PLEASE HELP I DON"T KNOW WHAT TO DO

[black_cat]

So for now, it seems things are under control. Your next step is a bigger run. I don't know if you can do much with the coop, but you could give them a nice place to stretch their legs,and help with any squabbles. Start scouring craigslist, Facebook marketplace... Ask people around your area for that kennel. Someone may give you one of you can haul it away.... or even a few extra panels. Then some hardware cloth for an apron along the bottom.

I definitely can't do anything about the coop. Some friends of mine have some extra chicken wire I think-but I've also been over at their place (still social distanced) and doing stuff with them lately and I don't want to be overbearing. I will offer to pay for the enlarged run setup. When I managed to glimpse inside the coop it has no obvious nesting boxes? So if I am to look for eggs right now I will have to check the whole coop for eggs, and I'll definitely have them be in the run. I'm planning to super sneakily reach in with cardboard to cover the opening so that they can't get back in while I'm setting things up. We have a puppy playpen to use as a safety net for now, but it's only about 4 ft high and they could fly over it pretty easily, so I'm hoping everything goes smoothly. I'm going to start to treat train them tomorrow-bag shaking sound=treats- so it'll hopefully be easier to catch one if they escape.

 

[Ribh]

I definitely can't do anything about the coop. Some friends of mine have some extra chicken wire I think-but I've also been over at their place (still social distanced) and doing stuff with them lately and I don't want to be overbearing. I will offer to pay for the enlarged run setup. When I managed to glimpse inside the coop it has no obvious nesting boxes? So if I am to look for eggs right now I will have to check the whole coop for eggs, and I'll definitely have them be in the run. I'm planning to super sneakily reach in with cardboard to cover the opening so that they can't get back in while I'm setting things up. We have a puppy playpen to use as a safety net for now, but it's only about 4 ft high and they could fly over it pretty easily, so I'm hoping everything goes smoothly. I'm going to start to treat train them tomorrow-bag shaking sound=treats- so it'll hopefully be easier to catch one if they escape.

I have read through & agree you need more space, both in the coop & the run, but I just want to encourage you to persist with letting your chickens get to know you are not a threat. I have Campines ~ considered super flighty like leghorns & definitely really good fliers. One of mine has been known to do a 50' circuit amongst the tree tops! It has taken months of just sitting with them, talking quietly, tit~bitting but here we are:

Aoife ~ my super flier.

Medh.

I have found once they start laying they settle down a lot & are much easier to handle. All it really requires from you is time & patience.​

 

[rosemarythyme]

Well I was waiting for photos first to get an idea of what you're working with.

I agree that best scenario here would be to get a dog kennel and put the entire set up inside, then you won't have to worry about escapees while doing coop maintenance and the chickens will have a lot more room to use.

 

[black_cat]

Well I was waiting for photos first to get an idea of what you're working with.

I agree that best scenario here would be to get a dog kennel and put the entire set up inside, then you won't have to worry about escapees while doing coop maintenance and the chickens will have a lot more room to use.

I think that that would work. I'll offer to pay for the whole thing myself as well, to maximize the chances of it actually happening. We discovered that if someone else distracts them in the run -"Who wants bugs?!" accompanied by mealworms- I'm able to open the coop, put something over the door, and check on things. The feeder and the waterer are both filled with shavings, which is unsurprising. We've modified an old box into nesting boxes, which will be placed inside tomorrow using the same method.

 

[black_cat]

We got an egg! I'm super glad because it means that they're settling in, It was from one of the red sex links, and I think I know who it was-the one we named Poppy, she was inside the coop more than any others today.

 

[black_cat]

Any ideas on what to do to feed them and such before we can get the dog kennel around it set up?

 

[aart]

We got an egg! I'm super glad because it means that they're settling in, It was from one of the red sex links,

Was probably in the works before they got moved.... late yesterday(?)
Might not see any more from her for a few days.

Any ideas on what to do to feed them and such before we can get the dog kennel around it set up?

Didn't they come with feed...thought that was part of the deal?
They'll still need layer feed always available even after you get the kennel up(which is an excellent idea).

 

[ChemicalchiCkns]

'I should appreciate what I have' and 'Need to stop complaining' and 'am acting like a spoiled brat'

A disgraceful series of conduct. If they are so unwilling to let you (honestly) do the work yourself and are presenting with the assumption that self-chosen self-done improvement of something is misconduct (they sound lazy and secretly embarrassed that you are unintentionally showing them up), possibly quietly discovering to them that the coop, that was bigger than promised, is so dangerous and cramped to be actually cruel. As the parents of a minor (I'm assuming) they are legally responsible for answering an inspector from your Ag Department or Humane Society/SPCA, paying the fines, etc. Some jurisdictions keep a list of people guilty of animal cruelty and use it to restrict their employment, that might get them to consider this an actual problem that you are trying to keep them out of.

(People who put their finger on the scale to gratify their empty feelings that and even forbid considering risks because they want to live in ignorant bliss are some of the worst to me. You have my sympathy.)

The advice is just ideas; I can't be specific or any firmer because I don't know you or your parents and I can't take private information from you that would change that. I wish you well and your chickens well.

 

[black_cat]

Was probably in the works before they got moved.... late yesterday(?)
Might not see any more from her for a few days.

Didn't they come with feed...thought that was part of the deal?
They'll still need layer feed always available even after you get the kennel up(which is an excellent idea).

No, I mean how to get to the food and water to refill them. I want to have them in the run, as they are getting full of shavings in the coop, and so I can see when I need to refill them. However, if I open the door to the run, I'm very afraid that they will escape. I can't open the coop door without a chicken distracter with me, because when they hear the latch opening they all run towards it. Yes, I'm not expecting constant eggs yet. They do come with feed. I also need advice on how to bring it up to parents, I don't want to seem needy. I've found a good looking one for about $100 that's a 4 hour round trip, and another one that's slightly smaller, $150, and a 2 hour round trip. There's another one that would fit space better for $350 and is also a 2 hour round trip. I don't know how to bring it up, I will admit that I unconsciously notice the bad in a situation instead of the good, and I have almost reached the limit on what I can ask for. I do sometimes bring things up over and over again, and I'm working on that. I can't drive, but would come in the car and pay for the kennel.

 

[black_cat]

A disgraceful series of conduct. If they are so unwilling to let you (honestly) do the work yourself and are presenting with the assumption that self-chosen self-done improvement of something is misconduct (they sound lazy and secretly embarrassed that you are unintentionally showing them up), possibly quietly discovering to them that the coop, that was bigger than promised, is so dangerous and cramped to be actually cruel. As the parents of a minor (I'm assuming) they are legally responsible for answering an inspector from your Ag Department or Humane Society/SPCA, paying the fines, etc. Some jurisdictions keep a list of people guilty of animal cruelty and use it to restrict their employment, that might get them to consider this an actual problem that you are trying to keep them out of.

(People who put their finger on the scale to gratify their empty feelings that and even forbid considering risks because they want to live in ignorant bliss are some of the worst to me. You have my sympathy.)

The advice is just ideas; I can't be specific or any firmer because I don't know you or your parents and I can't take private information from you that would change that. I wish you well and your chickens well.

They are generally more ok. I'm quoting an earlier conversation here, and I think I went about it the wrong way then. I get frustrated with them because they seem unwilling to listen to me, and they get frustrated with me for the same reason. The difference (to me) is that I've done LOADS of research and do know what's best in the situation for once. I'll pick a time (probably tomorrow, when they're in a good mood, to bring it up again, hopefully with better results. I'll also mention that with some modifications, that chain link run could also be used if we were to build a bigger coop and get more birds.