Texas

[lovingmyhens]

Welcome to the Texas thread! More room for your hens is always great! In your last pic, I see you waterer is the one with the screw on lid that you don't fill upside down. How does it work for you? Is the lid hard to open/close? Some reviews I've read on it state that they have trouble with the lid. I'm still trying to decide how to water my chicks once they are out of the brooder.

What is that sitting behind your coop? Will you have to move it when you put in your second run?
I hope some of your bigger hens get more "involved"!

Welcome to BYC!  You have a very pretty roo!



We didn't get as cold as predicted this morning. Temp was 41 when we got up. It's supposed to drop to 37 by dawn. The wind has died way down, so that's an improvement! I went and checked on the chicks this morning. Most were under the heat plate, but a few were sitting out around it and one of my EE's was sitting on top of it. 

The dogs have a coon treed in the backyard. Last time this one got away, we'll see how it goes this time. I assume it's the same one, but who knows?

Hope everyone has a great day planned. I need to do some housework since it will be chilly out today. The rest of the week looks like it will be pretty nice. Spring arrives this week. Late for Texas. Spring is usually here before the official day. It's been a long Winter for my part of the world. 

Henless
Here is a pic of my waterer. It was the only option when I stopped at TSC on my way to get the chickens. I never even thought there would be other options.
I just empty it out outside, rinse it off in the kitchen sink and fill it back up. It's a bit difficult to get the bottom back on to the top but I just carry it back out upside down after I have filled it up and put the bottom on outside. Sounds way more complicated but it's actually quite simple and the water doesn't splash all over you unless you turn it over reeaallyyy slow. Then you'll get wet. But if you flip it quickly then the water doesn't get you. Actually I won't get another kind. This works just fine! And it was pretty inexpensive.

 

[lovingmyhens]

Henless
Here is a pic of my waterer. It was the only option when I stopped at TSC on my way to get the chickens. I never even thought there would be other options.
I just empty it out outside, rinse it off in the kitchen sink and fill it back up. It's a bit difficult to get the bottom back on to the top but I just carry it back out upside down after I have filled it up and put the bottom on outside. Sounds way more complicated but it's actually quite simple and the water doesn't splash all over you unless you turn it over reeaallyyy slow. Then you'll get wet. But if you flip it quickly then the water doesn't get you. Actually I won't get another kind. This works just fine! And it was pretty inexpensive.

 

[lovingmyhens]

I hope so, too! I don't finish until 6, though, so let's just hope it's not stressful. I just read half of the online manual for the printer the shop has. If I can learn how to use it properly without messing up horribly, I may just be able to do this job almost entirely by myself!

I'll try and sketch out some incubator and brooder designs. Dad wanted something small. I'm feeling the need for something more extravagant!

I have complete faith in you!
And yes-extravagent is always better

 

[lovingmyhens]

Happy spring break to me!!!

 

[SlipsWife]

Have you had any trouble with the float? Reading the reviews, seems like the float is the biggest problem. Not being able to find parts to repair it.

So, ummm, here's the thing...My guess is the float is the red thing that was inside over the spout. So, I didn't know what it was. Our other waterer came with a plug for some reason, so I thought it was a plug of some sort. I took it off, filled it up, and it works fine. I'm wondering if what I removed was what people referrer to as the float? When I think of a float I think of an automatic waterer. So either I am using it incorrectly, which very well could be the case, they've changed the design or it can be used without the float, if the red piece I removed was indeed the float. Clear as mud, right?

We've refilled it a number of times, it doesn't over flow, the tray stays full. It also has a nice, large opening on top so its easy to fill from outside of the pen, I don't have to drag the hose into the pen. I would not suggest filling it and moving it, its bulky and heavy when full, though any waterer that size would be heavy full.

 

[KageChick]

Hey Texans,
I need advice on what kind of chicken runs you guys have for our climate. I have seen a lot of people recommend sand, what do y'all think? Also we have our girls situated between a large old fig tree and a huge cedar tree for protection from sun and wind, would a covered run be overkill? We have an area for our six chickens that will allow them a 9ft x 6ft run and I have my hardware cloth, the thing we are stuck on is the floor. We are in Taylor, just NE of Austin so we are right in central TX. As of right now our little chicks are only 3-4 weeks old and live in our house with us so we have a little time until they are heading out to their permanent home. Below is a picture of our coop progress, you can see the cedar tree on the right


Thanks in advance,
Kristi

 

[TexasLisa]

Hey Texans,
I need advice on what kind of chicken runs you guys have for our climate. I have seen a lot of people recommend sand, what do y'all think? Also we have our girls situated between a large old fig tree and a huge cedar tree for protection from sun and wind, would a covered run be overkill? We have an area for our six chickens that will allow them a 9ft x 6ft run and I have my hardware cloth, the thing we are stuck on is the floor. We are in Taylor, just NE of Austin so we are right in central TX. As of right now our little chicks are only 3-4 weeks old and live in our house with us so we have a little time until they are heading out to their permanent home. Below is a picture of our coop progress, you can see the cedar tree on the right


Thanks in advance,
Kristi

Welcome from Rosenberg!!! What kind of chicks did you get? You probably need more....just saying...

I use pine shavings in my coop. Others use sand, leaves, etc.

Lisa

 

[SlipsWife]

We have that one too, I think it might be a larger size, its hard to tell how big yours is from the photo. For ease it is our third choice, this is my favorite, but only for the hens and because we don't have chicks in with them. I would remove them if we had chicks. The top always gets nasty when we have to flip it upside down to unscrew it. It takes a little bit getting use to making sure the plastic tabs line up. There's been a couple of times it wasn't locked in place right and when we went to unscrew it, it was difficult. Its not a bad choice at all, and a smaller size might be easier to work. The first waterer that I posted is usually gone as soon as our local TSC gets them in and with the money we had spent on the other, I had been putting off getting it...I regret not getting the first one sooner!

 

[KageChick]

Lisa,
I had my dream chickens list and I got all of them except the Sussex, we bought from Ideal Poultry about 30 minutes northeast of us and their Sussex were sold out until May and I didn't want to do chicks then turn around and raise a new batch. Since we are in town I had to limit to 6 hens (no roosters) and I got 2 Silver Laced Wyandottes, 2 Buff Orpingtons, and 2 Americaunas. We are just loving our chicken watching and play time. I would love to get more but until we finish our remodel projects and move out to the country we can only have 6 (I have never been a law breaker but I am so tempted to just get 2 more and see if anyone cares). LOL. But I won't, our chicken permit is in hand and I am afraid if I bend any rules I might not be able to have any, God forbid!
I am thinking of building up the ground a little in the run with gravel, small gravel, and then sand mixed with pine shavings and leaves. We have flooding in our back yard at times, not here lately because of the drought, but I want their run to stay dry. Mostly they will free range but I want to have a decent run so if we leave for the weekend they are still happy.
Kristi

 

[kenmlang]

Hey Texans,
I need advice on what kind of chicken runs you guys have for our climate. I have seen a lot of people recommend sand, what do y'all think? Also we have our girls situated between a large old fig tree and a huge cedar tree for protection from sun and wind, would a covered run be overkill? We have an area for our six chickens that will allow them a 9ft x 6ft run and I have my hardware cloth, the thing we are stuck on is the floor. We are in Taylor, just NE of Austin so we are right in central TX. As of right now our little chicks are only 3-4 weeks old and live in our house with us so we have a little time until they are heading out to their permanent home. Below is a picture of our coop progress, you can see the cedar tree on the right


Thanks in advance,
Kristi

Hey Kristi, Coop looks great!! I use sand in my coops, because that is what we have here. We throw some straw in for the girls to scratch around in. These are my coops, and if you look at the runs, I built 3ft x 4ft panels and attached them together. After I built the first one, I got the idea to start a side business to sell these panels. Anyway, I used to live in Thorndale, and if I remember right, it gets pretty windy in that area. Just make sure to put a windbrake somewhere your girls can access. I also know that you have a gumbo/sand mix for soil up there. you can check with companies that make concrete to see if they will sell you some sand. Most will, and it is inexpensive. I hope this helps. Ken