Texas

Hi all!

I've been a lurker for a while, but have finally posted!

I'm in New Braunfels (Between San Antonio and Austin). I live out in the country and am *finally* planning to stop talking about buying chickens and GET some chickens! I just have to build that darn coop/run first...

The thoughts running though my head at the moment:
  • My goal is to have a predator-proof coop, as we have a bobcat living the next acreage over, coyotes nearby, as well as owls, hawks, vermin, and snakes. Who knows what else. I'll hardware cloth the sides, top, and bottom and be cognizant of keeping the base of the door predator-proof, too.
  • The coop will be built next to a tree/shrub area (trees/shrubs are west-facing), which should block the most intense light.
  • I'm planning for an open coop where the run and coop are all one. There will be one solid side facing north (our most intense wind comes from the north) and a few short walls on the west/east side.
  • I'm hoping to let them out of their run and free range during the day (will they automatically just stay in the general area? I'm sure the answer is somewhere in the forums...)
  • I'm hoping to get unsexed pullets - grow up the boys and feed 'em to the dogs and keep the ladies.
  • I'm thinking Rhode Island Reds and Australorps...a total of 15 or 20?

Things I need to further research:
  • Where to buy from within a 1 hour radius - is NB Feed good enough for a beginning like me?
  • Which bedding method to go for
  • Actually buying supplements/food/etc.

I've spent so long thinking about coop/run designs I've barely thought about actually GETTING the chickens. My boyfriend and I are learning to be more handy, but still aren't lumber/building experts - it'll be an adventure.

Re: designs...I'm into this one that i saw on a BYC thread (maybe this one?)

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Welcome from Rosenberg! Nice looking coop. How come you are only getting 15 or 20??? You need more!!
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I have Australorp and love them.

Quote:
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Lisa :)
 
Good morning Texas! Here are a couple of sites I found in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep. LOL
Landscaping your run...

http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2012/04/chicken-run-landscaping.html

Heat Stress relief for your flock.....

http://www.tillysnest.com/2012/06/heat-stress.html

raised beds for the coop....

http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog...cken-Run-Raised-Bed-Building-Plans-p1248.aspx

Got to run, My daddy was put in the hospital last night, he has an infection and he is now septic, it's in his blood. Hardheaded man, letting it go. So I am headed to the hospital.
Have a great day.
Thanks for the links, I will check them out this afternoon. So sorry to hear about your day. Hope he is ok. Sending prayers your way!

Prayers to your dad. Hope alls well. I know the feeling with my mom and all.

Well, for the first time in a week Mama has spent a full 12 hours in her pasture. No waking up to her standing in the shed eating all my feed, no 7 a.m. phone call from the neighbors. Keeping fingers crossed I don't walk out and see the all familiar site of my escape artist in action. Not after spending over two hours mending fence by myself, I'd probably cry.



Doesn't she look guilty as charged? Ignore all the dead fall in the back. I'm trying to burn it between rain and building.

Babies are on the back porch! They're enjoying the morning sun.



Ooh a bug!!

Pretty horse! What kind is she? She's a stocky thing. I used to give my horses dog food as treats. Doc loved Alpo the best!
Happy 30th Anniversary on Monday!!

Lisa :)

Thanks Lisa! How are your new babies doing? We need new pics!
Congrats! Unfortunately, marriages that last are a rare commodity these days! Kudos!

Thanks huggstaff13! We've had or share of misunderstandings, but these last few years have been really great. I couldn't make it without him. :)
Yes they are! I just love the way they look!
I love how the white stands out against their black feathers! Very striking. :)

well my turkeys are still in the house
You have to join Clovis in the other forum. But wait, yours are still in the brooder? So you get a pass until they go outside.
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Hi all!

I've been a lurker for a while, but have finally posted!

I'm in New Braunfels (Between San Antonio and Austin). I live out in the country and am *finally* planning to stop talking about buying chickens and GET some chickens! I just have to build that darn coop/run first...

The thoughts running though my head at the moment:
  • My goal is to have a predator-proof coop, as we have a bobcat living the next acreage over, coyotes nearby, as well as owls, hawks, vermin, and snakes. Who knows what else. I'll hardware cloth the sides, top, and bottom and be cognizant of keeping the base of the door predator-proof, too.
  • The coop will be built next to a tree/shrub area (trees/shrubs are west-facing), which should block the most intense light.
  • I'm planning for an open coop where the run and coop are all one. There will be one solid side facing north (our most intense wind comes from the north) and a few short walls on the west/east side.
  • I'm hoping to let them out of their run and free range during the day (will they automatically just stay in the general area? I'm sure the answer is somewhere in the forums...)
  • I'm hoping to get unsexed pullets - grow up the boys and feed 'em to the dogs and keep the ladies.
  • I'm thinking Rhode Island Reds and Australorps...a total of 15 or 20?

Things I need to further research:
  • Where to buy from within a 1 hour radius - is NB Feed good enough for a beginning like me?
  • Which bedding method to go for
  • Actually buying supplements/food/etc.

I've spent so long thinking about coop/run designs I've barely thought about actually GETTING the chickens. My boyfriend and I are learning to be more handy, but still aren't lumber/building experts - it'll be an adventure.

Re: designs...I'm into this one that i saw on a BYC thread (maybe this one?)

Welcome to Texas thread! I have an open air coop/run. Used part of my barn to build it. I like this one. It's the one where they let the chickens out on one side, and garden on the other? Then swap every year? It's a great idea.

And here we go again...

Chicken Run supply
Yeah the run is starting! How big are you going to make it? Question on the screen door. Are you going to use it "as is" or do you have to reinforce it? I need to run to Lowes this weekend to get my last 10' board for my roost. Maybe I can talk DH into getting some lumber for the run while we're there.
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@hungnguyen ~ Hows your son doing? You are getting lax in the pic updates!!!!


Lunch break is over. Time to head back to the barn. I'm hoping to get the red paint up this weekend.
 
Prayers for your dad...I liked the one on landscaping the run! So pretty but I don' t think I have the patience. lol
I love to landscape but I am a I want it pretty right now, right now, kind of person. LOL

Sending up smoke for your Pops.

When I click the Landscaping link, it gets filtered by my work as :Marijuana...LOL
What kinda landscaping is being done....hehe
Oh really.... the dubbie filter...oops maybe I put up the wrong link.
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So...umm...I just realized this place is called Backyard Chickens. What if my chickens are technically in the front yard?
hummmmm This statement explains the marijuana filter on your computer...
yippiechickie.gif



Happy 30th Anniversary on Monday!!

Loved the sites!! I am praying for your Dad!

Lisa :)
Thank you my friend!!

Congrats! Unfortunately, marriages that last are a rare commodity these days! Kudos!
That is so true.... 25 is the new 50!

Saying a prayer for your father!
Thank you very much!

If you find any in the Dallas area, let me know!
I'm down in the Houston area often enough: my family's in the woodlands/Conroe.
I wouldn't mind being a courier, if that's something you want to look into.

I've seen a lady selling Olive Eggers on the Facebook page!
There's also a lady who has a little hobby farm who sells a lot of marans and olive eggers.


Ditto!!


You're out of the club!
You have to go to frontyardchickens.com now
The ad that JellyBean put up from Craigs list she had the olive eggers, BCM, and a lot more.
Thanks for the smoke...LOL


They look like little mimes!!
I love them!
Mimes......
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They do.... they really do....

Hope your dad will be ok. Prayers for him.

It shows different ways to fix up the run so it is nice for people to look at and for the chickens. The book has a list of shrubs (probably on-line too) that are good for cover and are chicken safe.

good idea :)

Love the top photo. :) Your white faced black Spanish are so pretty. So comical looking too.

Need to find a new place to hang my friend. This is for backyard chickens. ;)
Thank you very much!

Frontyardchickens.com - is that where all the plastic fake chickens people in high rises find in their apartments go? Ceramics! Stone rooster for sale, one of a kind! XD
I though it was pinkflamingo.com.....
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I would not say that I have been married 33 years. Just not to the same women lol. Was with the 1st wife 16 years and with this one 17 years now. The 1st one could not say no to anyone but me.
HA!!! That's messed up...LOL
yuckyuck.gif


Hi all!

I've been a lurker for a while, but have finally posted!

I'm in New Braunfels (Between San Antonio and Austin). I live out in the country and am *finally* planning to stop talking about buying chickens and GET some chickens! I just have to build that darn coop/run first...

The thoughts running though my head at the moment:
  • My goal is to have a predator-proof coop, as we have a bobcat living the next acreage over, coyotes nearby, as well as owls, hawks, vermin, and snakes. Who knows what else. I'll hardware cloth the sides, top, and bottom and be cognizant of keeping the base of the door predator-proof, too.
  • The coop will be built next to a tree/shrub area (trees/shrubs are west-facing), which should block the most intense light.
  • I'm planning for an open coop where the run and coop are all one. There will be one solid side facing north (our most intense wind comes from the north) and a few short walls on the west/east side.
  • I'm hoping to let them out of their run and free range during the day (will they automatically just stay in the general area? I'm sure the answer is somewhere in the forums...)
  • I'm hoping to get unsexed pullets - grow up the boys and feed 'em to the dogs and keep the ladies.
  • I'm thinking Rhode Island Reds and Australorps...a total of 15 or 20?

Things I need to further research:
  • Where to buy from within a 1 hour radius - is NB Feed good enough for a beginning like me?
  • Which bedding method to go for
  • Actually buying supplements/food/etc.

I've spent so long thinking about coop/run designs I've barely thought about actually GETTING the chickens. My boyfriend and I are learning to be more handy, but still aren't lumber/building experts - it'll be an adventure.

Re: designs...I'm into this one that i saw on a BYC thread (maybe this one?)

Welcome! And why not just order pullets... they are I think 95% female and that way you might get maybe one roo and you can have most of your numbers as laying hen and give the dogs a raw hide bone.
frow.gif


...and pink plastic flamingos,,,LOL
It is scary how much you and I think alike. LOL
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frow.gif
Welcome from Rosenberg! Nice looking coop. How come you are only getting 15 or 20??? You need more!!
wink.png
I have Australorp and love them.

yuckyuck.gif


Lisa :)
LoL, Lisa. I could start with more, since I know about half will go in the dog's bellies eventually...I just have to convince the boyfriend that more is better!

Also, the coop isn't mine - it's my inspiration photo I found on BYC!
 
Last edited:
Hi all! I've been a lurker for a while, but have finally posted! I'm in New Braunfels (Between San Antonio and Austin). I live out in the country and am *finally* planning to stop talking about buying chickens and GET some chickens! I just have to build that darn coop/run first... The thoughts running though my head at the moment:
  • My goal is to have a predator-proof coop, as we have a bobcat living the next acreage over, coyotes nearby, as well as owls, hawks, vermin, and snakes. Who knows what else. I'll hardware cloth the sides, top, and bottom and be cognizant of keeping the base of the door predator-proof, too.
  • The coop will be built next to a tree/shrub area (trees/shrubs are west-facing), which should block the most intense light.
  • I'm planning for an open coop where the run and coop are all one. There will be one solid side facing north (our most intense wind comes from the north) and a few short walls on the west/east side.
  • I'm hoping to let them out of their run and free range during the day (will they automatically just stay in the general area? I'm sure the answer is somewhere in the forums...)
  • I'm hoping to get unsexed pullets - grow up the boys and feed 'em to the dogs and keep the ladies.
  • I'm thinking Rhode Island Reds and Australorps...a total of 15 or 20?
Things I need to further research:
  • Where to buy from within a 1 hour radius - is NB Feed good enough for a beginning like me?
  • Which bedding method to go for
  • Actually buying supplements/food/etc.
I've spent so long thinking about coop/run designs I've barely thought about actually GETTING the chickens. My boyfriend and I are learning to be more handy, but still aren't lumber/building experts - it'll be an adventure. Re: designs...I'm into this one that i saw on a BYC thread (maybe this one?)
. It's not so bad once you get started. That coop/run has a very basic idea to it. Nice and easy. No arches, no leans. Predator proof is virtually impossible when it comes to bobcats. They're pesky little critters. Hardware clothe will be your best friend but it can be pricy, I'd only use it on exposed walls. I.e. walls on the exterior of the coop. I use hardware cloth on all my breeder pens. My layers aren't as lucky. They just get welded wire... But its harder to get to the layer area. Its got a double fence and electrical wire and its completely in closed. Have you narrowed down your breeds? How many are you planning on getting? Build for more than you intend... Chicken math will get to you.
...and pink plastic flamingos,,,LOL
And gnomes. ;)
Quote:
LOL, you could have claimed tax exemption with the IRS, just claimed the first wedding was a Disaster. Some of them will agree with you.
My fiance could say the same! His first wife, although they were married less than two years, totally ruined him. But I've known him since we were kids... We were 15 when we met, and our friendship eventually turned us into a couple. My DF is still learning that chickens are a part of me.. Haha. He will learn. ;)
 
LoL, Lisa. I could start with more, since I know about half will go in the dog's bellies eventually...I just have to convince the boyfriend that more is better!

Also, the coop isn't mine - it's my inspiration photo I found on BYC!

You need to get together with Ms. Jellybean! She has been posting pictures of some mighty cute coops. Watch out for her....she sure makes mighty fine desserts!
droolin.gif


Lisa :)
 
Hi all!

I've been a lurker for a while, but have finally posted!

I'm in New Braunfels (Between San Antonio and Austin). I live out in the country and am *finally* planning to stop talking about buying chickens and GET some chickens! I just have to build that darn coop/run first...
Welcome from north Montgomery county area...if you got chicken questions you came to the right place.
frow.gif
 

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