Texas

[Cockle-Dood]

Sorry for not answering all the posts I see right now. I am in a bit of a rush. We signed the paperwork on Tuesday about the property. It says that we can. "... live on the property as long as they wish." There is a lot more but basically it states that we are to repair the house to her standards. She will pay for all materials and tools for the projects she needs done. If we want to upgrade anything beyond what she has there we have to pay for the materials. It also says that after we are done repairing the house we will be paying 600 a month in rent. The only thing in there which bothers me slightly is that she and her kids can come on the property to camp, or visit whenever they want. I am going to talk to her to see if they can at least provide me a notice they are coming so I don't schedule something a party and have them show up in the middle of it.

As far as building projects we are going to be putting in a well (we will supervise the people who come to do that), a septic (supervising only), modern electrical, extending the kitchen, rebuilding the bathroom, securing all doors and windows properly, modern plumbing, a pond, electricity to all outbuildings, adding a forge, a smokehouse, and some more stuff I can't remember right now but that we wrote down.

Lots of work but I am pretty sure that we will be happy there for a long time.

congrats!! now u know you are going to have to have a house warming since u can have all the roos u want!!!

 

[StelleKitten]

congrats!! now u know you are going to have to have a house warming since u can have all the roos u want!!!

I will eventually. Right now I would be ashamed of anyone seeing that house. Once it is in better condition I plan on having a big party and invite all my friends over to come hang out. Maybe swap chickens.

 

[PSJ]

A few things I have wondered about.
1. chickens verses fire ants... I have seen no mention on this thread since I joined so does that mean they are not a problem?

2. Covered run... what type of material do you use??? Currently we have neon yellow plastic construction netting? I guess you would call it. Works great and seems to be strong, but it was a little pricey and not the most obscure choice. I have never had any predator problems so far, not sure if that is because everything is so secure or they haven't been discovered or what.

3. Is insulating a coop a good idea given the heat in Texas?? What type do you use if you do?

4. Along the same lines... How much ventilation do you have in your coop? If you have a lot, what do you change in the winter months?

5. I notice that many people have short runs like waist to chest height. Pros and cons?? Have you ever had to get to one of your birds and found this difficult?

I am sure I have more, but they have escaped my thoughts at the moment. Thanks in advanced for any comments.

hmmm... Chickens vs fire ants... I've never had an issue with that so I'm not sure. I do, of course, have fire ants but I don't think my chickens have ever bothered them or vice versa.
My run is covered in chicken wire. As are the sides. A few feet up on the sides, I also have hardware cloth.. This is to keep dirty little coon paws out.
You will need plenty ventilation.
My coop is not insulated but some others may have it and be able to weigh in on that.
I have also seen the smaller (in height) runs. Mine is taller.. I can stand up in it (I'm 5'7"). Just personal preference I guess.

 

[topdycke]

I'm in EL PASO TEXAS on the tip of west texas! Just wondering if my chickens will be ok in the winter?

I think the summer is harder on them than winter even in the desert mountains. Although you can use evaporative coolers on them there and there is not escape for us in Houston...
Shelter from the wind in the winter. We lived in Artesia NM for several years. I dont remember the winters being especially cold - really very little snow but always wind.

 

[Fentressfarmer]

Oh what a week!!! I've had a bad one as most of y'all know how it started and it hasn't got a whole lot better! I am trying to stay positive but sometimes it's hard. Found this big fella in the coup yesterday and lost one of my EE's to him then today I got a jury summons in the mail!!! Aargh!!! Well that makes 3 bad things now so it's got to get better right? And work has been busy busy busy I didn't even get to check in until now! Hope everybody has a great night and stay warm!!!

 

[GFamily]

Absolutely, I have lost most of a couple of nights of sleep planning my new coop, wondering what breeds I'd like to have next, etc. My co-workers are sooo not interested in my chicken talk, lol. Glad my DH is indulging me.

Your coop looks great. Congrats.

hahaha! That is so wonderful! I just looooveee our girls.

 

[bnjrob]

I will eventually. Right now I would be ashamed of anyone seeing that house. Once it is in better condition I plan on having a big party and invite all my friends over to come hang out. Maybe swap chickens.

I totally understand how you feel. That's like our fixer upper. But good friends won't care.

 

[Cockle-Dood]

Anyone else have buff orps? I thought that they were supposed to be one of the most friendly breeds and my 4 weekers are still going nuts any time i go near the brooder, and i do this multipe times a day.
The cuckoo marans that are a week younger are catchin on quicker....silly chickens

 

[bnjrob]

A few things I have wondered about.
1. chickens verses fire ants... I have seen no mention on this thread since I joined so does that mean they are not a problem?

2. Covered run... what type of material do you use??? Currently we have neon yellow plastic construction netting? I guess you would call it. Works great and seems to be strong, but it was a little pricey and not the most obscure choice. I have never had any predator problems so far, not sure if that is because everything is so secure or they haven't been discovered or what.

3. Is insulating a coop a good idea given the heat in Texas?? What type do you use if you do?

4. Along the same lines... How much ventilation do you have in your coop? If you have a lot, what do you change in the winter months?

5. I notice that many people have short runs like waist to chest height. Pros and cons?? Have you ever had to get to one of your birds and found this difficult?

I am sure I have more, but they have escaped my thoughts at the moment. Thanks in advanced for any comments.

1. Some chickens will eat ants. You'll want to make sure that the ants don't overrun a chicken and harm it - especially with chicks, weak/debilitated birds. Don't put ant bait out where chickens might get it.

2. If you want to predator proof, use smallest mesh welded/tied wire or hardware cloth for covered run. Might consider putting up metal or plastic roofing panels on the top for built in shade. For regular adult bird runs, we use welded wire and put shade cloth on the top, changing to a tarp over the wire during winter. We have one run that can stand alone (doesn't have to be connected to a coop) that is wired and also galvanized roofing panels over the top of it. The wire is to keep things like possums, skunks, coons from squeezing between the rafters because it is a peaked roof.

Just because you haven't had a predator problem means nothing. If your heart and/or wallet can't take a hit with dead chickens, cover the top of the run before something happens.

3. Insulating is not a bad idea, especially if you don't have any shade. We have very large chicken tractors (small sheds, big enough for people to get into) and put insulation in ours. Does keep the temp about 5-10* cooler than out in the sun. We used Styrofoam insulation panels cut to fit inside the wall studs of the coops.

You'll have to cover insulation to prevent the chickens from getting to it. So you'll have to figure in the cost of inside and outside walls. Regular fiberglass insulation would also work, depending on your construction and your chickens needs. You will definitely need lots of ventilation when you use insulation, to ensure that you don't get condensation on the inside of the coop during winter. Chickens can take very cold temps but you will see frostbite issues if there is condensation inside due to lack of ventilation.

4. LOTS of ventilation. If we were able to have a stationary coop rather than movable housing, we'd have things much more open. The old breeders recommend open air houses for best chicken health. The threat to the birds is having a lot of wind on them. So the old guys would have these houses that were open screen on one or two sides. During the winter, they would hang canvas/tarps in front of the roosts to keep the wind from hitting the birds while they slept, but otherwise it was open even with snow on the ground. The pictures of these open air houses in antique books are interesting.

We have windows and vents all over our coops. We made covers for them out of the siding we used on the houses. They are hinged. Most of the time they are chained open, to let the wind in. When it is cold or raining, we unhook the chains so they flop down over the opening. Plenty of air still gets through, but the wind doesn't blow directly on them or let the rain in when they are hanging down.

We staple plastic to the northern sides of the runs during winter, so they can be out in the runs without full winter blast on them. They love being in the runs when it is cold.

5. It sucks to have waist/chest high flat top runs. Trying to get chickens out of there when you need to, change food/water etc. is just miserable on your back. And it is hard to bend over or crawl around if you need to catch a chicken. We only have one like that, we hinged the top so technically we could stand up in there, but it turned out to be a pain in the butt so we just hunch over. And it is miserable.

Either have a 2 foot tall run that you can easily bend over and grab chickens or step into, or make a run that you can stand up completely in. We have some that are peaked, with walls at about 4 feet and a peak that goes up to 6 feet so we can stand up straight. Then we have some others that are flat topped at 6 ft. Either way, flat top or peaked, being able to stand up completely is MUCH MUCH MUCH better than having to bend over.

Our coops and runs on our chicken tractors seem huge, and they require at least the riding mower to move them because they are so heavy, but it is so much easier to do things when we can get inside without having to crunch ourselves up like we were playing Twister.

 

[Cockle-Dood]

Then they cheep like they are under attack when i walk away, lol