Shadrach's Ex Battery and Rescued chickens thread.

[MaryJanet]

you missed them; they're made of the same black plastic as the panels. Their ends protrude from the coop near the ventilation 'flowers'. On the inside photo some of the birds are ducking under the right roost.

Ah! Thanks.

 

[Marie2020]

We've been disscussing coops.
There's a problem. I can, would and have built a very solid, portable (with effort), off the ground coop but it is only big enough, by my standard, to house 10 chickens. Anything larger made in a decent thickness of plywood with legs and frame strong enough to support the coop itself becomes to heavy to move and more complicated to build because one has to start joining ply sheet together. The cost in materials would run to £300.00 maybe more given the way the price of quality plywood keeps going up.
Building it would be a headache. No power. Nowhere to leave tools. It would have to be assembled in the current coop run. No way to get a coop that size in without having to dismantle a fence that is only just holding up now. The option to leave a gap in the fence overnight isn't there. Basically it's mission and I'm past enjoying building missions.

A prefab plastic coop, while the matter is under discussion, seems like a sensible option, that might just get a fast result.


This is about the largest affordable plastic coop I can find.

https://www.solwayrecycling.co.uk/shop/pig-poultry/hen-arks/standard-eco-hen-ark

As you can read, it states it will house 10 to 15 larger hens and up to 18 bantams. The floor area is stated at 1.6 square metres. With 15 chickens this works out at about 1,4 square foot per chicken. Not exactly spacious is it.

However, at last September when I started there were over 20 chickens roosting in the current coop which has a floor area of less than 1 square metre, approximately 11 square feet. That's 0.5 square foot per chicken roughly.

It looks a bit different now. Almost three times the amount of space different.
If we could get the plastic coop opperational in the coop run then the pressure to rescue the smaller broody coop and possibly the run part of the main coop would be considerably less.

C spoke to the person the most recent additions had come from about buying their coop which is a Solway. Their coop is a tight fit for 8, never mind 20 plus they wanted too much money for it.

I've long been resigned to the probablity at some point a new coop was going to cost me money. I made C an offer to split the cost of the Solway in the link above 50/50.
I've known for a while that C has some money put away for the allotments. Today C said there was £500.00 in the fund. And didn't rule out the possibility of using some of it. C has to talk to the other allotment holders apparently.
I know three will vote money towards a new coop and they are the three most active members.
I see a light at the end of the tunnel I think.

I really hope this works out well. Waiting on this result

 

[Marie2020]

We've been disscussing coops.
There's a problem. I can, would and have built a very solid, portable (with effort), off the ground coop but it is only big enough, by my standard, to house 10 chickens. Anything larger made in a decent thickness of plywood with legs and frame strong enough to support the coop itself becomes to heavy to move and more complicated to build because one has to start joining ply sheet together. The cost in materials would run to £300.00 maybe more given the way the price of quality plywood keeps going up.
Building it would be a headache. No power. Nowhere to leave tools. It would have to be assembled in the current coop run. No way to get a coop that size in without having to dismantle a fence that is only just holding up now. The option to leave a gap in the fence overnight isn't there. Basically it's mission and I'm past enjoying building missions.

A prefab plastic coop, while the matter is under discussion, seems like a sensible option, that might just get a fast result.


This is about the largest affordable plastic coop I can find.

https://www.solwayrecycling.co.uk/shop/pig-poultry/hen-arks/standard-eco-hen-ark

As you can read, it states it will house 10 to 15 larger hens and up to 18 bantams. The floor area is stated at 1.6 square metres. With 15 chickens this works out at about 1,4 square foot per chicken. Not exactly spacious is it.

However, at last September when I started there were over 20 chickens roosting in the current coop which has a floor area of less than 1 square metre, approximately 11 square feet. That's 0.5 square foot per chicken roughly.

It looks a bit different now. Almost three times the amount of space different.
If we could get the plastic coop opperational in the coop run then the pressure to rescue the smaller broody coop and possibly the run part of the main coop would be considerably less.

C spoke to the person the most recent additions had come from about buying their coop which is a Solway. Their coop is a tight fit for 8, never mind 20 plus they wanted too much money for it.

I've long been resigned to the probablity at some point a new coop was going to cost me money. I made C an offer to split the cost of the Solway in the link above 50/50.
I've known for a while that C has some money put away for the allotments. Today C said there was £500.00 in the fund. And didn't rule out the possibility of using some of it. C has to talk to the other allotment holders apparently.
I know three will vote money towards a new coop and they are the three most active members.
I see a light at the end of the tunnel I think.

I like the look of that ark.

 

[Marie2020]

We've been disscussing coops.
There's a problem. I can, would and have built a very solid, portable (with effort), off the ground coop but it is only big enough, by my standard, to house 10 chickens. Anything larger made in a decent thickness of plywood with legs and frame strong enough to support the coop itself becomes to heavy to move and more complicated to build because one has to start joining ply sheet together. The cost in materials would run to £300.00 maybe more given the way the price of quality plywood keeps going up.
Building it would be a headache. No power. Nowhere to leave tools. It would have to be assembled in the current coop run. No way to get a coop that size in without having to dismantle a fence that is only just holding up now. The option to leave a gap in the fence overnight isn't there. Basically it's mission and I'm past enjoying building missions.

A prefab plastic coop, while the matter is under discussion, seems like a sensible option, that might just get a fast result.


This is about the largest affordable plastic coop I can find.

https://www.solwayrecycling.co.uk/shop/pig-poultry/hen-arks/standard-eco-hen-ark

As you can read, it states it will house 10 to 15 larger hens and up to 18 bantams. The floor area is stated at 1.6 square metres. With 15 chickens this works out at about 1,4 square foot per chicken. Not exactly spacious is it.

However, at last September when I started there were over 20 chickens roosting in the current coop which has a floor area of less than 1 square metre, approximately 11 square feet. That's 0.5 square foot per chicken roughly.

It looks a bit different now. Almost three times the amount of space different.
If we could get the plastic coop opperational in the coop run then the pressure to rescue the smaller broody coop and possibly the run part of the main coop would be considerably less.

C spoke to the person the most recent additions had come from about buying their coop which is a Solway. Their coop is a tight fit for 8, never mind 20 plus they wanted too much money for it.

I've long been resigned to the probablity at some point a new coop was going to cost me money. I made C an offer to split the cost of the Solway in the link above 50/50.
I've known for a while that C has some money put away for the allotments. Today C said there was £500.00 in the fund. And didn't rule out the possibility of using some of it. C has to talk to the other allotment holders apparently.
I know three will vote money towards a new coop and they are the three most active members.
I see a light at the end of the tunnel I think.

This is a nice one for my girl's but the downside is it only has one perch
https://www.solwayrecycling.co.uk/s...-hen-house-with-large-sliding-superfront-door

 

[Perris]

be aware @Shadrach and @Marie2020 that the Solways don't disassemble, and the whole back doesn't come off, so they are not as easy to clean as a Green Frog (now rebranded Nestera; why?).

 

[no fly zone]

Apparently the camera was set on taking pictures of your knees .

I think it makes a lot of sense for all the reasons you and @MaryJanet state.
In the beginning of this thread quite a few people asked if they could help with funds and you said it wasn't needed at the time. If money becomes a decisive question for getting a new coop I would be glad to contribute and I think maybe others would too. In case it's something you would consider there are a number of platforms for crowdfunding that allow one to collect money in relatively secure ways.


Apparently it can in some cases come from the mother hen carrying e.colia, but if the first skeksis baby was healthy, it probably rules it out ?
This would however mean committing to two generations of chicks growing up at the same time...may be a lot to deal with ? (Although you already seem pretty much chick-obsessed ).


I also agree with this if one still hopes for the hen to recover. I made an exception when I thought it was an end of life situation, then I gave the hen anything she would eat. Turns out she didn't die in the end .

I don't believe sick animals let themselves die of starvation if they have access to food (except maybe in the situations where eating causes too much pain), I would worry more about dehydration which can occur much more quickly.

I believe I can sell or rehome these healthy babies quickly.

 

[Iluveggers]

Oh Shad I am hopefully excited that you will figure out a way to give the flock some more shelter space! They are very lucky to have you around the allotment.

 

[no fly zone]

Unfortunately this second Skeksis baby will need to be culled. It is still in the incubator and the poor thing cannot even stand up. I am surprised it survived the night. I need to find a humane way to accomplish this, although that statement may be an oxymoron.

 

[RoyalChick]

Unfortunately this second Skeksis baby will need to be culled. It is still in the incubator and the poor thing cannot even stand up. I am surprised it survived the night. I need to find a humane way to accomplish this, although that statement may be an oxymoron.

Oh I am sorry. They are so tiny I suspect decapitation with a sharp pair of kitchen scissors is likely to be the most humane way to achieve it.
What a shame.

 

[Molpet]

Oh I am sorry. They are so tiny I suspect decapitation with a sharp pair of kitchen scissors is likely to be the most humane way to achieve it.
What a shame.

I wrap them in paper towel and use scissors