NY chicken lover!!!!

[Tab's chicken obsession]

I've heard of people using dawn dish soap to wash their birds with. Hope that helps.

 

[Tough Old Bird]

Whew! What a wash-out today is! Anyone starting their ark construction yet?

The girls are NOT pleased.

Tornado watch for some parts of Central NY, unless they canceled it. Just as a heads up. The temp has already dropped, so I don't think it's as big a risk now. I didn't even hear any thunder. Just lots of wind and tons of rain.

I hear the rest of the week is supposed to be pleasant. We'll see...!


TOB

 

[Lynzi777]

I've heard of people using dawn dish soap to wash their birds with.  Hope that helps.

That's what I have been using because I have yet to actually pick something up at the store that'll be safe to use on them. I just didn't know if there was something that worked well on feathers that have become so dirty they're now brown. :-/

 

[marquisella]

Quote:
I use baby shampoo...no tears. but don't have any white silkies anymore because of just that reason...dirty never clean.

 

[armorfirelady]

Well I desided to just board up some windows rather than lowering my top roost. Some windows got plywood with a 2x2 under bottom edge to keep letting some air in but hopefully not snow. Along the top of my walls on the 12ft lengths I have 6inch opening where rafters are I closed the front door and still had a good breeze going through. Going to put plexiglass on south window atm have a board that is too small for window covering it and letting a lot of air in wind is blowing from south today.

If you want more light in those windows you can use plastic. I buy the kind they sell in the roofing section. They have different thickness and they have held up well during the winter keeping the wind & snow out yet let some light in. I just staple them to the wood frames and either pull them off or roll them up for use later.

 

[rancher hicks]

my .02 on hoop coops. Unless in the hoop coop is a solid wood structure to lock them up in .... one morning you will wake up to all of your birds dead. There isn't such a thing as a predator proof run. They have all night to breach it. And they ultimately WILL breach it and kill your birds. I have had coons open up chicken wire with their paws like it was nothing. They dig under and find the weak spot to get in. Minks and weasels need a 1 inch hole to get through and kill your birds. IF you surround the ENTIRE hoop coop. top bottom, sides.... you have a fighting chance for a few years until the stuff on the floor rots just enough for a predator to breach. Hoop coops are a gamble I will not play with. Your results may vary....or you will lose every bird. Your choice if the gamble is worth it.


this is a weasel my cat killed. See how small this evil killing machine is? !!??!! I had chickens 7 years before I ever saw a weasel. Or a mink. So don't kid yourself that you don't have predators. You may not...until the predators smell out your chickens. Then they WILL move in and KILL your birds. I lost one entire coop one night to a weasel. NINE yes 9 birds ALL DEAD in the morning from a 1 inch ...yes ONE INCH breach.

I have no doubt that any predator who wanted can breach ANY coop. I have seen it suggested to even cover floors with hardware cloth. I've considered this with my hoop which have 1/2" covering. Coops are closed at night as are the runs. I've no doubt if preds want in they will find a way. We can only do the best we can.

 

[stonykill]

I have no doubt that any predator who wanted can breach ANY coop. I have seen it suggested to even cover floors with hardware cloth. I've considered this with my hoop which have 1/2" covering. Coops are closed at night as are the runs. I've no doubt if preds want in they will find a way. We can only do the best we can.

I see far too many hoop coops without a proper night time lockup coop. As I recall yours are pretty good. Some are downright scary. I see far too many hoop coops with holes in them a house cat, young coon or worse can get through

 

[Sally8]

my .02 on hoop coops. Unless in the hoop coop is a solid wood structure to lock them up in .... one morning you will wake up to all of your birds dead. There isn't such a thing as a predator proof run. They have all night to breach it. And they ultimately WILL breach it and kill your birds. I have had coons open up chicken wire with their paws like it was nothing. They dig under and find the weak spot to get in. Minks and weasels need a 1 inch hole to get through and kill your birds. IF you surround the ENTIRE hoop coop. top bottom, sides.... you have a fighting chance for a few years until the stuff on the floor rots just enough for a predator to breach. Hoop coops are a gamble I will not play with. Your results may vary....or you will lose every bird. Your choice if the gamble is worth it.


this is a weasel my cat killed. See how small this evil killing machine is? !!??!! I had chickens 7 years before I ever saw a weasel. Or a mink. So don't kid yourself that you don't have predators. You may not...until the predators smell out your chickens. Then they WILL move in and KILL your birds. I lost one entire coop one night to a weasel. NINE yes 9 birds ALL DEAD in the morning from a 1 inch ...yes ONE INCH breach.

I have no doubt that any predator who wanted can breach ANY coop. I have seen it suggested to even cover floors with hardware cloth. I've considered this with my hoop which have 1/2" covering. Coops are closed at night as are the runs. I've no doubt if preds want in they will find a way. We can only do the best we can.

I'm hoping to build a hoop coop of sorts before winter. It's primary use will be for the chickens to run in when the weather is bad. Both of my coops are reinforced as well as I'm able. Every night all the chickens are locked in the coop, not the run. I've been very lucky to not have been bothered by anything for the past several years. This fall raccoon ate most of my sweet corn and yesterday something dug under the fence directly behind the coop. Now that they have found us, the battle will be on. Winters are tough on wildlife. They get hungry. If they can't find a 1 in hole, they will make one. It saddens me to find 1 dead chicken, I never want to find a coop full.

 

[ke5hde]

Pharm what you do you use to bath your silkies with? I gave my lavender hen a bath today and I feel like no matter what I did she isn't as clean as I'd like her to be. 

I used dawn dish soap and then a second bath with puppy shampoo with oatmeal. Couldn't tell you how clean she actually got since she's black.

 

[ke5hde]

I guess Broom Hilda is done with her chicks now. Yesterday they turned 6wks old and she laid an egg, got another from her today. I suppose I could put her back in with the rest of them at this point and just leave her 2 with the other silkie and her chick.