Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[Firstchic]

Good job Cindylady....I had to do that once on Johnson St in Fon du Lac. Had a L o n g line behind me by the time she was across the road. I'm gonna get DS to measure that shed for sure today. Thought about letting my girls free roam today but am afraid with all this tall grass. DS shot a snake yesterday in the yard that bit my Williebean. Just a gardersnake. Poor dog sure did alot of yelling for a little dog. We do have two large dogs. Maybe that is why I have never seen anything on the property. Plus both neighbors have dogs. Both of their dogs walk the fence line checking out what is going on over here. The wild turkeys are putting up a fuss. The neighbor has a large field across from my bedroom window and there is huge flock of turkeys in that field. He forbids us to have dinner however.

Just went out and checked the girls, Gimpy's leg is looking great. All the swelling has gone down, the redness is gone, it looks normal, she is putting weight on it, altho, she is not walking normal on it. She still limps when she walks like maybe it is still sore but, thank the good Lord, she looks like she will survive.

 

[Firstchic]

good evening, I spent most of the day outside, except for my nap time..

that shed looks like it is about 10 feet wide, I can't tell how long it is from the picture..
it should handle your 15 chickens easily,,

I would not put the nest boxes outside.. it would take only one or two on the inside to handle that many chickens..

there is no need for a chicken door if you put the fence on the side where the big door is..
put a gate in the fence to let yourself into their yard.
make a 8 inch high gate sill so that you can still swing it open when there is snow on the ground..
If you put a cover on the chicken yard, and the fence would happen to be on either side of the shed, she snow sliding off of the roof will surely cave in the yard cover..
make sure that the holes in the cover are large enough to let snow fall through and not accumulate.
If you stretch a tarp for shade, do not lay it on top of the yard covering.. rain or snow will cave it in,,

just the two of you and a couple of guys ..

.........jiminwisc.........

Thanks j. Will chicken wire for a cover on the yard hold snow???? I will have DS measure it for sure today and let you know its exact dimensions. If chickens free range, how do you find the eggs they would lay?

 

[Kildare49]

Mine were free range....in run while I weigh what I want to do with fox trying to feed her kits...
They have always laid in the coop. Nest boxes with a couple of golf balls for fake eggs did the trick.

I will admit from reading on this site...my birds must be a little odd. They each have their favorite nest box. There is no single community nest box. And my Light brahma still refuses to use a nest box.
Regardless if I make one the size of dog house. I'll just blame it on the person I got them from

 

[FrenchToast]

Good Morning! We'll ET started to put the new bed rails on until he realized that he miss placed some parts it needs !
So who knows if/when we'll get to the bash. Now I have to order more parts for it.
Sad news yesterday. My nieces flat coated retriever is in kidney failure. Was at the vets for two days getting fluids. They brought him home last night. Have a vet coming to the house Tues to help his cross the rainbow bridge. Unless of course he needs to cross sooner
My poor little girls Addie and Maryn have to say goodbye to their buddy
Well I think for sure Jim and I are related ....check on the humidity in the bators and to my surprise I had 3 chicks hatch. Don't know what I was thinking. Guess I can't ad 2+21=23rd of May!!!!
Oh and as for white elephant gift. It's not just a gag gift. There are some very nice items up for grabs. I've received some very nice gifts as well as given some that weren't some door store trinkets. Not saying you have to spend a fortune but put some thought into it. Would you be pleased with it if you received it? Jmho

Anyone else up for raffles tickets to help horse rescue here in ton Wi ? Pm me !
27 out of 100 sold !!!

 

[Firstchic]

My girls lay in two boxes, or one if it is free. I have seen them stand and wait for the bird in the box to get out.

 

[Celtic Chick]

Good for you Cind!

I wouldn't worry too much about covering your run right now, Fc. Concentrate on the coop first, then fencing in a run. If you have issues later that makes you feel the need to cover it after that, then cover it.

Most people put a cover on their run to deter avian attacks. Or to keep preds from climbing over the fence. If you do not encounter those issues, I wouldn't bother with it. I would make as large a run as I could then plant some vase shaped bushes inside it for shade and cover. I have nanking cherry, red twig dogwood, elderberry, snowberry & flowering plum in my run. The girls love hanging out under them & eating the fruit.

I'm glad to hear Gimpy is improving. I had a hen who had an injured leg too. She got better but never really got rid of all of her limp. You really had to look close to notice it though. Chickens have amazing healing abilities thankfully.

As long as your girls know that their coop is their safe place to sleep at night & have nest boxes with golf balls in them, they should return to lay there. I've never have any issues and my girls have a huge run.

Kildare, my girls aren't like that either. Some days I can't have enough nests & some days they might all want the same one. One day there will be a bunch of eggs in a nest, then there won't be any.

I have 9 nest boxes for 25 girls.

So sorry to hear about your nieces dog Sandi.

To add to the white elephant topic, as it was explained to me for my first chicken bash, is an item that is useful but you personally have no use for. There have been gag gifts and some really, really nice stuff. Some has been brand new while others were previously owned. It does not have to be chicken related. As with all things, I recommend that you use your best judgement.

 

[Firstchic]

So, I just let my chicks out for their first foray on the yard. Gimpy did not like it at all and went right back in the coop and sat down. The others went sploring and all came running when I called for them except one, the little red one, squirtbottom. I could not see her and had to have son find her for me. She was lurking in the tall grass but he hearded her back to the flock. Guess my girls really like their coop, 4 are in and only 2 out roaming now. I can see them from my window.....good day for my girls.

 

[Celtic Chick]

Chickens are pretty much like everyone else. Some like a change of scenery while others don't like change at all. Give them a few days to adjust. Before you know it, they will be exploring too & you won't be able to herd them in til roost time.

 

[cuties]

Glarner, so sorry for your loss :/

Irish, no wonder you are not responding via phone! Lol your chicks are here I will pm.

Kildare, sorry, the Light Brahmas are not yet available. They are such slow producers here.

I am disliking all of my issues with BYC. It is actually a grating to come here. It doesn't work right. And it is now a TOTAL pain for me just to sign in.

 

[bigzio]

Early race day to everyone....yep...X2 on your loss glarner, I was so far behind on the reading that my small brain doesn't always comment on posts, but I do absorb them all. Just had a coopers hawk after my last and only black java...she made it away unharmed, but scared for sure. She is in hiding now under the hostas.....great breed for free ranging, but don't care for the single combs here in the north, and the roo's in my line were just plain mean to people.

Hope we get some rain today...dang it's dry...and a week from now the bash will be over....just a reminder that if you bring it in ...take it home...no garbage pick up service at Camp...Thanks in advance for that!

bigz