Aussie-Chookmum
Obeying her avian masters
It's been a very restful weekI've been halving my time between chores and sitting quietly with a book. The chickens have had lots of yard time in the winter sun, dust bathing, eating a few weds, living a fulfilling chickeny life. Blossom the cat is also very happy, purring loudly.
About the future coop, I think building is the best way to go, that way I can get the quality and dimensions I'm after as well as provide employment for a couple of chippies. The build is about five years off yet, I live in an old house (built by great-grandfather) and it's a little dilapidated here and there. The house takes precedence over chicken keeping. However, I've been thinking of a raised roosting area above a litter bed that has a gently sloping, waterproof floor for washing out. The roosting box would have walls on three sides to allow heat to escape during heat waves, and its back to the rain. It would have a long run out front of the roosting box and a skillion corro roof would cover the roosting box and half the run, the other half rooved with galv mesh. The run walls would also be galv mesh. I'd pave around the coop to prevent foxes and dogs digging in (and to use up some of dad's old pavers), so the run won't need flooring and the chooks can make dust baths and do their scratching. I'd harvest the rainwater and use it on my veg. Both the run and the roosting box would be capable of halving down the middle for introducing new birds. The roosting box would have nest boxes either side, the kind that can be opened from outside, and it would have a tail gate like a trailer at the back for cleaning out - about the height of a wheelbarrow - so I'll just sweep all the litter out in the barrow and give it a quick hose out and dry off before spreading feesh litter. The whole thing would be human height to save me stooping and it'll house a bench for me and a few logs for the chooks to enjoy. I'll probably also put the little coop in there as a hospital zone. I'll hang some baskets of flowers around the outside and paint it french navy blue with pale cream posts and joists and frames. I'll add a misting system and shade cloth to keep the heat down in summer.
And that's all I've thought of so far. But I daresay the old noggin will keep turning it over and over until its just right
@MaryJanet, I love your prospective coop and run. I want one just like it!
Morning Jeannie,those pics are just amazing.
Ok, let's talk about Oats and Barley... None of this matters as long as you keep total content under 10% of total diet. They are a wonderful feed ingredient with tons of good stuff brought to the table... But they also contain Beta Gloucins (probably spelled wrong). When fed in excess they act as a nutrient blocker. Otherwise healthy birds who eat too much will lose weight, wither and starve to death. As long as you stay under the 10% rule, you should never have to worry about it.
@rjohns, does this include sprouted oats? I've been giving my girls sprouts (roots and all) and also planting oats where they can pick at the greens. Now I'm thinking it may be too much...
Sucker bait. You know you have me hooked.
