Where did they come from???

[KettermanHillCoop]

Keep us posted with pix of your flock as they settle in.
Also love to see the extended run!
BTW thanks for a great story. This is just the beginning!

So bummed....hooked the trailer up to my vehicle to go for the chain link enclosure...went to plug in the light harness...uggghhh...old style 4 prong on the trailer, 7 way connector on the vehicle. Now...I know there's an adapter somewhere...can I find it? Absolutely not...that would be too easy. Guy that has the fencing is leaving for the weekend...so now I must wait until Monday to go fetch it.

I sat on the ground next to the coop apologizing to my little feathered friends last night. (They looked at me like I was nuts...as did the boyfriend)

 

[BantyChooks]

So bummed....hooked the trailer up to my vehicle to go for the chain link enclosure...went to plug in the light harness...uggghhh...old style 4 prong on the trailer, 7 way connector on the vehicle. Now...I know there's an adapter somewhere...can I find it? Absolutely not...that would be too easy. Guy that has the fencing is leaving for the weekend...so now I must wait until Monday to go fetch it.

I sat on the ground next to the coop apologizing to my little feathered friends last night. (They looked at me like I was nuts...as did the boyfriend)

The best laid plans of mice and men...

Sorry about that. Hope you can find it.

 

[KettermanHillCoop]

The best laid plans of mice and men...

Sorry about that. Hope you can find it.

I just went out and bought a new one...and it will stay in my glove box! lol

 

[Sassysouth]

My run is covered, but open around the sides. The rain usually blows in sideways and the entire run floor gets soaked. What medium would you use personally for deep litter in that situation (including store bought)?

 

[pennyJo1960]

so sorry we have allot going on here like that after moving almost 3 years ago to our retirement home we still find things that where lost usually right after we bought another

 

[apryl29]

pigs?
I am so happy that I learned about poo boards here on BYC -- they are awesome for cleaning the area under the roosts. I use Sweet PDZ (horse bedding material) in them and a big slotted kitchen spoon to clean the poop out. Easy and stays nice and fresh. Other than that I just have to scoop duck poop out of a couple lower nest boxes or from the straw/woodchip mix on a portion of the coop floor. Note: the roost on upper left is too close to ceiling so need to shorten legs on roost. They do sit there anyway,
View attachment 1171235

Your roosts are awesome. Mind if I ask a few questions? How far off the ground are your roosts? How do they get up to the top roosts? I wonder if mine is too high sometimes as a few of my birds seem to struggle to get up there, but it's the heavier birds so maybe it's b/c they can't fly well. Also, do you have anything under the pdz except the wood? I've seen many people have trays, but I can't find any that would fit my particular situation so I like how yours is, but I would need to put an edge around the board to contain it. Not really an issue, but I wondered if I should also put something under the pdz to make for easier cleaning.

 

[Sassysouth]

Your roosts are awesome. Mind if I ask a few questions? How far off the ground are your roosts? How do they get up to the top roosts? I wonder if mine is too high sometimes as a few of my birds seem to struggle to get up there, but it's the heavier birds so maybe it's b/c they can't fly well. Also, do you have anything under the pdz except the wood? I've seen many people have trays, but I can't find any that would fit my particular situation so I like how yours is, but I would need to put an edge around the board to contain it. Not really an issue, but I wondered if I should also put something under the pdz to make for easier cleaning.

I have Red Production and they get to the edge of the poop board and then up to the roost. Mine is probably 3-4 feet off the floor. There is a window by the roost and they have tried to roost there and I covered it up. They try to get to the highest spot. They are not super heavy birds, but I have never seen them get much more that 2 ft off the ground. I have vinyl under mine, because I had it, but it is not necessary because of the PDZ.

Sorry, just butting in adding my 2 cents from my experience

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I also have linoleum on my poop boards but I don't put anything on them. I just go in and scrape off the poop. You can see our setup here http://onemountainacres.weebly.com/adventures-with-chickens you have to scroll about 3/4 of the way down to see our poop boards and coop setup. We added a ramp to the lower of the two roosts after the pictures were taken. Anyone that wants on the higher roost usualy walls up to the lower and jumps over to the higher.

 

[apryl29]

View attachment 1173815
I have Red Production and they get to the edge of the poop board and then up to the roost. Mine is probably 3-4 feet off the floor. There is a window by the roost and they have tried to roost there and I covered it up. They try to get to the highest spot. They are not super heavy birds, but I have never seen them get much more that 2 ft off the ground. I have vinyl under mine, because I had it, but it is not necessary because of the PDZ.

Sorry, just butting in adding my 2 cents from my experience

I also have linoleum on my poop boards but I don't put anything on them. I just go in and scrape off the poop. You can see our setup here http://onemountainacres.weebly.com/adventures-with-chickens you have to scroll about 3/4 of the way down to see our poop boards and coop setup. We added a ramp to the lower of the two roosts after the pictures were taken. Anyone that wants on the higher roost usualy walls up to the lower and jumps over to the higher.

You're not butting in at all! I love seeing what others have done. I'm new to this and I've had a lot of trial an error. Originally when I put in my poop board for some reason I had it slanted which seemed to make sense, but then I read about the pdz and figured I'd flatten it out so I could use that. I was scraping the poop off the slanty board, and with 14 birds I got tired of the poop, plus it was pretty hot out so it was hot smell poop. Right now the board is flat, but I have straw on it b/c I have no edge to hold in the pdz. I was going to do the tray thing, but I'm liking the idea of just pouring it onto the board and scooping.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I'm looking to expand the run...this weekend. Just got a deal for a 10'x10'x6' fence enclosure with a gate for $75. If the guy is available this evening I'm going to fetch it after work. I do plan to put a roof over it. Still deciding if I'm going to go with metal panels or polycarbonate sheets. Mox nix really...both will work...

Hopefully nobody in the household starts to complain about how expensive those eggs are when they start laying reliably for you. Do you have a general idea of how you are going to frame out the roof? I know you have yet to pick up your fencing material(and spoiler alert I read ahead a teensy bit). I do also like your german reference to "Macht's nichts".

Keep up the good work for your flock!
Allen