NY chicken lover!!!!

[featherz]

Quote:
I'll PM you. Unfortunately I have to work tomorrow but we could meet after? No silkies or cochins, unless you count the little grey mixes between my blue cochin roo and my brown EE. I'm keeping those just to see what my Puff Daddy babies look like.

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:
Delaware Giants? Am I missing something here?

 

[Fyrekitten]

I bought eggs from several places and several types of eggs. 2 sets of Silkie eggs, Delaware Giants, Cochins, Marans, Jersey Giants, Blue Jersey Giants, Sumatras, Yohokamas, Silver Seabrights, mixes, Silver Spangled Hamburgs, Silver Phoenix, nankins, Anconas and, Welsummer/Maran mixes and a couple of others - there might have been a partridge in a pear tree too but I don't recall except for the quail, ducks and geese. Tired just typing it!

I had lost count of everything and I'm usually pretty well organized - past life experiences as Office Managers and Office Administrators among other gobbledey gook!

Feathersz: Let me check the pm and I'll get with you shortly.....

 

[Cass]

Seems there are more steps to building a coop than I realized.

BUT, the tar paper is on the roof, so it will stop leaking on my fresh paint job.

Still NO DOOR, NO WINDOWS...ack...I need doors, windows...a roost and nest boxes would be handy too.

I have chickens to pick up soon. And I have to work next weekend. GRRRR...

Pray the weather stays nice. We both get home at 4:30 so we can get stuff done in the evening.

I'm coming for them soon, featherz, really. We are working as fast as we can, given the weather, calls from my mom for "HELP!!" and that darn tree limb FINALLY falling down and needing to be cleaned up. Aiming for next Sunday, cross your fingers for us.

 

[tgrlily]

Hi Cass,

Our first coop, we installed doors & windows the way you would in your house. I have a terrible time opening them. By the third coop ---and you will likely build many of them! --- we started using hinges on the top of the window's frame & hardware cloth on the inside like a screen. We put a handle on the bottom of the frame & attached a small chain to pull it open & hook it up. Much easier to install & to use.
I hope these hints are helpful:
Handles are important.
Latches can be a piece of scrap wood attached loosely by a screw.
Insulate!!!!
A cheap door can be made by framing a piece of lattice & covering one side with half inch hardware cloth. For the winter, we cover it with a heavy-duty, clear shower curtain. Our playhouse coop had a porch that we covered using this method with smoked corrogated plastic roofing panels up top. So our silkies have a sunroom which stays amazingly warm in the winter & a nice cool sleeping porch for the summer!
Don't be afraid to think outside the box!!

Good luck!

Quote:

 

[featherz]

Quote:
Heh, if you see our coops you will laugh. They aren't quite bad enough to be in the 'tacky coop' contest - actually they LOOK quite nice, but the walls are OSB, no insulation, we used cheap roll on asphalt on the roof and mobile home windows. Although I do have really decent nest boxes - one build and one bought. The roosts are just 2x4. My millies often sleep on the floor now that the LF they are in with are so much bigger

. Oddly enough, all the chickens made it through the winter and the only frostbite I saw was a bit on the roo's comb and on my leghorns, which is now almost healed. I was lucky!!

Oh, our door is just a piece of osb with hinges. I had a cool sign ordered for it from a byc member, but she stiffed me on that order.

SO I crossed a couple of scrap lumber pieces to give it more structure and make it look nicer.

 

[featherz]

I still have those chicks, if anyone is interested! Making calls today to the craigslist people. 10 'grab bag' chicks of various breeds, few days old. Several people called yesterday that had no idea how to take care of chicks, so I'll call the rest today and see if I have better luck. My brooder is full!

 

[happyhensny]

Went to JP's Auction yesterday. Roosters were going for $10 - $15. Sold my chicks that I thought were Roos for $4 each. Not too bad I suppose. They had a Pregnant Pygmy goat there, looked like she was already in labor. Sad. Wish I had the knowledge to deal with her, would have loved to have her. Then went to the Coxsackie Antique Barn, had lots of neat things. A friend came with me and she deals in antiques.

 

[featherz]

wow! I need to go to THAT auction!

 

[pharmchickrnmom]

I opened the 5 unhatched eggs last night and found they had shrinkwrapped and died. Sad. At least I ended up with 5 beautiful silkie babies though.

Have to set up the larger brooder box and put a screen in it so my month old silkie can see but not touch the babies. Snow is almost gone and my rocks and wyandottes have been enjoying some freerange time. Cant wait for it all to be gone so I can move the tractor and reseed! Going to have to build another tractor as 6 silkies in a 3x3 just isnt going to cut it.

Cass- your chickens wont care what their house looks like as long as they are dry and out of the wind. I have no skills but I think I did pretty good with my silkie house. My kids call it the Barbie chicken house because of the color. Nothing is square but it is predatorproof and will be dry. Its a bright pink. Remember, trim works good for covering oops!!!