The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

[SallyinIndiana]

Quote:
We also have a black cat that we are trying to catch. So far it is in our back pole barn garage. And it went in there on its own. Now I would not mind keeping it once I get a clean bill of heath for it and shots updated. But I have to catch it to do that.

 

[aoxa]

Anyone want to contribute how we should water our future birds?



I'm not sure how well you guys can see this floor plan I made of just the chicken part of the barn. The troughs will be free standing. I can move them in and out as needed (ie probably only in there in the winter)

We aren't going to heat this part of the barn at all, but it will be insulated. I'm trying to figure out how to water year round.. I was hoping to do some type of nipple waterer.. but I think that will freeze, and I'm not sure where to put it against a wall.. windows all along one wall, so not much space... plus I will have waterfowl, so I don't think it will work as well as I originally hoped.. unless of course they go outside to get their water..

Thoughts?

 

[lalaland]

Hi Everyone,

I live in a part of the UK where we have wet but relatively mildish winters ( except for this past one where we had about three weeks of sub zero temp and about 4 inches of snow, but that's usually rare). so they will not be necessarily cooped up in their run all the time.

My concern is will the soil have a build up of parasite which will ultimately affect their health?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I'm trying to remember the uk site that i visit - seems like there are a ton of folks doing just fine in very small areas - I think the key is keeping just a few hens, and watching that the soil doesn't get packed down to the point where it is barren.

I have a baby face but am young. A few times people have said Susan looks like my mother, but she is only a little over a year older than me. Boy does she get mad when they say that. It's happened 3 times in 2 years that someone said that

I can imagine! Someone said the same thing, "oh is this your daughter" to a woman and her partner who were just being introduced to the neighborhood lesbian group, and that was the very last time we saw them at any gathering! Quote:

Delisha - Thank you, I could not think of what she used, "filament" that's it! With the OT thread, this thread and others, I am on info overload. Is she "thedragonlady" ? Or another? Might try to PM her to see where she got the "filament" or just search the OT thread. I still have trouble with the search option on threads, doesn't always work for me. Thanks again!

Filament - use fishing line. A pain in the neck to install, and I've read elsewhere on byc that hawks have gone through a pretty small opening, maybe a foot or less wide between the strands. The idea is you either do a wagon wheel/maypole, or you run parallel lines, and supposedly it keeps hawks at bay. Might work if you don't have trees in your run.
Personally, I think you might have better luck with poultry netting, fruit netting, or avian netting.
None of this stuff will stop a hawk sitting on it, but should be a deterrent.

Anyone want to contribute how we should water our future birds?



I'm not sure how well you guys can see this floor plan I made of just the chicken part of the barn. The troughs will be free standing. I can move them in and out as needed (ie probably only in there in the winter)

We aren't going to heat this part of the barn at all, but it will be insulated. I'm trying to figure out how to water year round.. I was hoping to do some type of nipple waterer.. but I think that will freeze, and I'm not sure where to put it against a wall.. windows all along one wall, so not much space... plus I will have waterfowl, so I don't think it will work as well as I originally hoped.. unless of course they go outside to get their water..

Thoughts?

No suggestions, but like the layout!

 

[holderh]

AOXA: I love your plan for your coop...That really is nice....are you worried about how to get water out there or just to keep it from freezing during winter? If your worried about getting water out there so as you dont have to carry it to them daily could you put in a water hydren (sorry for the spelling...i am sure that isnt right) outside of the coop? that way you can just run a water hose to them.
If your talking about what kind of waterers please ignore my suggestion LOL.

 

[holderh]

Since I have done alot of talking about my girls I thought I would share a picture that I took yesterday...The white one on the 2nd step is Olive...she is my absolute fav. right now...so friendly and sweet.

 

[flagirl]

Delisha - Thank you, I could not think of what she used, "filament" that's it! With the OT thread, this thread and others, I am on info overload. Is she "thedragonlady" ? Or another? Might try to PM her to see where she got the "filament" or just search the OT thread. I still have trouble with the search option on threads, doesn't always work for me. Thanks again!
Filament - use fishing line. A pain in the neck to install, and I've read elsewhere on byc that hawks have gone through a pretty small opening, maybe a foot or less wide between the strands. The idea is you either do a wagon wheel/maypole, or you run parallel lines, and supposedly it keeps hawks at bay. Might work if you don't have trees in your run.
Personally, I think you might have better luck with poultry netting, fruit netting, or avian netting.
None of this stuff will stop a hawk sitting on it, but should be a deterrent.

Filament was referring to monofilament fishing line. the idea is from above it glitters and reflects light and frightens the birds. I am trying in in my run-tied to eve of coop and over to fence posts with smaller posts going up so we can walk inside. you can see how the line glitters in the light. we have hawks, but do not know if this is working in run. when we recently had a bobcat, he tried to dig under the coop, but was just walking alonside the run and looking up-maybe it threw him off from climbing 4' horse fence to get in that way.

 

[SallyinIndiana]

Anyone want to contribute how we should water our future birds?



I'm not sure how well you guys can see this floor plan I made of just the chicken part of the barn. The troughs will be free standing. I can move them in and out as needed (ie probably only in there in the winter)

We aren't going to heat this part of the barn at all, but it will be insulated. I'm trying to figure out how to water year round.. I was hoping to do some type of nipple waterer.. but I think that will freeze, and I'm not sure where to put it against a wall.. windows all along one wall, so not much space... plus I will have waterfowl, so I don't think it will work as well as I originally hoped.. unless of course they go outside to get their water..

Thoughts?

just thoughts, not sure how it would work in the winter.
if the birds are roosting that will be a nice heat source so maybe a waterer with a lid just to the right of the door, if that is far enough away from the roost to avoid the mess.
Another idea is in an area that will be getting the sun from all of the windows.
Leah's mom has posted pictures of her heated water bucket with cups, it looks very nice. Not sure how often it would need to be filled though.
Last winter I put a heat light in the coop and aimed it at the water for the coldest days when the birds would not go outside. It worked OK and we had it secured and took all kinds of precautions. Still I freaked that day you posted your barn story. I'm still undecided about doing it again next winter.

As for the breeding pens it might be interesting to think of a way that 2 pens could share food and water.

 

[jlynnet]

inside the hen house they have their own little corner.

in the run they have their own hideout.

 

[Melabella]

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/tick1.jpg

I know this pertains to dogs, but most of us have those right?

 

[NanaLynn]

I do have tree coverage, I was thinking that I might need to run some filament between the trees high up for "just in case". I also have many hiding spots for them from pallets and turned over plastic dog house halves. Their run is completely covered for when they're locked up at night, all hardware cloth. After seeing the owls and hawks around here, I have been pretty paranoid. They do run and hide very well though. I guess you can only do so much.



I have the 12 raised garden beds, I've been gardening many years now...so it was time for chickens. I put the 2 to 3 foot chicken wire around each bed with poultry netting on top to keep them out of my veggies. The chicks love to chase each other through the maze of garden beds, it is really fun to watch them.

The pvc between the beds is to bring the drip hose between the beds without losing water. The chicks love to come to any area where one of the hoses links, they get so excited.



Here is the back chicken door to my recycled metal shed coop. My setup is not too pretty, but it is functional.

..and here are my chicks, they are 11 weeks now and they're enjoying some leftovers in the pic. I have more day old chicks coming in a couple of days.