NY chicken lover!!!!

[Breella]

Breella,

I use Skin so soft and vinegar diluted with water. Do you find your concoction effective?

edited to say I should have read all the posts before posting. Read a bit further down lapeerians addition of vinegar as well.

I have used it on my horses for over a year, I have to use a little more of it than I would a normal fly spray but I hate the idea of using pesticide chemicals on them so it is worth it for me.

 

[vmdanielsen]

I have used it on my horses for over a year, I have to use a little more of it than I would a normal fly spray but I hate the idea of using pesticide chemicals on them so it is worth it for me.

Not to mention that when I do spray my horses, I always get it on myself and end up breathing some in. Who knows the long term effects of the insectacide.

 

[Cass]

Not to mention that when I do spray my horses, I always get it on myself and end up breathing some in. Who knows the long term effects of the insectacide.

I can tell you that ingestion, by any means, of chemicals is NOT good.....the research that I have done implies that chemical exposure is what has caused my cancer. I was the oldest of 4 and followed my father around while he did "things"....spray painting, dusting the corn, fertilizing the food crops, etc. He and I BOTH have a blood cancer. (That was back when breathing protection was not even thought of, much less commonly used) Now (when it is too late) I avoid chemicals as much as possible and use breathing protection whenever I am forced to work with anything remotely "non-organic". I know it's too little too late, but I can keep myself from needing treatment by avoiding chemicals causing my cancer to flare up and require treatment, right? Even those dollar store masks help keep the larger particles of the spray out of your lungs.

 

[armorfirelady]

I don't know but its page link is under my user name.

I did tar round the vents and solar panel today when I got home from work. It was the kind that can be used in the rain since its been threatening all day. Fingers crossed it does the trick. The only reason I hope we get rain is so I can see if it worked lol

What did you use over the cattle panels?    What type of pop hole door did you buy?  Where did you get the solar panel?    What type of vent did you put on top?  How warm is the coop in winter?

How heavy is your tarp and where did you get it?  

Sorry for all the questions but the tarps I can get are not as heavy as I would like.  

I got the cattle panels from TSC then put other fencing over it that has smaller holes 1"x2" maybe? It's welded wire I also got on sale at TSC. I also put chicken wire around base to deter digging predators. I also found some hardware cloth I put on end with door.

The pop door I purchased online from ad I saw on here -chicken doors.com-and the solar panel was an option for powering it when you bought it. It does have a small battery that the solar panel charges for days it needs it. I also have an "eye" for it that opens when it daylight and closes at dusk. Very simple to put in and hook up. I just built a frame I attached to the cattle panel. For winter months I plan on moving door to other end of coop so they have access to enclosed veggie garden.

The vents I put on the roof are the ones they removed from my house. Plastic square vents. 12x12 I put 2 in. One on each end. I was just out in the coop and everything is dry !! I also have 2 vents on the sides towards the bottom. They are the flat ones that go underneath a houses overhang.

The canvas on top I found online. It's artic proof, anti mildew, waterproof & not suppose to break down in the sun. And I can say I have had all those conditions and its holding up wonderfully. I got white so it seems brighter inside for those dreary days and winter. It's very durable. I hit a piece on the side with the weed wackier on accident and it didn't leave a mark.

As for warmth well my big girls were moved into the coop in march. We still had low temps and snow. They were toasty warm when you put your finger under their feathers and one end of the coop is not covered with the tarp. No drafts & no humidity problems. I don't believe in insulation in a coop. As long as they are draft free they do the rest to keep themselves toasty warm. They proved that to me last year even in their old doll house coop. Our temps in the winter are 20s to wind chills below zero. Never provided heat either and they were fine. The tots won't get it either. I want my birds to be hardy and be able to survive the extreme cold and heat.

The only "insulation" they got were some hay bales along the side of their covered runs to stop the cold winter winds. I will use me in the hoop coop if necessary since the tarp does not go all the way to the bottom for ventilation purposes. I even roll up one side during the summer for more ventilation and it helps keep the DL dryer as well. I put it down for when we are suppose to have severe thunderstorms or heavy rain.

*****edited to add.... I recommend hardware cloth over the cattle panels. I don't have mink or weasels here as predators so it was not a concern for me. Plus their electric netting surround the coop.

 

[armorfirelady]

The coop. This end faces south

 

[armorfirelady]

The roof vents after I tarred them. Dry in coop this morning.

(The vents at bottom of pic let to much rain in so they were covered & new ones put further down the sides of the coop)

 

[ChickPrincess]

Now I'm REALLY confused. Blondie is my BO hen that is broody in the garage, in her own enclosed space with 6 eggs left. She has another week and a half left before hatch and has been doing a great job (first time broody). I have her 6 eggs numbered with Sharpie. I checked on her a little while ago to clean out her poop and there were SEVEN eggs. Yup... she laid an egg. She is still acting broody and sitting on the nest. What is up with this? Can I count on her to continue?

Bump...
Has anyone else had a broody lay an egg? If so, did she continue to brood?

 

[miquwid]

.Good morning all, it's non stop raining right now ugh. Made the puppy go to the bathroom and 20 minutes later she realized I wasn't wavering and did her business in the rain. My big boy isn't bothered by or any weather, thanks goodness he's a pitbull mix and has short hair. My schnauzer mix has weird hair kind of long but it dries quickly. The chickens are good, my youngest set of babies that stay with the silkies are doing great though after two had passed. But I think these three are the strongest. In the big coop my Barred Rock is still queen bee with my crazy amber links who should be close to laying soon though probably not in this weather lol. Can't complain too much I had a week of nice weather.

I wish everyone a good day off to work.

 

[stonykill]

Bump...
Has anyone else had a broody lay an egg? If so, did she continue to brood?

never had that happen. Weird

 

[Breella]

Bump...
Has anyone else had a broody lay an egg? If so, did she continue to brood?

I think it may be more likely that your 15 year old felt guilty about being the reason she broke one of the eggs and took another from he coop to give to her as a way of apology.



Also, Last night I got scratched by one of the barred rocks on accident. She went to land on my arm while I was cleaning, lost her balance and down she went while trying to hold on to my arm.


I cleaned it up with peroxide last night and left it uncovered. This morning it is slightly pink around it and feels like that part of my arm is hot to me (not to touch, just in my sensory perception of that area) I have since put some triple antibacterial on it. I honestly didn't realize she had broken the skin until I came into the house to wash my hands.