Spring 2011 RAISE-A-LONG!

[ROCKIN R FARM]

Quote:
Be great as a coop I have one like that but mine is all wood. When I open the door and look in i have my nest boxes on my right side with a perch that runs in front of their boxes. Down on in the corner on the right side is the door for them to go to the run. On the Left side dh added some more perches for those that need it. I also had a small shelf that i put in the corner of the shed in the right hand corner in the back and we also put in a window for ventilation in the summer. I think I will have him add a vent in the back and the left side up top for more ventilation. Love my coop. might insulate mine better for next winter. we got it used so needs some up keep.

deana

Yeah, the only problem I think I might have with it is trying to install windows and a pop-door to the run in it with it being a steel structure...

I am sure you can add windows to it. I have seen several metal building with windows installed in them. Hubby used to wrk for a metal building company and they had windows in theirs if the customer ordered them. You might have to cut the window size out and frame that part in and add your window. I am sure if you went to Lowe's or Home Depot they can tell you how to do it.

and the coop door would be the same way you would just have to frame it in.
deana

 

[foxygoober]

We have 54 chicks

The one I called baby did die. That one and another two just didn't grow. Three were squished

One was a silkie that got smothered while we were out getting another box to further separate the birds. However, while we were out we stopped at TSC to get a brooder light and they had 2 silkie chicks. . .so of course I had to get them

So we have 9 silkies, two turkeys, two ducks and a bunch of other bantams, meat chicks, etc. I guess 6 deaths is an ok number, bummed about the smothered ones though.

 

[ROCKIN R FARM]

Quote:
sorry to hear about your chicks not making it. wow seems like every ones TSC is having silkies. I need to check to see if mine has any. would love to have a roo. I have a black and white hen that dh surprised me with just wished he could have brought home a roo to go with them. And he did not save the persons number he got them from such a Guy.

Mine go into lock down tomorrow. 34 eggs are in there took 4 out that I knew were not going to make it. Not sure how many will actually hatch.

deana

 

[RoeDylanda]

I'll jump in here too, got my first chicks ever from TSC on March 4th! I've been planning & reading for 4-5 months and had JUST found out that my local feed store was going to get chicks in an entire month later than they told me last November. I was *so* steamed! I went to a new TSC in central Connecticut because they were having a sale and I needed a bunch of goat stuff (they're arriving later this spring as well) and... chicks! Tubs of 'em!

I was so happy, have had the brooder planned for a month, so I scooped up the feed, bedding, and other needed supplies and brought these little cuties home:

Three dark brahmas (Fancy, Pepper, and Featherhead, I have small children helping with names), two barred rocks (Leona and Molly Stop It [biter]), and one alleged barred rock (Magellan, she's always exploring) that is feathering out like the brahmas but has a gray body and no tiger marks on the face. I'll be playing Name That Breed! in another few weeks, I guess.

Sorry to those who have had losses-- it's amazing how fast we got attached to the little fuzzbutts!

 

[Inkheart]

Oh what a neat thread! I am a first time hatcher and out of shipped Serama eggs and local Japanese bantam eggs i hatched my first three chicks ever!
They are 9 days old now . And i am amazed at how quickly they change and grow!
Was curious - i still have them on paper towel and shelf liner - thinking when i should switch to pine shavings? they are so small afraid they will try to eat the shavings!

 

[Katoo1]

Hi all, I'm Kate, brand new here, this is my first post. Pretty much brand new to chickens as well.

I will be getting 5 Buff Orpington chicks next week and have been spending loads of time here, just reading and anticipating. We've got a brooder all ready and have been testing the temperature over a period of about 4 days and feel like we have it under control.

My question is this. I had my granddaughters visit over the weekend and we were talking about the chicks and a discussion of names came up. I told the girls they could name the chickens. The youngest, 6, asked me if we'd be able to tell one from another and I said, yes, of course (although really, I highly doubt it). So that's my question, can you tell chickens of the same breed apart?

This is a great thread.

 

[latebloomer]

hi Kate:

i hatched four (black/blue/splash) bbs orpingtons last weekend
one of them is easy to distinguish from the others
he's black the other's are silvery yellow

i'm planning to name the three that look so similar to me later on,
but they have their hatching names (used interchangeably) for now.

would your granddaughters like to name the more than once?

 

[Katoo1]

The girls settled on Blondie, Honey, Buttercup, Daffodil, and the unwieldy Sunflower. I guess when they ask me which one is Sunflower, I'll just point to one of 'em, eh?

 

[foxygoober]

Just put one of our silkies in my avatar

We put the big guys in a cage and stuck them outside for a little while today. They seemed pretty happy. Some of them tested their wings out. . .so we are keeping them in the cage, otherwise they might be able to get loose!

 

[foxygoober]

Our computer is running pretty slow, so I don't have time to upload pictures of our babies. . .but here are a couple if you want to suffer through seeing our human kids as well
http://foxygoober.blogspot.com/