind of 'pick yer poison'. The main thing IMO is to have them as high as possible with the chickens still able to reach them -- that will make the most difference in how yucky they don't get.

Personally I would beef up that chickenwire, perhaps with 1/2"hardwarecloth to both make it more dog-resistant AND prevent raccoons from reaching through. It is probably not going to happen but it only has to happen ONCE, you know?

Have fun and congrats on the new chickens
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,

Pat
 
Well, I totally feel like a jerk about it, but I was planning on returning the Wyndotte to the guy & getting another. He sells eggs too, so maybe he will just put her into his own flock??? I'm totally new to this kind of thing (I'm totally a city/suburban kid) & I kinda don't feel like I'm really qualified to keep a potentially handicapped chicken
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She already seems less active & much less out-going than the other two. She spends much more time in the top part of the coop than the other two. I don't know. I just feel like I should start off on the best foot possible. Like I said, I feel like a total jerk though.

I am going to look for some kind of lock to secure the latches & I was thinking about reinforcing the chicken wire w/ a more durable hardware cloth. Also, since I'm going to clear out those cinder blocks on the sides to make room for the run, I'm going to use the cinder blocks to make a "foundation" for the coop - so I'll just make a single layer cinder block wall the same footprint as the coop & put the coop on top. That way the wood on the bottom of the coop will last longer. Hmmm, actually now that I'm thinking about it, that might present a problem w/ the attached run. Guess I'll have to think about it some more.
 
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Debo's Chickens :

Well, I totally feel like a jerk about it, but I was planning on returning the Wyndotte to the guy & getting another.

I'd be like you on that point.. I'd want a whole chicken, not a deformed one.

Nice looking coop as well

I built my duck pen out of chicken wire before I read this site that much.. I read about raccoons tearing thru the wire.. I got looking at mine and sure enough I have seen different areas where they are biting the wire and couple places do have a strand broken here and there..

With the smaller coop like you have it won't cost to much to add the 1/2 inch wire mess ...​
 
Must say, I agree with adding the hardware cloth, I got a 3 ft by 100ft roll of it from Dels for around $100.
I have lost chickens to raccoons slipping there dirty little paws through the 1x1 chicken wire. Not pretty, they just took her head right off.

I put my water's on blocks and the feeders I cant hang on blocks also, if you do hang them make sure they are hung extremely well so they do not fall or the 2x2's break from the weight etc, would really suck to come out one AM to a squished chicken.

What about lining the bricks up all along the edges of the pen and the run? To keep it off the wet ground and not leave any spaces where they could escape or something invite themselves in, or even setting it onto 4x4's or something, I made my old coop out of 2x2's it had been there since 2005 and an addition in 2006, I tore it all down a week or so ago and yep, a lot of the pieces on the bottom rotted and were completely gone!

Your pen looks super cute and your chickens are adorable!!
 
Thanks all! I have the feeder & waterer on blocks now & that is helping keep it all clean. I'm going to the hardware store today to find hardware cloth or mesh, padlocks, etc.

I met up w/ the guy yesterday & picked up a run & swapped the Wyandotte. He didn't have any others that he thought were hens so I got a White Leghorn instead.

My latest question is this: My cats are fascinated w/ the chickens (& not in a friendly way). They like to sit on top of the run like this:
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Is this going to terrorize the birds? They get a little freaked when the cat jumps up there, but as you can see in the picture, they get over it quickly & go about their business.

I've been shooing the cats off as much as possible, but it's hard to keep after them, especially when I'm not here. I keep them inside at night & w/ the weather changing, they'll be staying in a lot more on their own. I've got the dog door closed off for now, because I can't trust my dog out there unsupervised either. So, it will become increasingly easy to keep the cats inside most of the time.

So, how bad is it for the chickens to be cat entertainment?
 
Update: Everyone is doing great! I love my chickens!

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I decided to start letting the chickens out a couple weeks ago, little by little.

A couple days before, I had been outside tending to them. Debo was out there w/ his ball trying to get me to play of course. One of the chickens managed to get out of the run & ran around the yard a little. Debo was RIGHT there - it would have taken him a second to get on that chicken if he wanted. But he just looked at it & then turned & looked at me right away!!! I was so glad! I said GOOD BOY! & grabbed his ball & threw it to him. Told him to sit & stay, then I went & rounded up the chicken. Whew! It was tense for a second, but I was so happy w/ the result.

So, a couple days later, I let the chickens out. I did it around 5 in the afternoon, so I would only have to watch them for about an hour or so before they went in the coop for the night. I had worked Debo out previously (so he was tired) & I just had him on the leash, chilling by me while I sat in a chair. We just sat there & watched the chickens. He did good!

In the days after, the weather had been pretty nice, so I made a point to be out in the yard a lot w/ the chickens out & Debo w/ me, to continue getting him comfortable w/ them. I see little signs of less than complete comfort, but I think he's doing well. I make sure to reassure him often when he is being chill. I don't allow him access to the yard when they're roaming unless I'm watching. I accept that there is some inherent risk, but I'm happy w/ the results so far.

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Debo's Chickens :

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Yes, I have. In Everett city limits you can have up to 5 hens, but no roosters. I want to start out w/ 3 hens, & maybe get a couple more next year, depending on how it goes.

Good luck, thats what I said! We are only allowed 5, we have 6 now and 10 babies
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But the coupe is big enough and they don't make any noise, so I don't know why it would cause a problem. If the worst happens, and the cops tell us to get rid of them, we have a friend with a huge farm that can take some. I am just warning you, chickens are very addicting
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