Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

[LittleMissPurdy]

LittleMissPurdy, your chooks are gorgeous! What is the black one, I love it! They look very happy and healthy too!

BirdSByGavin, I would love to have some chooks peeking in my window! That pic was so funny, I had to show my husband.

Here is an update on my coop:

Third wall went up today, along with insulation I found at a yard sale yesterday (2$ for a huge sheet!). Don't worry, I will be covering the insulation! Pics coming soon, I don't see the option to add them right now.

Chicka- is a BC Marans...they are so much fun to watch, alot of personality! ...Hey, the coop is coming alone very well!! Tow birds with one stone...your carpentry skills improve & the chickies get a house!!! It is amazing how much I have learned with just a few chickens, somethings I didn't think would even relate to "chicken keeping".

Little MIss Purdy:
How old are your BIG GIRLS--------they are so pretty!

Ginger(BL) is 1yr&1month..and Babs(partridge)10 months...Thank you

**Stake- the little one is learning a big-girl cluck! hahaha, funniest thing, I can only imagine what a cockerel is like!!...The girls get the plants I have been pulling out...I would like to put them in there, but I do not have the extra fencing right now, they are still enjoying the veggies though!

 

[LittleMissPurdy]

The drake, Digger, is already "doing" his thing lol. Gavin named the noisier of the two hens Katy...I love him, I love him, I love him...

The only thing I would worry about would be the bags disintegrating, a lot of the newer mulch bags are biodegradable. You could try painters type plastic, sold by the sheet or roll at any home improvement store. The extra can be used for a any number if things, including enclosing the run for a wind break in winter, if you get the roll that is.
But that will also break down eventually too. Your best bet for longevity would be tar paper or another roofing paper.

.X's2....sometimes Craigs list has misc. items such as this...

(tar/roof paper)

 

[SilkieSensation]

Quote: I have found it is best to put several new birds in at once when possible. In really small flocks this may not be possible (but also won't matter nearly as much). I find that the older birds tend to gang up on new ones unless there are enough of them to spread out the attention & also to allow the new ones to band together for security.

Quote:
I have an entire roll sitting here. If you send me the dimensions & I can get it rolled up right once I unroll it, I'll send you what you need if you pay shipping. Cheaper than gas to go get some probably.

 

[stake]

That's is the picture of the three walls finally up. The back wall will (hopefully) be a huge door so I have easy access to clean the entire coop. I put hinges on, but after I attached the door, the hinges wouldn't open, so I have to redo them. It's only a mistake if you don't learn from it, right?

Above pic shows hinges that have now been removed. One thing I forgot to do was to cut out the hole for the door and the nest boxes, so I will have to do that with the walls in position!

.

I was very thankful to find leftover shingles from re-roofing our shed. I know it is customary to use roofing paper underneath shingles, but do you guys think I could use leftover plastic mulch bags stapled down? I think I just need a fairly watertight surface before I install the shingles. Thoughts?

Annie:

There is a product at Home Depot, poly...something(plumbing isle)...it is sold by the foot and the roll is 4' in length. It is a rubberized material that folks put behind the wall around the tub/shower in the bathroom...if memory serves its about 5$/ft....might be worth a look.....

 

[Brittany7]

Anne

For not having any building skills your coop is coming together nicely!!! You should be proud of yourself! And I would have to agree with everyone else you need to put something down before your shingles. Its better to spend some cash now then to have to replace your roof in a few years when it rots out from water laying behind your shingles. I found some old rubber roofing at our house....the people that owned it before us thought it made good walk ways from the driveway to the house...hahha Ask around someone might know someone who can get you some. I wish you were closer I still have some extra!


Good Luck!

 

[LizardCat]

. So now the animal huggers are thinking they are doing right by releasing carnivorous animals into an environment they have no idea how to survive in??? What an idiot move!!

Not to defend any of the more "action oriented" animal rights groups, but has anyone claimed responsibility for this?

 

[wingstone]

Can someone verify that I am getting this right...I really do not want to call the state.
As far as the meaties that I raise, to my understanding as long s the consumer of such meat is picking up from the place it was raised, I am perfectly legal at selling as long as I sell this in small numbers

Thinking about turning a spare room into an actual butcher room and getting a license to use it,,,but for the time being just how shady is my operation

Having a hard time with the legal mumbo jombo,,,it is all in a foreign language to me

 

[BirdbyGavin1103]

Not to defend any of the more "action oriented" animal rights groups, but has anyone claimed responsibility for this?

I think it was Animal Liberation Front, but I could be wrong.

 

[stake]

Can someone verify that I am getting this right...I really do not want to call the state.
As far as the meaties that I raise, to my understanding as long s the consumer of such meat is picking up from the place it was raised, I am perfectly legal at selling as long as I sell this in small numbers

Thinking about turning a spare room into an actual butcher room and getting a license to use it,,,but for the time being just how shady is my operation

Having a hard time with the legal mumbo jombo,,,it is all in a foreign language to me

Wing:

I am not a legal beagle, but, there are strict codes surrounding butchering animals....in general lots of Stainless steel...and you would need to document your cleaning strategies..also, they'd want to know about your water/supply and probably disposal...I only know something about this related by an uncle who wanted to raise and sell rabbit meat...(the new chicken)...he was told he'd need $25K in stainless steel...he ended up with 400 rabbits in his freezer..that was quite a few years ago....my two cents....

 

[barbiegirl]

Argh!!! The chicks that Sally (my silkie) hatched out on July 4th look like roosters to me now. This morning I seen a bunch of saddle feathers on the black and white one and looked at the white ones and I think I see saddle feathers coming in on those two as well!!! Is it possible for a broodie to only hatch out males? Last year 7 out of 7 silver laced wyandotte chicks were roosters as well. Or is it just my bad luck?