Texas

[tiedyemommy]

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.

Thanks for the info.

 

[tiedyemommy]

Goldie, Olive & Fred getting their dust-bath on.

 

[TherryChicken]

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. 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 Also remember it's summer, and the chickens are drinking more water, which can lead to watery poo. What a tricky time for illnesses...

that coop is sooo cool, but too much hay to be wasted...

 

[magpiesing]

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

Welcome! My son and his family live in Denton. Lived there myself many years.

 

[crazychickenhug]

You are so right about the poo right now they are drinking more than they're eating that tends to give the impression of diaherria.

 

[crazychickenhug]

I would buy a good canvas tarp to cover them from rain or cold if you want to make walls you can also make them out of hay bales or straw then you can remove it when hot weather hits.

 

[bnjrob]

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!

I would put a wind barrier on the north and west sides from ground level to above where they roost at - keep the drafts off of them while they are sleeping and also let them be on the ground in the coop without getting blown away from winter wind. You might consider some wind barrier on the south side if wind coming from the south while the temp was still low would hit them while they are roosting.

Ours do well in some of the open air pens we have, as long as they have wind protection from the north/west in the run and from the north/west/south while they are up in their loft for sleeping. We use heavy mil plastic that I have to anchor in place with 1x2s screwed over the plastic and into the wood of the pen frames, because otherwise when we have the weird winds that come from the south during winter, the wind will rip the plastic out of the staples unless I screw the 1x2 scrap pieces in place.

Don't forget that whatever you add as a wind barrier can cause the pen to become darker, thus chillier, and further decrease winter egg laying, if you put up something solid like a tarp or wood.

 

[Brookshire11]

that coop is sooo cool, but too much hay to be wasted...

I know. I couldn't do that much. I'd have no where to put it, and nothing to do with it once it warmed up lol.
I'm sure they embellished for the picture

 

[Starfire669]

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

This would make an awesome goose coop, lol.

 

[ABlackDogRanch]

I would put a wind barrier on the north and west sides from ground level to above where they roost at - keep the drafts off of them while they are sleeping and also let them be on the ground in the coop without getting blown away from winter wind. You might consider some wind barrier on the south side if wind coming from the south while the temp was still low would hit them while they are roosting.

Ours do well in some of the open air pens we have, as long as they have wind protection from the north/west in the run and from the north/west/south while they are up in their loft for sleeping. We use heavy mil plastic that I have to anchor in place with 1x2s screwed over the plastic and into the wood of the pen frames, because otherwise when we have the weird winds that come from the south during winter, the wind will rip the plastic out of the staples unless I screw the 1x2 scrap pieces in place.

Don't forget that whatever you add as a wind barrier can cause the pen to become darker, thus chillier, and further decrease winter egg laying, if you put up something solid like a tarp or wood.

Thank you, bnjrob!