Texas

[Brookshire11]

I went and picked mine up today. Cameron is a quiet little place. No problem introducing the peepers to the food and water...they jumped right into the food dish and went after it!

All of mine did really great too! Still all healthy and happy.

One week old yesterday.
Although I DID get the Orloffs and the Easter Eggers mixed up. The chipmunk pattern threw me off. Lol.

Another Texas gal! I live in denton. I don't exactly live on a farm, but I have two backyard chickens!

Welcome from McKinney!

I have 2 friends who live in Denton. The last time I was there was driving through to Decatur. Lol. There's a breeder out there

 

[Terrys Tina]

Hello from Lindale. Just restarted my flock after being chickenless for a few years.

 

[tiedyemommy]

If anyone lives around Austin ive got a silkie mix cockerel that i am trying to give away to a good home for free. I raised him from a chick and my neighbors probably wont appreciate the crowing since ive got an urban setup. Let me know!!!

Urban setup here in Round Rock, or I'd consider taking your silkie mix cockerel. Don't think my neighbors would appreciate crowing either...especially since the lady next door works nights.

 

[tiedyemommy]

Fred's comb was a little purple on the ends just before bedtime yesterday...and before she went into the coop for the night, her comb was noticeably paler than when this pic was taken. Are fluctuations in comb color (through the day) normal?

PS: She's allowed herself to get a bit muddy too...might bathe her with epsom salt later today (just to clean her up). This'll be her first bath ever...normally she keeps herself brilliant white all the time.

 

[Brookshire11]

Fred's comb was a little purple on the ends just before bedtime yesterday...and before she went into the coop for the night, her comb was noticeably paler than when this pic was taken. Are fluctuations in comb color (through the day) normal?

PS: She's allowed herself to get a bit muddy too...might bathe her with epsom salt later today (just to clean her up). This'll be her first bath ever...normally she keeps herself brilliant white all the time.

My Silkie didn't have a problem staying white until Summer either ..lol
I figure it's because she's on the ground looking for shadier areas. She's been under the porch and under the bushes mostly during the day.
That nd I keep them a little muddy area to splash in on the shady side of the house. They love it lol

 

[tiedyemommy]

My Silkie didn't have a problem staying white until Summer either ..lol
I figure it's because she's on the ground looking for shadier areas. She's been under the porch and under the bushes mostly during the day.
That nd I keep them a little muddy area to splash in on the shady side of the house. They love it lol

I thought perhaps that was the case. I do water their shade bushes (and the ground under them) to help keep everyone cool in the heat of the day...otherwise, none of them would lay/walk/etc in mud. I guess the dirty feathers, mixed with the hyper-color comb, made me think there could be a correlation...signs something was wrong. Otherwise, Fred is her typical self.

A couple of the Ladies and Girls have been sneezing lately...so I put some Oxytetracycline in one of their large water containers & ACV in their other large water container. Don't want anyone getting sick on me...we're still recovering from the loss of Red. Otherwise, everyone else are behaving like normal.

Just realizing the mortality of our flock, and noticing real (or imagined) signs of potential sickness...ya know?

 

[crazychickenhug]

Hi saw the coop online nice coop but for $150.00 you could make a hoop coop and the dimensions would be 8 ft wide by 12 feet long and 6 feet tall. they are very easy to build and if you have really cold weather you can add a heavier tarp for a little more money and be spending the same and you won't have to upgrade in the spring.If you are interested I can tell you where to get the best deals on materials and where to go for instructions it only took me a day to build each one of mine and they are great!

 

[crazychickenhug]

Hi don't want to alarm you but with the sneezing and comb color could be a sign of bronchitis I've heard it is making it's rounds keep on with the oxytet and watch for signs of diaherria.If that doesn"t work get some injectible penicillin and use that a friend of mine just had a bout with it and lost several chickens I've been lucky but I vaccinate for it and new castles.

 

[Brookshire11]

I thought perhaps that was the case. I do water their shade bushes (and the ground under them) to help keep everyone cool in the heat of the day...otherwise, none of them would lay/walk/etc in mud. I guess the dirty feathers, mixed with the hyper-color comb, made me think there could be a correlation...signs something was wrong. Otherwise, Fred is her typical self.

A couple of the Ladies and Girls have been sneezing lately...so I put some Oxytetracycline in one of their large water containers & ACV in their other large water container. Don't want anyone getting sick on me...we're still recovering from the loss of Red. Otherwise, everyone else are behaving like normal.

Just realizing the mortality of our flock, and noticing real (or imagined) signs of potential sickness...ya know?

It's hard I lost 3 to our dog, but by the time I got there each time, they were gone. There wasn't time for me to act.
And the one time we had to put one down, there was literally no recovering..
I get paranoid about them being egg bound or mites a lot. Lol. But I keep a close eye on them.

The comb thing is kind of hit or miss...I'd keep an eye on her. It CAN be a sign of the heart not doing as well as it should. But I've also heard of birds who just have it happen every now and then and they're fine. The sneezing COULD be a sickness. I've also noticed when my girls kick up dust or food crumbles, they'll sneeze too.

Not telling you to brush it off, but I also don't want you to stress too much over it.

Hi saw the coop online nice coop but for $150.00 you could make a hoop coop and the dimensions would be 8 ft wide by 12 feet long and 6 feet tall. they are very easy to build and if you have really cold weather you can add a heavier tarp for a little more money and be spending the same and you won't have to upgrade in the spring.If you are interested I can tell you where to get the best deals on materials and where to go for instructions it only took me a day to build each one of mine and they are great!

I saw this one.

Made me really want to build one, but anything I have right now has to be easily portable. We'll be in our home for another year, but I'm not sure after that

Hi don't want to alarm you but with the sneezing and comb color could be a sign of bronchitis I've heard it is making it's rounds keep on with the oxytet and watch for signs of diaherria.If that doesn"t work get some injectible penicillin and use that a friend of mine just had a bout with it and lost several chickens I've been lucky but I vaccinate for it and new castles.

Also remember it's summer, and the chickens are drinking more water, which can lead to watery poo.

What a tricky time for illnesses...

 

[ABlackDogRanch]

Happy Friday-eve, all -

I built my coop in the springtime and it is about 80% hardware cloth on the outside. This was great for the ladies in the summer, but fall and winter are fast approaching and I would like to add some draft control.

I have a ton of 6' fence pickets to repurpose. My open air coop is 12'x8'x8'. When viewing the photo below, the chickens chose to roost on the left side. I think it's because that side faces the sunrise. The nesting boxes are now on the left side (this photo is from the construction era).

My question:

• Should I start the pickets on the ground and have 2' openings on top? Or sort of in the middle, with 1' on top and 1' on bottom?
• Or should I just cut the pickets to 4' (approximately the height of the middle horizontal 2x4 on the left of this photo)? And then add hinged eaves that can be lowered in bad weather?
• Can/should the pickets not immediately surrounding the chickens be spaced out?
• Or...should I not add any pickets at all and just put plastic up when I know there is a winter storm?

Thank you in advance, all!