Texas

[SlipsWife]

Awwww First Love.

Please take pictures.

Lisa

I will try to get a picture of her gawking...I was almost embarrassed for her!

 

[TexasLisa]

I will try to get a picture of her gawking...I was almost embarrassed for her!

Now mom, you should help her through this stage. It could scar her for life!!!

Lisa

 

[SlipsWife]

Now mom, you should help her through this stage. It could scar her for life!!!

Lisa

I'm more concerned about her giving the rooster a complex! I don't even think she noticed the other new girls because of him. That being said, when we let them out to free range, she took off in the other direction...silly girl!

 

[ClovisMan]

Time to start planning the next phase of my chicken adventure. The Wynn-D's are gonna need a run. I need to build something temporary for now because the coop is going to be moving soon. I have a 30x60 metal barn/shop etc going in. The deal has already been struck and the contractor is 3 weeks out to start construction. Once it is completed, the coop will be drug across the yard to the SE side of the barn where a permanent run will be built.

I though maybe making some 8x8 frames out of 2x4's and covering them with wire. Then figure our someway to connect them like the corral panels you buy from Tractor Supply where one side is a rod and the other is a pipe and they slip over one another. Kinda like this one:
http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00YMmaRUvJgeuf/Corral-Panel-With-Gate-905301-905302.jpg

My question is....does hardware exist that I can just screw or bolt to the framework that will allow me to do this with wooden panels?

BTW...My chickens love the new coop. This morning they were all huddled together on the same roost. Even the little runt Guinea is able to get up to the roost (about 3 foot high). The poop trays with PDZ are amazing. It literally takes 5 minutes to scoop them out with a Cat Litter scoop and there is virtually no smell yet. Plus I have a bucket full of compostable poop with no PINE SHAVINGS in it!!!

 

[jajeanpierre]

Where do you get just a few chicks? I have been looking for a place to order just a small number of chicks and I can't find one. Also, I read that the silkie are not good with heat? Have you had any problem with that?

I think Silkies are fine with heat. Any chicken will have a problem with the heat we had last year. Heat is a constant problem, especially if they are penned without a way to get into deep, cooler shade under a tree. The difference in surface temperatures on my property between the half acre open to the sun and the a 1.5 acres covered with big live oaks was surprising. At ground level, my legs overheated in the open area, even when I was under the any of the few trees in that dotted the open area.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Well, I have a problem. My hens were laying a month ago, but the weather changed and I assumed they had stopped because there wasn't enough sun. Now, however, I can't tell if maybe it's their diet. I started soaking their feed and they certainly are gaining a little of the weight they lost over the winter. I haven't gotten any eggs, though.

Should I just wait it out? This weekend, I plan on getting more feed and some whole oats to mix together and soak for them as I did last year during. Should I add anything else that may help? They get plenty of layer feed and they free range all day. I can't think of anything other than the weather as being the problem. It's so frustrating and even though I have 2 dozen eggs in the fridge that I'm making my way through, I worry that maybe something I am doing is wrong. I haven't had this issue since lat year when I had barely started taking care of the flock. I feel a little thrown off.

Check for parasites. It is concerning that they lost weight over the winter. How old are they? Are they in a molt? They won't lay when molting.

 

[harley1975]

Time to start planning the next phase of my chicken adventure. The Wynn-D's are gonna need a run. I need to build something temporary for now because the coop is going to be moving soon. I have a 30x60 metal barn/shop etc going in. The deal has already been struck and the contractor is 3 weeks out to start construction. Once it is completed, the coop will be drug across the yard to the SE side of the barn where a permanent run will be built.

I though maybe making some 8x8 frames out of 2x4's and covering them with wire. Then figure our someway to connect them like the corral panels you buy from Tractor Supply where one side is a rod and the other is a pipe and they slip over one another. Kinda like this one:
http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00YMmaRUvJgeuf/Corral-Panel-With-Gate-905301-905302.jpg

My question is....does hardware exist that I can just screw or bolt to the framework that will allow me to do this with wooden panels?

BTW...My chickens love the new coop. This morning they were all huddled together on the same roost. Even the little runt Guinea is able to get up to the roost (about 3 foot high). The poop trays with PDZ are amazing. It literally takes 5 minutes to scoop them out with a Cat Litter scoop and there is virtually no smell yet. Plus I have a bucket full of compostable poop with no PINE SHAVINGS in it!!!

Yes there is hardware that will let you do this. Look at gate hardware. There should be some j hinge the should screw into one side and a hole that would screw into the other side. I would also look into using a regular 3in hing with a removable pin. That should be the cheaper way to go.

 

[ClovisMan]

Quote: Oh smack!! 3 inch door hinge with removeable pin!!! Why didn't I think of that? LOL
Thanks Harley. This is why I love BYC and especially, the Texas Thread!

 

[texasfinest]

Just a proud Texan saying good morning!

 

[LBejaran]

I am not the most educated or "tried" person here but a few things to consider might be
Free rangers Are they laying them someplace else? (Hiding them)
Is or has something changed that may have stressed them out? A predator or change in their surroundings?
Are Snakes or other visitors eating the eggs?
Have any of their other normal behaviors changed? do they seem ill or extra scratchy?
Are they molting?

I hope this can help you grab a few new ideas
Good luck.

edited to add
Do they have enough water sources when they are out and about?

I've looked around in all the nooks and crannies to make sure they weren't hiding any eggs and it looks like there are none. No predator attacks lately and we used to have a possum that would kill squirrels, but our dogs killed it. There haven't been any snakes, either. They've all seemed healthy and don't scratch very much. Their coop is well ventilated when they are in it. A couple are molting, but the ones that were laying eggs before are all 10 month old pullets that haven't gone through a molt. I expect they will next winter.

Yup, plenty of water! One kiddie pool, cleaned daily, and about 5 buckets all over the yard. (I keep all the water in buckets because seeings the ducks trying to drink from the waterers is sad, haha!) Maybe it's just the weather. It has been so on and off lately with the cold and wet that I wouldn't want to lay an egg either.

tjo804 had some great ideas. The days are getting longer so hopefully it will help them to start laying again. Nothing worse than eating store eggs after you've tasted yard eggs.

Yup, I hope that's true. I still have some of the fresh eggs that the girls laid a month ago (I haven't been craving eggs much lately, but I'm trying harder) but I'd hate to run out. Store bought eggs are so sad. No flavor, watery and they have a sad yellow color to them. I had homemade dough with the fresh ones the other day and the dough was so wonderfully yellow that I smiled. Mmm!

Check for parasites. It is concerning that they lost weight over the winter. How old are they? Are they in a molt? They won't lay when molting.

My animals always lose a little weight in the winter, though not much. I supplement feed a little bit, but during good weather, they eat loads of bugs from the yard. Not being able to get that same amount of nutrition from the pasture affected them a bit. They don't have parasites, though. I'd made a point to check several chickens a week just to be sure. It looks like all is well. I try to be a minimalist when raising these chickens. They adapt fairly well on their own, it seems.

A couple of the older hens ( and one testy old duck) are molting but the rest are not. I'm thinking this is a case of bad weather. I'll be giving them a bit more feed from now on, though, and am thinking of giving them a little more calcium. Maybe it will kickstart the younger girls into getting with the program.