NY chicken lover!!!!

[armorfirelady]

For those of you that use hoop coops:

How do they fair in wind storms? I would love to build myself one but we used to have one of those port a sheds like they sell at tsc and we tried to make it wind storm safe which worked for awhile but eventually the winds were to much and destroyed it. My entire property is open fields except around the house where there are trees.

We have had winds up to 60 mph here and it has not budged. I agree with maquis you need to wrap in hardware cloth to keep critters out. I didn't bury it around the coop tho. But I haven't had (yet) any digging critters. But the electric netting is around it most of the year and now there are hay bales so maybe that's enough to deter them.

The 2x4 base has settled some in the ground so I am sure that helps keep it grounded. I know when we moved it that getting the 2x4s unstuck was harder than moving it

 

[cheeka]

my dome hoop is protected from the heavy west winds as it is tucked in an odd corner of the house, behind the attached garage and an addition room that forms an L shape in the back... but it gets battered by wind from every other direction and has held up beautifully. the frame is wrapped entirely in hardware cloth and has 30 ml vinyl covering it. (it's a marine vinyl, seriously heavy duty, and I scored it when an overhead door business closed and they were throwing the roll away!)

 

[stonykill]

Laundry!

I find Lisa Marie kinda hot

 

[loversday002]

any pine bush new yorkers wanting to trade some chickens maybe?

 

[Gramma Chick]

Morning all. Worked a double yesterday and didnt get home till 9. Slept in this am while dh let the cheeps out. Working retail this time of year just sucks your soul out of you. My middle daughter is coming up to help me decorate the house today since I have no gumption or energy to go up and down the stairs to pull out all of the decorations and put away boxes. Christmas is coming up way too fast.

Guess I will go online to see about muck boots. I have such a wide calf that its difficult to find anything that fits. Might have to order mens boots, As for the dl method, I love it. The cheeps do all the work for me. I just throw in some handfuls of boss and they go crazy digging through the litter. I just keep adding litter as needed. The silkie coops are easy to clean out and refresh. I usually do that during the winter as they are small and take so little time. I gave the chickens some kelp freefeed but they didnt seem to want it so I am mixing it in with their feed. Seems to be working better that way. I am down to 5 eggs a day from 19 layers. My silkies are laying better! I hope that things pick up soon. They are on lights for about 14 hours starting early in the am. Dh is trying to keep it as close to a normal cycle as possible so once its light outside, the light goes off and they go to be at dusk.

Time to get moving and get things done. My body says no but my head says go. Later all.

They had mens muck boots at dicks shoppingtown . All high boots ..not what I wanted ..I was looking for shorter boots

 

[rancher hicks]

For those of you that use hoop coops:

How do they fair in wind storms? I would love to build myself one but we used to have one of those port a sheds like they sell at tsc and we tried to make it wind storm safe which worked for awhile but eventually the winds were to much and destroyed it. My entire property is open fields except around the house where there are trees.

Just caught this post.

My hoops are set on blocks and the floors are quite heavy. Being that they are domed shaped I think the wind blows over them. The cattle panel is nailed/stapled with heavy staples to hole it securely to the flooring. If you use pressure treated lumber it's heavier than non. You could use 2X4's or bigger.

My large hoop has a floor that is 8'X9' with joist every 14 or 16" so there are few joists and they add weight. Tarps go right to the ground and are stapled on . Keep in mind that there is a run of hardware cloth covering the cattle panels. That's also a bit of weight too.

Anyhow they seem to be fine.

 

[rancher hicks]

An update on a hen I mentioned who was doing the duck walk. I was concerned she was egg bound but she was still jumping up on the roost and eating so I left her. She did get better and was gradually doing the duck walk a little higher , not dragging her butt.

Well I had to separate George cuz he and the new guy weren't getting along and I stuck the Duck walker who by this time needed to be separated cuz she was getting picked on. Anyhow I put her with George and well they seemed fine. Though I think George was after her if you know what I mean.

Well today I found two eggs in the pool. I hoped she would lay again but I hadn't expected it. One egg I could tell was not recent but the other must have been today or yesterday. She is one of my older girls. So I will check for fertility and if her eggs are fertile they are going in the incubator with the BR's when they get here.

Lord have mercy they were shipped yesterday and they are still in Fl! Sent Priority they should be here tomorrow but I expect they may be here Tues. I hope I get at least three chicks out of them. I plan to order more from someone else too. I"m going to start weighing my birds and breeding more selectively.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Quote: Turkeys in Staten Island
http://www.businessweek.com/videos/2013-11-21/roving-turkeys-invade-just-in-time-for-thanksgiving

 

[Gramma Chick]

Look what I bought on Ebay
Elmo chicken Dance ...cant wait to try it out ! LOL


http://www.ebay.com/itm/2003-Mattel...WvgJLRtGLicM9zuWzCrVc%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

 

[Lynzi777]

Morning All,
I'm actually beginning to enjoy winter now that the temps arent in the teens and it's not so windy. But of course with that said, everything is wet and muddy.

Owell
Think I'll pull out my lights today and get my front porch done. Maybe I'll sting some extra around the chicken yard. Need to take a ride to the store to get some more. I need to finish grooming my angora bun first. He's a mess. I started last night but it was getting dark. I'll bring in inside to finish him today. I'm thinking of using the wool the line my nest boxes in the coop. Since the girls always seem to kick the shavings out of them. Maybe if I put some wool in them they won't bother.