post your chicken coop pictures here!

[gpeters3]

What a lovely girl! You must post her eggs for us to see. Apparently she's got a blue-egg parent. She looks somewhat Australorp or maybe Marans in her? You don't expect green eggs from a bird that looks like her - lovely!

Here is the hen and here are her eggs (the green (or baby blue) ones)



Here is the new water setup and the feed. The bucket is there because I didn't use lube and the plug leaks. I'll wait till it empties and fix it. I'm going to add a sight hose on the fill side so I can tell when it's getting full or, especially, empty. It will be 5' top to bottom and I can just barely reach the top to fill it. Still haven't worked out a slick plan for filling it but I need to come up with something a little more convenient than running the hose from the back of the barn......... Just happens I have to go to town in a few so..........



And here are her new buddies all tuckered out due to running around to see what I was doing in their home. I also discovered I have an escape artist, one of the leghorns almost got out the door.



It truly is a plan finally coming together. I never dreamed I would go this far but it grows on you. My plan isn't just about the chickens. The run is designed as a green house structure with potential to become part of the barn, all to code in case the chicken project falls through for some reason. Not a simple plan but one that will succeed no matter what happens.

 

[bruceha2000]

Here's my coop de villa. All that's left is attaching the wheels.

That and a harness so the dog can pull it for you

Here is the black hen that lays beautiful green, jumbo eggs every day.




Here is what 3.5 gallons looks like. No one carries the horizontal nipples so i ordered some. Im hoping they all use the 1/8 pipe thread. How many believe all animals are color blind? Im thinking the nipples are bright red to get their attention so they peck, discover water and go back for more. Im going to let the fumes dry up befre i put water in it. All i have to do to get the horizontal nipples in is pull it out a few inches and rotate it 90 deg and i can drill and tap the side for 5 more nipples then the turkeys will be happy Just have to build a little support for the end to support the water weight.

Chickens see blue and red much better than we do and therefore see things differently than we do. Check out the butterfly pictures at the bottom of this page:
http://www.onceinnovations.com/the-science/poultry-vision

The saddle nipples I got are yellow, though they are not visible being as they are buried in the floor of the nest box.

We have to have our HVAC completely redone. They were pulling out all the old stuff and loading it up to haul off when I saw IT! It had a beautiful glow around it. Imagine the shock when I hollered NO! I WANT THAT! My new chicken eyes had fallen upon the most beautiful perfect poop pan in the world. Yes those square legs pop off and the electric device pops right off also. I'm in future coop nirvana! The exact width for the coop add on and long enough also. It's 34 inches wide and almost 6 feet long and almost 2 inches deep!

Did you hear them muttering under their breath "Crazy chicken lady"??

 

[peastix]

We have to have our HVAC completely redone. They were pulling out all the old stuff and loading it up to haul off when I saw IT! It had a beautiful glow around it. Imagine the shock when I hollered NO! I WANT THAT! My new chicken eyes had fallen upon the most beautiful perfect poop pan in the world. Yes those square legs pop off and the electric device pops right off also. I'm in future coop nirvana! The exact width for the coop add on and long enough also. It's 34 inches wide and almost 6 feet long and almost 2 inches deep!

Ha Ha

Your garden looks lovely.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Here is the hen and here are her eggs (the green (or baby blue) ones) Here is the new water setup and the feed. The bucket is there because I didn't use lube and the plug leaks. I'll wait till it empties and fix it. I'm going to add a sight hose on the fill side so I can tell when it's getting full or, especially, empty. It will be 5' top to bottom and I can just barely reach the top to fill it. Still haven't worked out a slick plan for filling it but I need to come up with something a little more convenient than running the hose from the back of the barn......... Just happens I have to go to town in a few so.......... And here are her new buddies all tuckered out due to running around to see what I was doing in their home. I also discovered I have an escape artist, one of the leghorns almost got out the door. It truly is a plan finally coming together. I never dreamed I would go this far but it grows on you. My plan isn't just about the chickens. The run is designed as a green house structure with potential to become part of the barn, all to code in case the chicken project falls through for some reason. Not a simple plan but one that will succeed no matter what happens.

So true I wouldn't have any chickens if it weren't for my rooster Fred didn't show up at our door

 

[NanaNeen]

Awesoime I love repuposing stuff.  As a sheet metal person I know those edges are going to be sharp.  do yourself a favor and run a trim of wood around the inside thats just a bit taller than the metal.  Because you know chickens are going to walk in it, and possibly on the edges.  You dont even have to use nails just gorilla glue or liquid nails.   the trim would not be structural.

deb  "who will go back into lurkdome now"

it looks like it would be sharp but it's not. It's nice and smooth, heavier than you would think. It a drip pan for overflow so it exposed, like a water heater pan. It's about 2.5 inches deep and a pretty heavy gage metal. I was amazed. Thank you for the advice. I was thinking that it would slide into place under a wood framed edge for extra safety.

 

[NanaNeen]

That and a harness so the dog can pull it for you 


Chickens see blue and red much better than we do and therefore see things differently than we do. Check out the butterfly pictures at the bottom of this page:
http://www.onceinnovations.com/the-science/poultry-vision

The saddle nipples I got are yellow, though they are not visible being as they are buried in the floor of the nest box.


Did you hear them muttering under their breath "Crazy chicken lady"??

I think they probably were. But they popped the extra stuff off for me without me asking after I explained my plan lolol

 

[ShrekDawg]

If you're able to add new Ams or EEs every year, whatever your preference for birds, then you'll at least get a good supply of colored eggs before a 2-yr-old slows down production.  With the 2-yr-olds slowing down, you can have a new group of pullets to keep you supplied with colored eggs.  The only thing is that when the 2-yr-olds become 3-yr-old layers, the 2-yr-olds behind them will be laying less too.  So what do you do then? add yet more new pullets again?  Too many birds for me to keep as pets just to have a few blue-green eggs in production for only a couple/three months each year.  Meanwhile, I had a White Leghorn that was laying 4 to 6 XL eggs a week in her 3rd year and only stopped for about 2[SUP]1/2[/SUP] months to molt and regrow new feathers.  That kind of layer spoils you for eggs compared to an Am or EE that can't even produce as often as a little Silkie!  I do credit the Ams and EEs for their XL+ size eggs but not reliable layers after their pullet year - JMO.  Great gentle pets if your neighbors don't mind hearing their noisy cackles.  If I could tolerate the more assertive behaviors of the large or heavy production birds like Legs, RIRs, BRs, Orps, Lorps, Wyans, Marans, etc, I'd be overrun in eggs for a few years and happy.  What doesn't make me happy about those breeds is their bigger appetites and flock dramas so I made the choice to keep the gentler smaller breeds which usually means smaller or less eggs.  It was a trade-off on my part.  Our coop is only 4x5 floor space for roosting and egg laying so the 4 smaller breeds work for us - the rest of the day they free range the yard.  I cycled through 13 chickens in 5 years to get down to the compatible 4 we have now.


For Heaven's Sake!  You've been through enough calamity and experience to be a pro in THEIR EYES!  Now you'll have family members to chat up about chickens and coops every time you get together!  TOO FUN!

Thanks! Yeah I was thinking of adding more EEs eventually but also just more layers in general. I still have some breeds I want but that were sold out, like Speckled Sussex and Wyandottes, plus I'd like some different colored Orpingtons, so I may not even get more EEs, not really sure. I wanted to get the breeds this year but I've decided I better just wait until these ones start slowing down so probably next year. I haven't really noticed any flock politics lately but lately I also haven't really been around them except for chores so don't know. But they used to pick on each other somewhat and on me but that seems to have settled down since they've been laying and sometimes they free range. Mine do eat a lot somewhat but I think they waste more than they eat and haven't eaten as much lately. We've been getting between 6 and 8 eggs a day. The funny thing is on most sites it says EE lay medium eggs and arent great layers. One of mines eggs are medium or small but the other is HUGE and both are consistent lol I haven't noticed them being loud really but they do have a loud egg song and one goes on and on for it lol they are probably second loudest. My Australorps scream lol i was thinking i could add more chicks and have an even 12, i also love my one barred rock, but even our 8 eggs a day is almost more than we can use

My Ameraucana breeder WAS on the breeder's list but is retired from it now.  I know she was hoping to get deeper blues in the eggs from her Wheaten/Blue Wheatens (she used to show birds) and apologized to me that she didn't think her eggs were very blue.  We were quite happy with the pastel blue eggs and we had no idea why she apologized for the color.  She said Ams were not prolific layers but I had no idea how very little since at the time of our purchase there wasn't popular emphasis on quantity of eggs from these birds but rather more emphasis on the color of eggs.  Since our girl is such an unreliable layer, I'm kinda glad her sister didn't live or I'd have 2 deadbeat layers on my hands now  .  Really, I do love our sweet girl but probably won't try another - my thinking is that these hens would be great pet chickens for families with young children since a common trend is that these birds have sweet non-combative temperaments. I don't know how breeders are going to be able to get APA SOP blue egg layers rather than greenish and have consistent layers past their pullet year.  Too much stress for me if I were a breeder so I appreciate owner efforts to pursue these challenges.

 

[bruceha2000]

There is a HUGE generalization as to egg size for a breed and as all generalizations are, is not a good indicator of what a specific bird might lay. My 2 Faverolles are supposed to lay USDA Medium (51g to 57g). On a REALLY GOOD day they might make the very low end of that. The average size (of all eggs ever laid) is about 46 grams.


My 4 Y/O EE (from Ideal) has an average of 64 g, the VERY TOP of Large and that is brought down by her pullet eggs. She rarely lays anything under 70g now and is frequently laying 72 and 74g eggs - Jumbo. She is currently laying 2 eggs every 3 days or so.

The 3 EEs (from Meyer) that will be 1 year old next month have an average size of 58, 57 and 51g. Now that they are past "pullet egg" age, they are running about 60, 64 and 52g so solidly Large, XL and Medium. The one that lays the Medium eggs is a machine, 85% of the days since her first egg and as of yesterday is on a 14 day streak; 10 days or more straight is normal for her. And yes, I do know that will change after first moult this fall.

 

[ShrekDawg]

There is a HUGE generalization as to egg size for a breed and as all generalizations are, is not a good indicator of what a specific bird might lay. My 2 Faverolles are supposed to lay USDA Medium (51g to 57g). On a REALLY GOOD day they might make the very low end of that. The average size (of all eggs ever laid) is about 46 grams.


My 4 Y/O EE (from Ideal) has an average of 64 g, the VERY TOP of Large and that is brought down by her pullet eggs. She rarely lays anything under 70g now and is frequently laying 72 and 74g eggs - Jumbo. She is currently laying 2 eggs every 3 days or so.

The 3 EEs (from Meyer) that will be 1 year old next month have an average size of 58, 57 and 51g. Now that they are past "pullet egg" age, they are running about 60, 64 and 52g so solidly Large, XL and Medium. The one that lays the Medium eggs is a machine, 85% of the days since her first egg and as of yesterday is on a 14 day streak; 10 days or more straight is normal for her. And yes, I do know that will change after first moult this fall.

Mine are all still pullets I think? So I wonder if that accounts for that? Some of the eggs have gotten bigger but not the EEs really. I haven't officially measured any on a digital scale but have the incredible egg scale and the one EE eggs are consistently off the scale so XL/Jumbo. Sometimes she lays normal sized ones but even those are big. I might try a digital scale soon

 

[ShrekDawg]

Oh and ors has laid every day since she started i think. She may have missed one or two days or had a broken egg but she started the Sunday before Easter so going on 2 months now.