PLEASE HELP I DON"T KNOW WHAT TO DO

[NatJ]

Yes, I've looked into it enough to know that you don't want to cut into bone. I know that pinfeathers are full of blood.

Good! I wasn't sure which things you had already learned about wing clipping, so I wanted to be sure it was clear

 

[rosemarythyme]

I was thinking a staple gun? I don't want to ask for any new materials on this so that is what I'd have.

Yeah that's a pretty weak attachment method. Better would be to fold up a few inches of the wire to make an L shape (so a few inches up the wire wall, rest of the chicken wire lying flat on the ground), and then if you have a roll of wire or zip ties, attach it to the existing fencing every couple of inches. Might as well reinforce with staples as well since you have them.

Attach the apron to the ground with landscape staples (or a sturdy enough roll of wire can be bent into the shape of staples, so that'd do double duty)

 

[black_cat]

Good! I wasn't sure which things you had already learned about wing clipping, so I wanted to be sure it was clear

All good! I've looked into it a bit, but haven't gone super in depth because I currently am unsure if I would actually do it. I also wanted to check what other people thought of it. On a similar subject I am wondering what people think of beak clipping-not that I would want to do this to my birds, but because they all came with clipped beaks and I was wondering how that was regarded in the general chicken keeping community.

 

[black_cat]

Yeah that's a pretty weak attachment method. Better would be to fold up a few inches of the wire to make an L shape (so a few inches up the wire wall, rest of the chicken wire lying flat on the ground), and then if you have a roll of wire or zip ties, attach it to the existing fencing every couple of inches. Might as well reinforce with staples as well since you have them.

Attach the apron to the ground with landscape staples (or a sturdy enough roll of wire can be bent into the shape of staples, so that'd do double duty)

that makes sense! Would I want to put the vertical let of the L on the inside of the existing fencing or the outside? I will check if we have any wire, but we definitely don't have landscape staples (I'm at least 99% sure of that)

 

[Hartsharvestfarms]

Don’t worry! You have 4 hens and are totally new at this. It’s manageable! The most important lessons I have learned on the farm come from doing things completely wrong! You’re lucky you’re learning about the importance of secure housing with chickens and not pigs, which is what happened on our homestead! It’s hard to offer a solution without pictures, but worst case scenario you could stick your 4 hens in a dog crate (collect them at night when they are calm and close the door behind you so they don’t escape) and keep them in there while you fix your coop. It’s not ideal and won’t work for very long, but if you need to keep them safe to build something acceptable, you have to do what you have to do! 4 hens do not need much indoor space and could share 1 nesting box. Suitable egg collecting will come after figuring out how your hens like to lay. We went through several nesting box styles before finding the best fit for our birds was an old dresser on its side with no drawers. It isn’t as fancy as the ones we built, but it’s what they would lay in! It is unlikely they will lay if they are feeling stressed out anyways. Just stay calm and keep it simple! If the set up you purchased doesn’t work have the farmers come fix it or take it back and build a SIMPLE coop or buy a cheap one from tractor supply or Walmart. You can (and will) always be changing/adjusting/improving your set up later! To help relax your hens, firstly just give them a little bit of time - sounds like they have had a lot of changes. Second, spend some time just sitting with them. Chickens are prey animals so if you stand over them or try to chase them they are going to instinctively try to get away from you. Just sit in a chair, throw some feed down and let them come to you. They may never be treat trained or lovey lap chickens, but only time and patience will tell. Food and water, your going to want to check it every day for now anyways, so not being able to just look in for now is fine. Until you get in tune with knowing how much your birds eat/drink a day and how often it needs to be cleaned out, it’s better to just look.

 

[NatJ]

we definitely don't have landscape staples (I'm at least 99% sure of that)

Wire clothes hangers? (if no-one wants them.)
Forked sticks? Will rot, but can work for a bit.

 

[Hartsharvestfarms]

I would not clip my birds beaks, they really need all the parts to be able to eat. If it’s a concern of an aggressive bird, that can definitely be influenced by the breeds you bring home. Personally, we do not keep aggressive birds on the farm. They go into the pot.

 

[black_cat]

Don’t worry! You have 4 hens and are totally new at this. It’s manageable! The most important lessons I have learned on the farm come from doing things completely wrong! You’re lucky you’re learning about the importance of secure housing with chickens and not pigs, which is what happened on our homestead! It’s hard to offer a solution without pictures, but worst case scenario you could stick your 4 hens in a dog crate (collect them at night when they are calm and close the door behind you so they don’t escape) and keep them in there while you fix your coop. It’s not ideal and won’t work for very long, but if you need to keep them safe to build something acceptable, you have to do what you have to do! 4 hens do not need much indoor space and could share 1 nesting box. Suitable egg collecting will come after figuring out how your hens like to lay. We went through several nesting box styles before finding the best fit for our birds was an old dresser on its side with no drawers. It isn’t as fancy as the ones we built, but it’s what they would lay in! It is unlikely they will lay if they are feeling stressed out anyways. Just stay calm and keep it simple! If the set up you purchased doesn’t work have the farmers come fix it or take it back and build a SIMPLE coop or buy a cheap one from tractor supply or Walmart. You can (and will) always be changing/adjusting/improving your set up later! To help relax your hens, firstly just give them a little bit of time - sounds like they have had a lot of changes. Second, spend some time just sitting with them. Chickens are prey animals so if you stand over them or try to chase them they are going to instinctively try to get away from you. Just sit in a chair, throw some feed down and let them come to you. They may never be treat trained or lovey lap chickens, but only time and patience will tell. Food and water, your going to want to check it every day for now anyways, so not being able to just look in for now is fine. Until you get in tune with knowing how much your birds eat/drink a day and how often it needs to be cleaned out, it’s better to just look.

This is not our permanent setup (thank god) but it is only with the rental that we have (don't ask) I can't actually sit inside the run with them, or let them out (they will run away) We are getting an extension for our run, and it is coming on Friday (hallelujah!) Which will hopefully allow me to sit with them some. The nesting box that we have now is a modified box that is about 8 inches wide (This may be too short?) I'm hoping they'll start to lay (I don't care if they lay in the nesting box right now, just lay!) soon. We've gotten one egg, but I think that it was already in progress before they were brought over.

 

[black_cat]

I would not clip my birds beaks, they really need all the parts to be able to eat. If it’s a concern of an aggressive bird, that can definitely be influenced by the breeds you bring home. Personally, we do not keep aggressive birds on the farm. They go into the pot.

Ok, thanks for the response-I wouldn't clip them either, I was just wondering because all of mine came with clipped beaks (some more noticeably than others) and I was wondering if it was really considered as bad for them as I thought it was.

 

[black_cat]

Wire clothes hangers? (if no-one wants them.)
Forked sticks? Will rot, but can work for a bit.

We definitely have wire clothes hangers, and wire cutters! That's a great idea.