Utah!

[Daloorashens]

What everyone said on the sex-link, girl has to be barred=)

Sorry about your roo, SPhinx, I've read of roosters just falling over dead, but have read it more in heavier breeds like orps and Marans, that's pretty crazy and frustrating, sorry that happened!!

 

[Joybells]

A little late of an update but I got my first SFH chick yesterday. Thank you Daloorashens and Red for getting the cutie to me.

I have her in a box next to my desk so I can keep an eye on her for the first few days because I'm a nervous mother-hen. She looks happiest when she's chasing after meal worms.

One of these days I need to get some pictures of my ducks and Sherlee out in the garden (that hasn't been touched in two years). They're so pretty!

 

[sillycmoy]

Silly and Sphinx,

Here are some of my runs, still in progress.... railroad ties will go around the perimeter for more protection.... I wanted to sink the wire but high temps hit too soon. The trailer in the background is my new 'oilfield mancamp' to be converted into coops with runs. To the right is the old man-camp trailer. Once finished they will all be encased in matching bat and board covering.



I started with 1 1/4" PVC but the fitting would'nt fit over the T-posts that support the runs so I ended up with 2" by the time I achieved what I wanted.





This is the door.... 3/4 inch PVC woven in the wire and wire tied. I used 45 degree elbows for the top and bottom. Here's NuRoo (my Legbar) and one of his temp wives to keep him company.




Here's inside. This is Mister's coop (my Welsummer). He's wondering why I'm in his coop without permission!!



Here's an older pic of NuRoo when the Wels hens hadn't been moved in with Mister yet.

I love it, love it, love it. I'm totally going to make my 8 foot section on the hill like this, I already went outside today and laid a pipe that I already had there, and it goes extremely well with the hill, flush flat. Of course I'm going to put something along the bottom, since we want to have it removable I can't really bury an apron that is attached to the fence, but I'm still thinking of putting an apron that just lays flat about 2 feet on both sides of the fence just for my peace of mind. Probably a railroad ties or the wooden planter blocks. Something really solid. This looks so easy that I might make another section on the other side of the house, that I can put them in a few times a week too, so they have more variety.

 

[Desert Springs]

Mesha, here's the fur face I got from you at Chickenstock.

Here Lance Ellis, the Poultry Judge certification teacher at Chickenstock.


Casa, there's Rita and Lucy(?) taking a siesta under the horse trailer today. Got hot real fast!!! Can't count them but there's gotta be about 30 chickens under there

. There's fresh water right to the rear so they are lovin' it. Shade and drinks!!! And yes, I crawled under to take pics...lol.



Here's the half grown Dels.... always wanting attention and to see who's come to visit them.

Can't forget the peafowl and Rezik, the German Shepherd who shares her food with them.

The Cashmere goats are feeling left out. This is Krager, my buck.




Here is Brooklyn and Juliana... Krager's wives.


Here is Xena, and Krager's future fiancee Babbet on the right. YES, they are losing their cashmere. Didn't harvest this year...

too much to do.



Below is little Hoppy.

She has just left the mudroom and has her own pen. Because the former owners of the Cashmere herd did not have a planned breeding schedule, poor Julianna (her mother) had 4 babies at the end of February

, in the harsh, frigid cold. I had been checking on her every two hours, for two days. I had to make a trip into the SLC valley and she was determined to have them while I wasn't around. However the neighbors were on alert. One passed shortly after birth

. Two more were more dead than alive when I returned home, and after milking Julianna, placing them in towels and on heat pads in the house, and giving them colostrum AND staying with them all night, they pulled through

. As this was my first experience with raising goats I relied on my vet, whom I soon found had no knowledge of goats

. The vaccinations were the incorrect ones and I lost a 2nd baby

. Julianna had decided to keep only one, no matter what we did so the other stayed in the mudroom. He was a strong kid and looked healthy!!! About this same time we noticed Julianna's was having a hard time walking and realized the baby had frostbite.... fairly severe. We brought her into the mudroom too. I was worried we'd lose the last one however she was healthy, just had problems with her feet. Suddenly, late one night, the strong boy bloated. I tried all the meds I had purchased and all the tricks, while having an Idaho friend (who has a goat milking business) on the phone. Another one gone

.

This last one I pampered!!!

I knew she had big problems with one leg and realized one foot would have to be amputated because it was dead from the frost bite. All the research I had done stated goats get along great with three legs. Then, one day, half her leg fell off

. No blood. She continued getting around so I made a cover for the stump as protection. Then a week later a hoof fell off another foot.... this time I made a boot, which she continually wears. She's limited in her travels but she's not in pain, continues to eat, drink and even walk around her small pen. She is next to her herd mates for company, but won't be able to stay in with them because Cashmere goats are very violent with each other during play. Chances are she'll continue being a pet unless a GOOD vet determines that she can be bred in the future.



Anyway, next pic run will be if the chick babies...lol

 

[Sphinx]

Oh, Desert, that is a brilliant set up. I love it.

Sadly, no, I don't have a backup roo. I don't have the hens to handle it. Plus, with a total of 3 roosters already, it seemed a little excessive, given that I am in suburbia. Worst case scenario, I have a batch of legbars hatching in just over a week. I could hold a cockerel back from that. But, he would be the son of my existing legbar, which is breeding a little too closely for my taste. Hopefully I can figure something out. Corvidae, have any more spare roosters were contemplating sending to the soup pot that I could buy from you?

The more I think about it, the more surprised I am that I didn't lose MORE chickens- I have my enclosure right along the property line, and those giant backhoes (i'm talking the 10' tall ones) going back and forth right along the fence would be incredibly terrifying for them. I noticed my hens were in the henhouse, which is very unusual this time of day. I suspect they ran, and my poor rooster stayed out there to protect his girls.

In happier news, I got a text from the kindergarten teacher that she went to turn the eggs today, and FOUR of them had pipped. I hadn't even planned to put them into lockdown until 3:30 today. It's only day 19. Barely. So, I got everything together and have the hatch cam live again. I'm a little peeved because I'd planned to put sponges under the wire mesh, candle everyone to take out any quitters and set everything up at my leisure, without kids around. Oh well, what do you do? Anyway, hatch cam is live, but where they just pipped a couple hours ago and they're early, I don't expect anything exciting yet. But then again, at my last hatch, I said the same thing and had a chick hatch 3 hours later, so who knows?

 

[Desert Springs]

Oh, Desert, that is a brilliant set up. I love it.

Sadly, no, I don't have a backup roo. I don't have the hens to handle it. Plus, with a total of 3 roosters already, it seemed a little excessive, given that I am in suburbia. Worst case scenario, I have a batch of legbars hatching in just over a week. I could hold a cockerel back from that. But, he would be the son of my existing legbar, which is breeding a little too closely for my taste. Hopefully I can figure something out. Corvidae, have any more spare roosters were contemplating sending to the soup pot that I could buy from you?

The more I think about it, the more surprised I am that I didn't lose MORE chickens- I have my enclosure right along the property line, and those giant backhoes (i'm talking the 10' tall ones) going back and forth right along the fence would be incredibly terrifying for them. I noticed my hens were in the henhouse, which is very unusual this time of day. I suspect they ran, and my poor rooster stayed out there to protect his girls.

In happier news, I got a text from the kindergarten teacher that she went to turn the eggs today, and FOUR of them had pipped. I hadn't even planned to put them into lockdown until 3:30 today. It's only day 19. Barely. So, I got everything together and have the hatch cam live again. I'm a little peeved because I'd planned to put sponges under the wire mesh, candle everyone to take out any quitters and set everything up at my leisure, without kids around. Oh well, what do you do? Anyway, hatch cam is live, but where they just pipped a couple hours ago and they're early, I don't expect anything exciting yet. But then again, at my last hatch, I said the same thing and had a chick hatch 3 hours later, so who knows?

Just so you know.... Mesha has/had a Legbar Cockerel. And I agree.... he was probably protecting them

I know this sounds dumb, and I haven't asked before because I thought I'd just figure it, but what does 'pip' mean? LOL

 

[Sphinx]

Pip is when they first make the tiny hole on the outside of the egg before they actually begin to hatch. ;-)


Here's a great example from a hatch I did last year.

 

[La Casa de Pollo]

Christina, I love love your pvc runs. Great ideas! Yes you could pick this little guy up on Saturday. We may go camping, **may**, but I willjsut be about 15 min from home, so i can easily meet you. Just let me know when it gets closer an approximate time. Will pm you my number. Yes we would be dangerous chicken shopping together, goodness.!

Sphinx, I am so sorry about your roo~ ! I remember when we picked that little guy up, so sweet. I am sad about that too I hope the rest are ok and not too traumatized. As Christina said--Mesha (Daloorashens) is breeding legbars too so if you needed something from another flock, I am in Idaho alot.

Silly, what a great idea on the crates too, i love all the things people come up with on here!

 

[Mo5C]

Silly and Sphinx,

Here are some of my runs, still in progress.... railroad ties will go around the perimeter for more protection.... I wanted to sink the wire but high temps hit too soon. The trailer in the background is my new 'oilfield mancamp' to be converted into coops with runs. To the right is the old man-camp trailer. Once finished they will all be encased in matching bat and board covering.



I started with 1 1/4" PVC but the fitting would'nt fit over the T-posts that support the runs so I ended up with 2" by the time I achieved what I wanted.





This is the door.... 3/4 inch PVC woven in the wire and wire tied. I used 45 degree elbows for the top and bottom. Here's NuRoo (my Legbar) and one of his temp wives to keep him company.




Here's inside. This is Mister's coop (my Welsummer). He's wondering why I'm in his coop without permission!!



Here's an older pic of NuRoo when the Wels hens hadn't been moved in with Mister yet.

Your setup is awesome DesertSprings, I am envious. Hopefully someday I have that much room so I can build something like that, I absolutely love it.

 

[Desert Springs]

Pip is when they first make the tiny hole on the outside of the egg before they actually begin to hatch. ;-)


Here's a great example from a hatch I did last year.

LOL... thanks Sphinx

.

I kept hearing about pips and everybody knew what they were. I thought I'd figure it out.... thanks so much for telling me

.