PLEASE HELP I DON"T KNOW WHAT TO DO

[thepick4uchicks]

Mine seem to like the wood shavings, and they're stuck with them as my parents certainly do not want to buy a different kind of bedding for them when we have a whole bunch of one kind. I have some diatomaceous earth that came late that I"m going to mix into their dusting mixture-a mixture of sand and topsoil, and now DE. It is less hot here than where you are, thankfully. We've had some days that are VERY hot, but then rain comes in the next few days that clears out the heat and humidity. Don't worry about my 'tender ears' I also have some words for the rental people that the moderators wouldn't appreciate. I think that it is like 30% my fault we got fleeced, for not looking at reviews or looking too deep into the farm or the rental, and 70% my parents, who made me go along with it, and also didn't do their chicken research. We're working through it. How is your brooder set up? If we keep these girls I'd love to add 2 or 3 more chicks in a few years. My friends both use dog crates but I foresee my cat's paw going through one of those....

I used a huge dog kennel after mine got really big. I have larger breeds. The Orpingtons are dual purpose and get upwards of ten pounds fully grown so they are big girls. My Legbars and Flower hens so far are hanging closely right in there with them at this age but I know they will top out about 8 pounds and be more wirey and less likely to stay at the feeder and do more foraging gif they have the opportunity. I put chicken wire on my kennel with zip ties to keep out predators when I put them outdoors but you could fuse hardware cloth over one instead. You could also use a smaller kennel if you only have a few birds at a time. I would recommend starting them outdoors in a protected situation in your coop as soon as you could since your coop is pretty large you said. If you can protect them from the older girls but let them see one another this will help them integrate into the flock sooner and better also allowing them to learn from your older girls as well as be acclimated to the outdoors at a much earlier age. There is a great article published by “azygous” on BYC on here about this topic. I think it’s called brooding your chicks outdoors in the coop. But maybe not exactly those terms but just do a search under his name and it will pop up. It has been very popular due to the success of the topic, it’s information as well as how true and successful people have been doing this for years. It beats bringing them up in the house and having such a mess. It shows how hardy the little chicks really are even at low temperatures and how smart they are at very young ages and how resourceful they are given the proper safety needs, feed, and water. I will be getting more little ones in the fall probably but raising them outside in the coop with my older girls. I want to see how my girls do laying first and see which of the three breeds do the best at laying and what type of egg production I get out of who or which. I favor my Flower hens sweet nature but actually all of my breeds are sweet really. My Orpingtons are sweet they are just pecking all the time at me for treats and want to always have the most attention for food. They are piggies. My Creme Legbars are nice but they are a little reserved but like to be petted and come right to me. My Flower hens are have always been the first to come to me for pets and to try new things as well as to be caught but they all settle down when “Mama” talks and sings to them. Bad because Mama is not a singer for sure but I sing their names to them to keep them familiar to me and their names and it has worked yet it is hilarious! Lol! Never in the world thought my husband would ever cave and agree to let me have chickens. Never would have thought. Not one bit. I believe that your chicks will be happy with their bedding and the DE will work good. Feel free to message me anytime and let’s stay in touch about one another’s progress on our chicken journey. I wish you much luck!
Pam

 

[black_cat]

I used a huge dog kennel after mine got really big. I have larger breeds. The Orpingtons are dual purpose and get upwards of ten pounds fully grown so they are big girls. My Legbars and Flower hens so far are hanging closely right in there with them at this age but I know they will top out about 8 pounds and be more wirey and less likely to stay at the feeder and do more foraging gif they have the opportunity. I put chicken wire on my kennel with zip ties to keep out predators when I put them outdoors but you could fuse hardware cloth over one instead. You could also use a smaller kennel if you only have a few birds at a time. I would recommend starting them outdoors in a protected situation in your coop as soon as you could since your coop is pretty large you said. If you can protect them from the older girls but let them see one another this will help them integrate into the flock sooner and better also allowing them to learn from your older girls as well as be acclimated to the outdoors at a much earlier age. There is a great article published by “azygous” on BYC on here about this topic. I think it’s called brooding your chicks outdoors in the coop. But maybe not exactly those terms but just do a search under his name and it will pop up. It has been very popular due to the success of the topic, it’s information as well as how true and successful people have been doing this for years. It beats bringing them up in the house and having such a mess. It shows how hardy the little chicks really are even at low temperatures and how smart they are at very young ages and how resourceful they are given the proper safety needs, feed, and water. I will be getting more little ones in the fall probably but raising them outside in the coop with my older girls. I want to see how my girls do laying first and see which of the three breeds do the best at laying and what type of egg production I get out of who or which. I favor my Flower hens sweet nature but actually all of my breeds are sweet really. My Orpingtons are sweet they are just pecking all the time at me for treats and want to always have the most attention for food. They are piggies. My Creme Legbars are nice but they are a little reserved but like to be petted and come right to me. My Flower hens are have always been the first to come to me for pets and to try new things as well as to be caught but they all settle down when “Mama” talks and sings to them. Bad because Mama is not a singer for sure but I sing their names to them to keep them familiar to me and their names and it has worked yet it is hilarious! Lol! Never in the world thought my husband would ever cave and agree to let me have chickens. Never would have thought. Not one bit. I believe that your chicks will be happy with their bedding and the DE will work good. Feel free to message me anytime and let’s stay in touch about one another’s progress on our chicken journey. I wish you much luck!
Pam

..........Did you say I had a big coop? Exactly the opposite, it's a tiny one! I have laying hens, not chicks, but was wondering because I want to get some chicks in the future! I'll think about brooding in coop when I actually get chicks-and that'll be at least a year after we're keeping the rental, most likely, and that's only if we keep the rental! I'm working super hard to keep the chickens and build them a bigger coop.

 

[black_cat]

This morning's update:
It turns out that there was a hook on the roost that I never even noticed? I'm wondering if they'll just get more poop in the water....I hung up the water on that hook to see what happens. I took the nesting box out, and just put a decoy egg in one corner of the coop. I'll see if they just didn't like the nesting box. Do people think that it's ok to tie a piece of string to the top of the run, tie a treat on the other end, and hang it for them so that they could try to get it? Would they be able to eat the string?

 

[black_cat]

I've had an Idea (with a capital I because it's a very big idea)
I can get one of these cheap off of craigslist or letgo:

You have to take it apart anyway to bring it home. It has a premade house part, and plenty of extra wood that I could use to fix it up and make the run. I could also resell any swings/slides to make some money back.

What do people think about that? Would it work?

 

[NatJ]

I can get one of these cheap off of craigslist or letgo:...What do people think about that? Would it work?

If you mean to use it as a frame, then cover with hardware cloth and otherwise finish it into a coop and run: yes, it can work.

It's a fairly sturdy frame, which is a good start.

Remember to think about about all the usual considerations: ventilation, shelter from weather (sun, rain, snow, cold), cleaning, collecting eggs, feeding/watering chickens, predator-proofing, roosting space, ability to catch chickens as needed, etc.

When you start with any pre-built structure, it's easy to forget some detail until after you think you're done. Of course, it's easy to do that when building from scratch, too

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

Yep! Now that we've gotten an extension for the run, I'm gonna be patient and deal with what I've got. I think that the whole 'abandoned pets' thing is why my parents wanted the rental-that way if I abandoned them (which I won't) we could just give the chickens back. The chickens are making a bit of a mess in their coop right now, but that is because they are confined in a small space. Not enough space=more poop per square foot! I will look into getting some chicken wire at some point for the whole playing thing. Otherwise I will back off on the asking, up until the deadline of when I'd talk about having them stay. Out of curiosity, what happened to the ferret? (I love ferrets and they're adorable, but I don't think I'd be able to care for them well) (I'd just be bad at it) (I'm not passionate about them like I am about chickens, so I wouldn't stay dedicated)

I made my son return the ferret to the friend that gave it to him. He was in high school and had too many distractions, lol. We had even built him a pen for it, and he promised to take care of it because I didn’t even want a ferret. I told him if he stopped caring for it he would have to give it back. He was devoted to it for about three weeks. Before long I was completely caring for the ferret. They are cute but they are very smelly, they poop A LOT!

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

I've had an Idea (with a capital I because it's a very big idea)
I can get one of these cheap off of craigslist or letgo:
View attachment 2230138
You have to take it apart anyway to bring it home. It has a premade house part, and plenty of extra wood that I could use to fix it up and make the run. I could also resell any swings/slides to make some money back.

What do people think about that? Would it work?

I think this item has potential. It can be reconstructed to be a really cute coop and run, if you are handy at this kind of work. Are you very crafty? I only ask because I am not and I wish I was. I have no talent for building things.

 

[black_cat]

If you mean to use it as a frame, then cover with hardware cloth and otherwise finish it into a coop and run: yes, it can work.

It's a fairly sturdy frame, which is a good start.

Remember to think about about all the usual considerations: ventilation, shelter from weather (sun, rain, snow, cold), cleaning, collecting eggs, feeding/watering chickens, predator-proofing, roosting space, ability to catch chickens as needed, etc.

When you start with any pre-built structure, it's easy to forget some detail until after you think you're done. Of course, it's easy to do that when building from scratch, too

Yep! I've been planning it out...for one of these, you have to disassemble it anyway to take it away from the person's house. I might not use the frame exactly how it is, but I could definitely use all of the wood. I'm wondering how much I'd spend on the project overall-I can get one of those playground things for about $175-$300. Another option I was thinking of would be to get one of these:

I can get one RIGHT NOW off letgo for $60, but they usually seem to go at anywhere $100-$300. This seemed like it could be good for a coop, but the downside is I'd have to get all the wood and stuff, instead of getting bonus wood.

 

[black_cat]

I think this item has potential. It can be reconstructed to be a really cute coop and run, if you are handy at this kind of work. Are you very crafty? I only ask because I am not and I wish I was. I have no talent for building things.

I don't have much experience with building things, but I am pretty confident that I can figure it out as well as make a plan beforehand, which will help me.

 

[NatJ]

The plastic playhouse things are often quite small.
The "house" part of a big play structure is often small, too.

In my eyes, the major value of the big swinset-type toy is that big triangular frame: cover it with hardware cloth, add some perches at several different levels, and you've got a really nice run that you can go inside too. Add a tarp or roof to deal with rain/snow, and be sure there's shade in the summer (trees or roof/tarp.)