Washingtonians

[itsren]

Me too! She's lucky I was busy with new birds today or I. Might have dropped by for a slice!

DH and I thought it was yummy! The kids, not so much. I went off on a rant about how I picked those berries to make them a special treat and they stick their noses in the air and refuse to eat it. DH pulled me aside and said he wouldn't eat berry pie, either, when he was a kid. He didn't like the texture. Light bulb moment - I can blame my husband for my three little picky eaters!

 

[Nikki99]

Good heavens, that looks like a chicken castle! Wow! Such a cool coop!

So, are those egg mats inside the nesting boxes? Could you try some straw, or something softer?

My chickens love their nesting area, and it has a roof over the top. You could add a board to the top of the nesting boxes to make them a little more private. It would make the box darker and more cozy.

Those are my thoughts. I'm curious what suggestions others have.

Aww, thanks for the kind words.

LOL, my husband calls is the chicken mansion! Hahaha. It was never supposed to be this big but DH got carried away and next thing we know, we have a small barn! I call it the "critter castle" because technically, it's for more then just the chicks. We have 3 ducks and 2 nigerian dwarfs that will be joining our family this Sunday!!!! I'm so excited!
Ok, back on task, sorry.
In this pic there wasn't anything on the bottoms of the boxes. We had just installed them. The bottom is wood and then I layered straw on top. The chickens didn't seem to like the straw and the ducks ate it, so I changed it to shavings. They still don't seem to like them.
I was concerned about putting a roof on them because I thought that would encourage them to roost on them, then I'd have one more spot to clean poo from.

Nikki: you have such a big coop, I wouldn't hesitate for one more day to shut them all in for a week and force them to learn to like the nest setup you already have. It's fabulous and they just need to be forced to use it is all. Mine were the same way and it only took them 2 days of taking away their rabbit hutch before they all started liking the nest boxes in the coop better anyway.

I've tried shutting them in for a few days and 1 of my girls used the box, the others just laid on the floor.

 

[Nikki99]

A while back I bought a sewing machine off of ebay for my mom. I paid with pay Pay Pal. I never got the sewing machine, but I did get my money back from Pay Pal.

Today I got a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice that I have been identified as one of the victims in a criminal case against a guy who sold vacuum cleaners and sewing machines on ebay. They've asked me to verify if the guy ever used my credit card # for making purchases. Lovely, I get to do some paper trail work. I'm pretty confident he didn't have my CC info because I paid via Pay Pal, but you never know.

Just what I need. More paperwork.

Oh no! Hopefully all your important info was kept safe and sound...away from this loser!! That's awesome that you got your $$ back though!!

 

[itsren]

I can attest to SadieSue's generosity and enabling abilities, as well as the reliability and ease of use of her Brinsea bator. My very first hatch ever resulted in 11 chicks from 18 shipped eggs!

Well, darn it! I keep thinking I may sneak off to Trader Joe's and try to find some fertile eggs. If they don't hatch, I've just wasted a few bucks and that's it. If DH asks about them, I could tell him I'm doing a science experiment. I've got a Brinsea bator that I'm dying to use!

 

[FirewifeJess]

I've always loved pie and hated cake....even as a kid my birthday cakes were actually pies

 

[Nikki99]

That's a good idea, to move their eggs to the nests, thanks Jess! I will try that too.

 

[FirewifeJess]

I can attest to SadieSue's generosity and enabling abilities, as well as the reliability and ease of use of her Brinsea bator. My very first hatch ever resulted in 11 chicks from 18 shipped eggs!

Well, darn it!  I keep thinking I may sneak off to Trader Joe's and try to find some fertile eggs.  If they don't hatch, I've just wasted a few bucks and that's it.  If DH asks about them, I could tell him I'm doing a science experiment.  I've got a Brinsea bator that I'm dying to use!

What kind of chickens does trader joes use to lay their eggs? Can you even find out?

 

[FirewifeJess]

That's a good idea, to move their eggs to the nests, thanks Jess! I will try that too. 

And I have extra dummies if you need some to borrow

 

[itsren]

What kind of chickens does trader joes use to lay their eggs? Can you even find out?

Do a BYC search for "Trader Joes". A bunch of different threads come up. It looks like you can end up with different varieties. If it was a white egg, I'm guessing it would probably be a leghorn.

 

[FlyRobinFly]

Farmin' Momma, sorry to hear about the attack on your flock.

We get loose dogs and cats here, as well as coyotes and coons and so on, but my dogs do a pretty good job of seeing off any intruders.