Washingtonians

[Chickielady]

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But you will be OK by dinner time, I bet...I am gonna call my doc...I did CNA and Oral Surgery for years...and always got my shot before and was OK, but you never know when mt immunal system will go bonkers at anything from hand lotion to dairy products...throwing compressed straw yesterday in 2 new coops really got me feeling bad, sneezy itchy and I wear a mask...allergies to all sorts of stuff but not animals and chickens...

 

[Chickielady]

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To Ilia: Do you know how measles and mumps was almost entirely eliminated? How polio, which used to be the #1 cause of disability and a big killer of children, was eliminated? By vaccinating a majority of the children, even when one child got sick the rest had antigens so that their lymphocytes (white blood cells) recognized the disease and was able to fight it off. The outbreaks of whooping cough in CA, and other almost eradicated diseases of childhood have occurred in populations of schoolchildren that had a significant number of unvaccinated individuals.

By the way, I just did a paper on the supposed autism and vaccine link. There is NO hard scientific evidence to back that up... not even in studies comparing vaccination records with the number of those children who have autism and visa versa.

If you trade, sell, show, or swap birds, or have anything other than a closed flock, vaccination can be a prudent way to protect your birds health.

As usual, ultasol, you have eloquently and succinctly written what I wanted to say but couldn't find the words for. Good post!

I absolutely positively agree !

 

[Chickielady]

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www.patriotfarmandbison.com There is also currently another one on CL. They are in the Toledo area. I plan to check them out.

Chicken Rustler this looks awesome !
I want to get about 5-8 more bales of straw and they have it for $4 a bale vs. the feed stores selling it for $7 now and will soon jump to $12 a bale for stinking old plain old straw !!!!!
I think by the end of last winter straw at Del's feed was $16 a bale, and 3rd or worse cutting alfalfa was $14 and the alfalfa was all shake and sticks...horrible scratchy nasty stuff...all the leaf fell off...chickens could not make a decent nest out of the nasty stuff...If you go there, check out the straw and grass hay please!!!

 

[cheryl98117]

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All my coops are standing coops. None of my runs are covered so when it rains hard they will go stand under the coop.

Only time they go into the coop is to eat, lay, sleep.

If your chickens have no where else to go in hard rains and can't stand under the coop then space might be a concern if they go into the coop during the day all together.

I got to thinking about how much time and what time they spend in there and came to the conclusion all of these so called rules for space on forums really depends on type of coop if your chickens can get out of the rain without going into the coop.

If one has them locked up till 9:00 in the morning due to work or some other situation I can understand.
My chickens spend every day light minute outside or under the coop when hard weather hits.


This is my existing coop. They do not have complete cover in the run, but they have access to the run 24/7. They are not always locked in, I let them out in the afternoons to range. When it rains they just huddle under the bushes, they don't go into the coop to get out of the weather.

I think my biggest issue with my coop is the roost space.

 

[Chickielady]

yes Cheryl, and they like to be high, as in off the ground as much as possible, but for my heavy birds can harm their feet jumping off a high perch and end up with bumble foot no matter that there is 6-8" of wood curls on the floor, so I keep the roosts about waist high to me, nest boxes underneath.
So the nests go up 2 high and have a poop tray on top with lowish sides and I caulk it and put sand in it and can sift the sand with a cat box shovel to clean the poo out....cheap, and very fast and easy.
the roost DH hangs by shelf brackets, I will post a photo...

 

[cheryl98117]

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The roosts in this coop are about 3 feet off the ground. And the poor Silkie that I have can't get up on it... I thought for sure a 3' hight would be low enough for her... The nesting boxes are at ground level, and are situated on the low side of the coop. The roof was built twith a hinge, so I can just reach in. I have an old wood orchard crate in there for the nestb box. I don't think the girls have the slightest idea what to do with it though. I am going to build an addition to this coop, to give them a taller space. I'm thinking the lack of highth "sp?" is why my roo doesn't like going in the coop to roost at night. So three more sheets of wood, and some 2x4's to frame with, use some old heater vent caps for ventilation in the upper corners. And I found an old, "and I do mean old" single pain window. My mother said if I can figure out how to use it, that I could have it... So we will see...

lol My lumber list is getting pretty big! lol Does anyone use Cedar lumber in their coops? I live directly across from a cedar mill, and have access to all the rough cut lumber I could want... I know cedar shavings and chicps are a HUGE no no for bedding. Because of the surface area on the pieces combined with the toxic oils in cedar... But what about lumber? Much less surface area, and I would emagine the fumes wouldn't build as much because the lumber doesnt get stirred up like shavings do when used as bedding... PLUS there is ventilation to keep air flowing through the coop, wich would keep any fumes to a minimum...

So Is it worth building out of cedar, when the matirials are free? Is it even safe? Or am I talking myself into something thats not a good idea...

 

[hallerlake]

My tractor is cedar. It's been four months, and no trouble so far. You could always paint the inside to seal the fumes.

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The roosts in this coop are about 3 feet off the ground. And the poor Silkie that I have can't get up on it... I thought for sure a 3' hight would be low enough for her... The nesting boxes are at ground level, and are situated on the low side of the coop. The roof was built twith a hinge, so I can just reach in. I have an old wood orchard crate in there for the nestb box. I don't think the girls have the slightest idea what to do with it though. I am going to build an addition to this coop, to give them a taller space. I'm thinking the lack of highth "sp?" is why my roo doesn't like going in the coop to roost at night. So three more sheets of wood, and some 2x4's to frame with, use some old heater vent caps for ventilation in the upper corners. And I found an old, "and I do mean old" single pain window. My mother said if I can figure out how to use it, that I could have it... So we will see...

lol My lumber list is getting pretty big! lol Does anyone use Cedar lumber in their coops? I live directly across from a cedar mill, and have access to all the rough cut lumber I could want... I know cedar shavings and chicps are a HUGE no no for bedding. Because of the surface area on the pieces combined with the toxic oils in cedar... But what about lumber? Much less surface area, and I would emagine the fumes wouldn't build as much because the lumber doesnt get stirred up like shavings do when used as bedding... PLUS there is ventilation to keep air flowing through the coop, wich would keep any fumes to a minimum...

So Is it worth building out of cedar, when the matirials are free? Is it even safe? Or am I talking myself into something thats not a good idea...

 

[Chickielady]

I do not know about a totally solid cedar building, but you can paint the inside as said...I use red and white wood curls mixed with compressed really soft straw for indoors, and have all my life with no problem and not many mites either...Some pics of the awesome door DH built to split the old coop in half and there was little room to have a swing door, I said a pocket door would work!!!
This is what he made:

close up:

slides on pvc...and the old coop's nest boxes and poop trays:

these are not tight sealed so sand will sift through to the nest boxes below, I have to seal them up yet as sand is the way to go !

This is the new coop the "Poetry House", also divided in half...with temporary dog crate of RIWs visiting until tonight they will go back in the baby coop

and the right side:

Then I get a bucket and cat pan spoon, and sift the poops and the place stays super clean.
Sand is so cheap, but note the poop trays have to be sealed and edged so sand cannot sift out.
I have had no problem with them eating or kicking the sand out as they do with straw in the poop trays.
Now I must paint before the rain as Rainwolf has said !!!!

 

[cheryl98117]

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OH SAND!!! Thats another thing I need to pick up. Luckily Mr. Arness a local cunstruction company owner, dumps his excess sand just down the road from my place. You might have seen it when you drove out here... He dumps it on the edge of his property, just off the road for locals to pick up if needed... He's such a good old guy! He gave my sister a MAJOR discount when her old horse passed. He charged her just the gas for the tractor to come out and dig a 18' deep hole to bury Dutchess in... So instead of the normal $450.00 my sister only paid $100.00... I must remember to give him some eggs and a card when the girls start laying.

I love the REAL locals in my area. We all take care of eachother. Wether its firewood, lumber, sand, or an extra set of eyes... Its kind of uncommon now days, I wouldn't know my neighbors if I hadn't spoken to them all about the horses and chickens... lol But we are all a huge extended family, and we all watch out for eachother.

 

[hallerlake]

I live in a very neighborly neighborhood. I chat with people walking their dogs and their children while I'm gardening. When an idiot took the curve too fast last spring and plowed through my fence, garden, and hit the front porch, someone from around the corner left sympathy flowers on my front porch. I love that about our neighborhood.


Quote:
OH SAND!!! Thats another thing I need to pick up. Luckily Mr. Arness a local cunstruction company owner, dumps his excess sand just down the road from my place. You might have seen it when you drove out here... He dumps it on the edge of his property, just off the road for locals to pick up if needed... He's such a good old guy! He gave my sister a MAJOR discount when her old horse passed. He charged her just the gas for the tractor to come out and dig a 18' deep hole to bury Dutchess in... So instead of the normal $450.00 my sister only paid $100.00... I must remember to give him some eggs and a card when the girls start laying.

I love the REAL locals in my area. We all take care of eachother. Wether its firewood, lumber, sand, or an extra set of eyes... Its kind of uncommon now days, I wouldn't know my neighbors if I hadn't spoken to them all about the horses and chickens... lol But we are all a huge extended family, and we all watch out for eachother.