post your chicken coop pictures here!

[Teila]

We have had an extraordinary amount of rain this wet season and while the gals were dry in their coop, the shade cloth covering the run was not stopping the run from getting wet and muddy. We do not have a solid cover on the run (just wire) due to the heat factor in summer.

It is not pretty but it does the trick ... The run is now peaked to allow rain run off. If it looks like we are in for a considerable amount of rain (today for example) I peg clear shower curtains to the existing shade cloth. The shower curtains came from a Reject Shop (not sure if you have something similar) and were $5 each.

Every summer hubby drags the large wading pool, complete with pump etc, out of the shed, pumps up the support ring, fills it with water and pretty much lives in it!

The poor ole pool that we have had for 4 years now has seen better days and the support ring has developed a few leaks, causing breaches, water loss and dramas etc. So we made a decision that next summer we will get a new one (for $100, 4 summers was pretty good value!).

Anyways, as I am cutting this thing up to put in the rubbish bin I had a light bulb moment … the floor of the pool will make a great rain coat for the run. After discarding the sides and support ring, I measured up the floor, cut it, scrubbed it and I am now using it now to cover the main run. It does not cover the whole set up and I still have to use my previous shower curtains as well but it is a definite improvement.

It has rained all day today and the girls have been out in the run which is perfectly dry and so are they. They even managed a dust bath.




This is what we have to contend with if we leave food outside .. Cane toads; eeeew!

 

[Sylvester017]

We have had an extraordinary amount of rain this wet season and while the gals were dry in their coop, the shade cloth covering the run was not stopping the run from getting wet and muddy. We do not have a solid cover on the run (just wire) due to the heat factor in summer.




Hi Teila - I sympathize. We live in a drought hot zone with merciless humidity at end of summer but when we get a day or two of rain the excess water is miserable for an open airy-designed coop where the run has dirt for rainy day dust baths. We got tired of tarps and canopies over the little coop/run and plan a patio roof over the new coop. My contractor doesn't know my decision yet so hope he can figure a way to extend the planned new patio roof into an L-shape to include the coop. God forbid if someday we can't have chickens with a coop anymore at least the extended roof can house a small shed or outdoor cabinets that would be shielded from sun or rain by the patio roof. The roof would be good for keeping a dog/doghouse protected too. We don't need a lanai - just shielding from the blasted sun and rainy days.


This is what we have to contend with if we leave food outside .. Cane toads; eeeew!





I know nothing about toads. We only have occasional garden lizards. What's EEEEW about Cane Toads?

 

[Teila]

Sylvester017 your patio over the coop sounds ideal! I wish I could do something like that here but we rent and have to make the best with what we have.

Cane toads are an invasive species introduced by some ‘genius’ to control cane beetles. Cane beetles tend to live at the top of the cane and cane toads cannot jump that high … go figure

Seriously now, apparently, the cane beetle larvae are buried underground and feed on the roots of the cane and the toads were introduced to combat that. In 1935, 102 young toads were released in Queensland and they now number somewhere over the 200 million mark and are spreading further as they adapt.

Studies have shown that the toads have caused a large detrimental affect on the environment but there is no evidence that they have had an impact on the beetles.

They have very few predators in Australia and they are a threat to the native frogs, snakes, goannas, skinks, birds and other species, either eating them or competing for their food source. Also, they are poisonous, if your dog or cat licks or tries to eat one it can kill them; along with anything else that tries to eat them.

They have poison glands on the back of their heads and can weight up to 1.5kg (3.3 pounds).

But the main reason for eeeew, they are warty, ugly, generally obnoxious and everwhere!

The only saving grace is that they tend to hide from the sun during the day and only come out at night so not much chance of a chicken trying to eat one … mind you, they are too big for my chickens to eat and if they saw one, they would probably run away while alerting the neighbourhood of impending danger!

 

[peastix]

Sylvester017 your patio over the coop sounds ideal! I wish I could do something like that here but we rent and have to make the best with what we have.

Cane toads are an invasive species introduced by some ‘genius’ to control cane beetles. Cane beetles tend to live at the top of the cane and cane toads cannot jump that high … go figure

Seriously now, apparently, the cane beetle larvae are buried underground and feed on the roots of the cane and the toads were introduced to combat that. In 1935, 102 young toads were released in Queensland and they now number somewhere over the 200 million mark and are spreading further as they adapt.

Studies have shown that the toads have caused a large detrimental affect on the environment but there is no evidence that they have had an impact on the beetles.

They have very few predators in Australia and they are a threat to the native frogs, snakes, goannas, skinks, birds and other species, either eating them or competing for their food source. Also, they are poisonous, if your dog or cat licks or tries to eat one it can kill them; along with anything else that tries to eat them.

They have poison glands on the back of their heads and can weight up to 1.5kg (3.3 pounds).

But the main reason for eeeew, they are warty, ugly, generally obnoxious and everwhere!

The only saving grace is that they tend to hide from the sun during the day and only come out at night so not much chance of a chicken trying to eat one … mind you, they are too big for my chickens to eat and if they saw one, they would probably run away while alerting the neighbourhood of impending danger!

I was told by someone who used to live in Australia that they kept a freezer in the garage just for Cane toads.The toads were put in said freezer which sent them permanently to sleep then on rubbish day they were double bagged and put out with the rubbish.They did this to keep the population down as much as possible

 

[Teila]

I was told by someone who used to live in Australia that they kept a freezer in the garage just for Cane toads.The toads were put in said freezer which sent them permanently to sleep then on rubbish day they were double bagged and put out with the rubbish.They did this to keep the population down as much as possible

Yep, that sounds right! People also collect them to make handbags, stuffed toad ornaments, hats, shoes, all sorts of stuff.

While I definitely do not condone this practice, people have been known to go out at night with a golf club and use the cane toads as practice. Not something I would ever consider doing and as much as I dislike them, I could not hurt one. But I mention this because it was quite popular for a while and I remember reading 'for humane reasons' it is recommended that you rub haemorrhoid cream (or similar) on the cane toad before hitting it with said golf club. Seriously??

I believe the problem could be fixed pretty quickly if the Government or some Agency was happy to fund it. Put a $1 or $2 bounty on every live cane toad handed in. The kids and probably adults would be out there every night, collecting up cane toads and handing them in. This would also mean that they could be humanely put to rest. Simple!

 

[Red Star Hens]

If you don't add more chickens this coop will do fine if it is eventually put INSIDE a larger covered run.  Chickens only use coops to sleep or lay eggs but be advised the smaller coops are easily attacked by stray mutts or clever raccoons because the wood is not very secure on these smaller models.  Love the boulder barrier at the perimeter base of the coop.

New coop and run materials are being gathered at this moment. My girls will have more protection and more room soon. Just 4 weeks old, they haven't even spent the night out there yet.

 

[Sylvester017]

Sylvester017 your patio over the coop sounds ideal! I wish I could do something like that here but we rent and have to make the best with what we have.

Cane toads are an invasive species introduced by some ‘genius’ to control cane beetles. Cane beetles tend to live at the top of the cane and cane toads cannot jump that high … go figure

Seriously now, apparently, the cane beetle larvae are buried underground and feed on the roots of the cane and the toads were introduced to combat that. In 1935, 102 young toads were released in Queensland and they now number somewhere over the 200 million mark and are spreading further as they adapt.

Studies have shown that the toads have caused a large detrimental affect on the environment but there is no evidence that they have had an impact on the beetles.

They have very few predators in Australia and they are a threat to the native frogs, snakes, goannas, skinks, birds and other species, either eating them or competing for their food source. Also, they are poisonous, if your dog or cat licks or tries to eat one it can kill them; along with anything else that tries to eat them.

They have poison glands on the back of their heads and can weight up to 1.5kg (3.3 pounds).

But the main reason for eeeew, they are warty, ugly, generally obnoxious and everwhere!

The only saving grace is that they tend to hide from the sun during the day and only come out at night so not much chance of a chicken trying to eat one … mind you, they are too big for my chickens to eat and if they saw one, they would probably run away while alerting the neighbourhood of impending danger!

I was thinking about your needing a cover over an open dirt pen for protection. Would a 10x10 or 12x12 or 13x13 pop-up canopy over the run help to protect from UV rays or rain? When our canopy shreds we buy inexpensive tarp in a color or camou we like and ball tie the tarp rings to the canopy frame and we're good for another season of wear and tear - about once a year we only replace the top because the canopy frame lasts for years. We bury the frame about 6-8 inches in the soil so it doesn't para-sail in high winds.

Those toads sound very nasty and dangerous indeed! What were the authorities thinking by bringing in such dangerous species? Now they've got to think up another predator to introduce to eradicate the toads! Maybe set up some Havahart traps around the yard at night to get rid of at least your nearby toad population or are they declared protected? That's a freakin' dangerous species for populated areas..

 

[Teila]

Hey Sylvester017 thank you for the suggestion

We have a gazebo that we use on our deck for us and we did consider one over the run but it would probably be too high and rain would come in under. If we make one too low, we have issues getting access to the run. The run is not tall and I can high-kick into it (mind you, I am just off 6ft tall!).

The shade cloth does the trick the majority of the time, it is heavy duty and it is only during the continual torrential downpours that we have an issue. That is when I break out the run rain coat

Yeah, the introduction of a poisonous, invasive species with no natural predators is probably not listed as one of our finest achievements

 

[Sylvester017]

Hey Sylvester017 thank you for the suggestion

We have a gazebo that we use on our deck for us and we did consider one over the run but it would probably be too high and rain would come in under. If we make one too low, we have issues getting access to the run. The run is not tall and I can high-kick into it (mind you, I am just off 6ft tall!).

The shade cloth does the trick the majority of the time, it is heavy duty and it is only during the continual torrential downpours that we have an issue. That is when I break out the run rain coat

Yeah, the introduction of a poisonous, invasive species with no natural predators is probably not listed as one of our finest achievements

We considered a gazebo but they are too tall. After burying a regular pop-up canopy in the soil to keep from para-sailing the canopy turns out not too short nor too tall over the coop and we could stand under it when collecting eggs. Gazebos were too heavy IMO so we went with the lighter pop-ups that we could re-cover every season. I guess we all do whatever works best for us.

Hawaii had a similar predator problem on one of their islands by introducing Mongoose or some such animal and it started decimating to extinction a lot of the indigenous island species. Leave it to humans to think they're smarter than Nature !

 

[plumtree3]