Texas

[A1momof3]

My turkeys out grew the brooder I had so had to find something bigger. Found some wooden boxes on craigslist that are 34"x42"x24" tall that looks like they will last along time.

Very cool!!

 

[gameandmore]

Any of you guys familiar with white faced Spanish?

 

[lovingmyhens]

my thoughts are to use what you have to make a good a coop as you need for right now just to get by! The winter is over, basically, so you won't have to worry about cold yet. By the time winter rolls around again, you may have been able to either add to what you build now, or get something along the lines of what you have been looking at. Really, once the chickens are a few weeks old they are just good to go. I got my pullets around age 8-10 weeks and never did anything special for them. They went straight out in the yard when they got here. They have the simplest coop, without a place to "roost", but it is cozy at night and they free range all day and roost in various places around the back yard. Seriously the easiest pets I have. I'm going to try to find the coop I bought on line-it was 125.00 and free shipping. No, it won't last forever, but for now it works just fine!

http://www.hayneedle.com/product/warepremiumpluspenthousehutch.cfm
That's my hutch

 

[jajeanpierre]

I was going to get a Delaware, BCM's, Buckeye, cream legbar and an Ameracauna. Aren't they are more 'normal' size for the big birds?

Janet-can your dog house be painted for the finish and do you think I could do the deep litter method in it? Maybe I should just put wire around the bottom and leave the bottom out....

I have two palates I could use to make a coop out of. Some plywood pieces too.

I'm not a fan of deep litter. I personally think it is just laziness with most people. Some people, like yourself, think there is benefit to it. I don't.

In order for it to be a proper deep litter, you need enough new bedding and enough area for the new manure and urine to be in balance with the microbes that break it down. The equivalent of a day's worth of manure/urine that is deposited must be completely removed every single day. If it isn't, it isn't in balance and you will have a build up of ammonia. Remember, everything that goes into that pen has to be composted at the same rate that it goes in. Think of a rotting manure pile--that basically what you are doing with a "deep litter" method. It takes a lot of space to have enough microbes to remove the manure produced. You are basically composting in the pen. It takes a lot of space to do it right. Just because you don't smell the ammonia does not mean that it isn't there and doing harm to the chickens. You can cover up a lot just by adding bedding on top, but you are only covering it up. The chickens are still down just a few inches above all that nasty ammonia.

Why are you so enamored with deep litter, especially when it seems you don't have the space it requires? Most deep litter articles I've read has been for the pen, not the coop. Any people I know who do deep litter successfully in the coop basically have a barn, not a little portable coop.

If you don't want to clean a little coop (five minutes) once a week or so then put in a wire floor and rake up the pounds of manure produced every week.

You will have that little dog house filled up to the brim in no time if you try to do deep litter.

 

[A1momof3]

You "should" have no problems.  Cockerels (and pullets, too) will fight and spare a bit, especially as chicks.  As they grow up, the roosters might actually have a few scuffles.  Usually there is no damage, especially with young cockerels.  Most of the time all you will see is some feathers in the yard that have obviously been pulled out.  Their fighting is mostly symbolic, lots of posturing, flaring and chest bumping but not a lot of damage.  Except for the more aggressive game breeds, most roosters who have grown up together can usually be housed together.  Your problems are when neither bird backs down.  As long as there is one bird they both agree is the stronger more dominant bird, they'll scuffle and stop with the weaker bird quickly backing down.  "Weaker" isn't always physical weakness, but more mental.

I  had four large fowl cockerels running with  three pullets until one ran away from home, jumped my fence into my back yard with my Silkies, including my Silkie roo.  He happily lived there until I finally got around to slaughtering all the excess cockerels at about 10 months.  (I am THE Queen at putting off slaughtering.)   Before I slaughtered them, I separated the large fowl pullets from the front yard into a separate pen away from the three cockerels.  That left three boys in the front alone until two of them were finally slaughtered.  I had no problems with them together, although they kept jumping in the back yard where the Silkie girls were.  The Silkie girls loved them--they are such hussies!

I grew out a bachelor pen of Silkie cockerels I kept together with no problems until I got around to slaughtering them at 6 months of age.

That has been my experiences with cockerels.  I still have three roos that are about a year old (and one 6-month old still in quarantine, so he doesn't count)  The Silkie and the Cochin are in the back yard and the large fowl Ameraucana in the front with four pullets.

Occasionally the remaining large fowl cockerel will jump the fence into the back with my Silkie cockerel and my bantam Cochin cockerel.  Both bantams are smart enough to not challenge him.

My two bantams roosters, now a year old, have been housed together on and off all winter.  The Cochin is a double-copy  frizzle, so has very poor feathers and cannot survive in the cold without supplemental heat.  He was in my house all winter.  I've been able to reintroduce him to the bigger Silkie cockerel several times.  There has been some sparing, and some blood (from biting of the comb) but I watch to make sure no one gets hurt, and if things aren't working out that day, I'll put one in a double-walled pen so they can be together but not able to hurt each other.  At most, it takes me a day to get them together again after they have been separated.  They should be  good all summer now.  I expect the same issues next winter on warm days when I get the frazzle back outside.  Both breed the Silkies hens without a problem.

I did find my large fowl Ameraucanas to be people aggressive.  I don't know if that is because there were too many of them for the number of pullets.  They weren't sexually aggressive with the pullets.  My remaining Ameraucana rooster is soup waiting to be cooked.  He's gorgeous and I am just waiting to get some chicks from him and for the new chicks in my brooder to grow up enough to take over his job as protector of the flock, which he does very, very well. I will never put off slaughtering cockerels that long again, but there were legitimate reasons for putting it off, besides my superb procrastination skills.

Hope that helps.

Yes that helps A LOT. Thanks do much for that information. I'm excited to have them. And the sparing you talked about posturing, chest bumping and flaring they do that now. It's cute. But it doesn't last long and they go about their way. It will be interesting to figure out which one is the stronger one.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Janet-can your dog house be painted for the finish and do you think I could do the deep litter method in it? Maybe I should just put wire around the bottom and leave the bottom out....

Sorry, forgot to answer the painted question. The blue of the floor in my picture was painted by my husband, so yes, you can paint it. It has a stain finish.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Yes that helps A LOT. Thanks do much for that information. I'm excited to have them. And the sparing you talked about posturing, chest bumping and flaring they do that now. It's cute. But it doesn't last long and they go about their way. It will be interesting to figure out which one is the stronger one.

The little pullets will do the same thing, not just the cockerels.

I wouldn't worry too much about them especially if they are raised together and you separate them the way I am constantly doing with my frazzled roo. Game breeds are a different ball game, and individuals from some regular breeds can be problematic. Just remember, the problem is only if they both think they are equal and are strong enough mentally to not back down. It's that commitment to fight to the end that gets you serious injuries. Game birds were bred for it. Other birds aren't as committed to win a fight. Most will have one that agrees to back down and the two will live in peace. They work usually it out. One other thing--I expected fighting roosters to make noise. In my experience they don't so you could have two roosters fighting to the death just around the corner of the house and never know.

 

[SlipsWife]

I was going to get a Delaware, BCM's, Buckeye, cream legbar and an Ameracauna. Aren't they are more 'normal' size for the big birds?

Janet-can your dog house be painted for the finish and do you think I could do the deep litter method in it? Maybe I should just put wire around the bottom and leave the bottom out....

I have two palates I could use to make a coop out of. Some plywood pieces too.

Have you looked on your local Craigslist for extra materials people are getting rid of? I've seen privacy fence on ours a few times and almost picked it up just to have. Plus it would be easier to take apart than pallets and just a little cutting to remove the picket top. Sometimes its free or very cheap. You might also post a couple of ads yourself, I would suggest under the 'free', farm and garden' and 'materials', stating you are looking for free or inexpensive materials to build a chicken coop.

We will figure out a way to get you chickens!!!

 

[jb300zx]

I talked to my mom and she thinks Janet's idea is a really good one. I think I will pick up the silkie chicks this weekend. I have everything I need for them right now. I just need to borrow Brynn's heat light. I cancelled my heat plate order. Now I may never need it. I am saving money!

Car is fixed and back home. I don't go out much, but I really like having the car here in case I want to. I feel so trapped when the car is gone.

Yay!

Glad the car is fixed and the chicks are still a possibility.

 

[jb300zx]

Oh yes. If there is anything I can do to help, let me know. My wife and I can come up with some stuff if needed. Plenty laying around here. Lol. Heat lamp, etc. I am in Amarillo, so shipping some stuff wouldn't be too big of an ordeal.