Pennsylvania!! Unite!!

Pics
Date sort Score sort
chiques chicks said:
Actually, a few years ago there was a people house up the road from me made of straw. I think they used it for a few years until their other house was finished, or as a demonstration. Don't know if it's still there.

Let the three little pig jokes begin.
Click to expand...


Since you technically need a permit to even put a fence post in the ground, I can not imagine the hoops one would have to jump for that.
 
How long do you wait before you toss the clear eggs from the incubator? I'm only on day 5 but some already have nice veining and a few either have the red ring or nothing. Of course the 2 serama eggs I really, really wanted to hatch have nothing.
 
My peeps said:
How long do you wait before you toss the clear eggs from the incubator? I'm only on day 5 but some already have nice veining and a few either have the red ring or nothing. Of course the 2 serama eggs I really, really wanted to hatch have nothing.
Click to expand...

I never throw out an egg until at least 7 or 8 days. Even then, only if I'm sure it's not developing and I need the space in the incubator.. I see no harm in leaving them in until the others hatch, though after 2 weeks, if I can still see through the egg as when it was first set, there is no chance for that one.
 
Auroradream26 said:
SilkieSensation said:
You need more chickens!
Click to expand...


haha! My husband would KILL me if I brought more home lol.
Click to expand...


1000
 
stake said:
Bear:

Just a couple of things to add....are you going Bantam or Large Foul, and some breeds do well in pens and some need to free range....I personally think $2-300.00 is a bit low for coop costs...even if you build yourself...you might consider a pallet coop...(Sally Sunshine built a nice one and has links in her signature)....I bought a kit to start and it was really not well made....and like Aura says....build bigger than you think you will need...after you get started you will want room extra room to grow....my two cents
Click to expand...
Bear----I recently made a new coop ----my version of Sally sunshines Hinkel haus that you can see in the coop section here in backyard chickens. I was able to use pallets for walls and floors, had to buy t1-11 shed siding.
got free shingles
got low cost cinder blocks at habitat for humanity restore
also got vinyl floor tiles at the hab for hum restore
had to buy wood for roof supports and roof board
hardware--------hinges and nails and screws are costly , believe it or not....
used 2 old windows that were in the basement and made a few hardware cloth windows
family helped with the labor----this was very helpful
I am still painting it and working on the nest boxes and roosts
its 4x8
hardware cloth is costly............but I feel its hard to go around this as its a safety measure.

I am still building the new run...........

I am not sure what I spent all together.............but its at least 200 but it would have cost MUCH MUCH more

plus the pallets I got were excellent...........truly excellent quality...........

I have a basic picture on here.........just click on my profile and find pics


I also totally agree with Stake that the prefab ones are very thin wood and poorly constructed yet seem to look pretty in advertisements etc............
building you own is hard work ,
if you are trying to keep costs down it takes time to gather low cost materials from craigs list or freecycle etc............

In my opinion and bigger than you need, well thought out, home made coop is better than a prefab.

I made this new coop thinking it will be big enough for my needs for a long time.
Last year was my first coop .................and first time raising chickens............now that I know I want to keep doing this I made a big , durable, coop that I am thinking will last for a long time.

building coops is a lot of work! so I don't want to do this too often!

Raising chickens is not that hard.
building coops and runs is the hardest part , in my opinion!

Now keep in mind I have 4 chickens only..........

but still if the the coop and run are a good set up..............

feed, water, clean out --------------is not that hard
occasional special events occur
buy food and supplies

raising a few chickens is comparable to another type of pet............( cat or dog)

good luck!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom