Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[bigzio]

Well heck I spent 5 hours in the turkey blind today. This morning was 3 hours with 2 toms about 80 yards away and not in the mood for my lovin....so I hung it up and decided to try later. Then at 3pm I was hunting again, and I'll be darn if a nice tom with a 10.5" beard and a nice 24lbs walked out a mere 15 feet away....the rest is history. The loggers didn't work Friday because of all the rain on Thursday, giving the property a few days to settle down, and me the chance to get out and do some hunting. It was a blast!

bigz

 

[Celtic Chick]

I have an easy to clean coop... just depends how many bad words you want to say building it....

Wow, your coop is absolutely beautiful! I love the floor. Good choice! This is a really nice design and looks easy to clean, which is a huge plus. Do you use a heat lamp or heat plate in the winter? Thanks!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/open-gate-garden-coop

Unless you live in a city where you are limited to only a few hens, this coop is waaaaaay too small! I'd maybe use this for an outdoor brooder.

Listen to Bigz & Jim when they say to make your coop way larger than you ever think you will need. I guarantee,you will find something to fill it up with.
A prefab shed kit makes a good coop. Just add insulation, a couple windows, a pop door (I recommend up a few inches from the floor), a roost & some nest boxes. A poop board under the roost makes cleaning easier, as does a door at least wide enough to get a wheelbarrow through. Make the poop board a little higher off the ground than your wheelbarrow is tall so you can rake the poop right into it.
Those little prefab chicken coops are junk and deceptively small. A few years ago, a Cheesehead bought one of those, had it right next to her house and a raccoon ripped the roof apart & killed her birds. Just an FYI.

my lawn needs mowing. I won't get to it before this next rainy spell, so it will be a hay field by the time I get to mow it.

Jim, I have a sickle bar mower for ya.

Jim - I do believe the dates that you listed are correct for the bash. That is what I have written down as well.

bl4 & everyone planning to be at the bash Friday night. Are we having a wine & cheese/snacking on goodies night?

Sounds good to me Kendra! Brent's pizza sounds good too. I can bring a couple larger pizza pans if needed. Terri, do you know of a good GF crust recipe?
We are excited for the bash too.

 

[chikenscratch]

good evening,

I went outside this afternoon and was surprised that it felt so warm.
I hopped on Ollie and hauled 3 nice bucketfuls of wood chips to the edge of the black berry patch out back.
I made a nice deep pad for the neighbor to dump the cow siht onto.

there is a place within driving distance where they have 55 gal barrels..  lots of them..  I get my truck back tomorrow.  how many barrels can a pick up truck hold ? I am thinking 7 to 10 with the tail gate down and all tied together..

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

Bummer I had also hoped for metal. I'll pass the info onto DH Nathan.

Back in the Northwoods!

Hey Terri! ​I know I have been to all of the Bashes....... I have an obstacle course race that morning at Mt. Morris, but I should be able to make it there. Of course you are holding the mini-bash the weekend I have the only other obstacle course race for the summer!

DH drove down this week to look at properties with me. I have to say I really like our realtor; she is a hoot! Walks in and starts making comments about what is wrong with the house and why on earth do these people think they can ask such prices for junk?! Anyway, we found a beautiful property that would be AMAZING if we are able to get it. Y'all cross your fingers, toes, and shoot some words to the man upstairs. This would be another major step for us, but I think we can handle it. 


I'll keep everyone posted!!

Sounds like our realtor. I absolutely loved her critiques.

Well heck I spent 5 hours in the turkey blind today. This morning was 3 hours with 2 toms about 80 yards away and not in the mood for my lovin....so I hung it up and decided to try later. Then at 3pm I was hunting again, and I'll be darn if a nice tom with a 10.5" beard and a nice 24lbs walked out a mere 15 feet away....the rest is history. The loggers didn't work Friday because of all the rain on Thursday, giving the property a few days to settle down, and me the chance to get out and do some hunting. It was a blast!

  bigz

Glad you had a chance to get out.

Unless you live in a city where you are limited to only a few hens, this coop is waaaaaay too small! I'd maybe use this for an outdoor brooder.   
Listen to Bigz & Jim when they say to make your coop way larger than you ever think you will need. I guarantee,you will find something to fill it up with. 
​A prefab shed kit makes a good coop. Just add insulation, a couple windows, a pop door (I recommend up a few inches from the floor), a roost & some nest boxes. A poop board under the roost makes cleaning easier, as does a door at least wide enough to get a wheelbarrow through. Make the poop board a little higher off the ground than your wheelbarrow is tall so you can rake the poop right into it.
​Those little prefab chicken coops are junk and deceptively small. A few years ago, a Cheesehead bought one of those, had it right next to her house and a raccoon ripped the roof apart & killed her birds. Just an FYI.


 
​Jim, I have a sickle bar mower for ya. 

Sounds good to me Kendra! Brent's pizza sounds good too. I can bring a couple larger pizza pans if needed. Terri, do you know of a good GF crust recipe?
​We are excited for the bash too.  :yiipchick  

I am excited too. Not sure if Nathan will make it or not. He has to work Saturday morning.
I agree with the build it larger concept. We built ours from scratch and it is good for about 10 birds, I'll have 13 in there until I figure out what genders I have in my recent hatch. We have a dirt floor and an ekevated nesting area. I love this model as it allows me to have a brooder when needed and it'll be needed soon. The chicks are about a week away from getting kicked out.

 

[jvls1942]

good sunday morning,

Ollie is still stuck. He is in a wet spot and will stay there until after the rainy season is over and it dries up a lot.

I like my coops. I have pictures somewhere.
the main coop is 10ft x 16 ft. fully insulated and a concrete floor.
I have a row of 10 nests suspended from the wall. no legs under it to get in the way for cleaning.
directly above the nests are the brooders. I can partition them off into four 4 ft lengths or leave the partitions out and have one long 16 ft brooder. . I have a heat lamp for each 4ft section controlled with a switch. I can easily brood 100+ chicks in there..
above the brooders I have a steep slanted roof . to keep the big birds from sitting up there.

I have a couple of extra outlets controlled with switches.
I plug in my heater with a Thermacube control; and I still have the option of shutting off the heat without unplugging anything.
I have only one ceiling light. I need to put in a second one, one of these days.
I have two 2x6 roosts running the full 16 ft.
they hang in slots on opposite walls. I can easily lift them and remove them when I need go clean out the coop.
the lower roost is closest to the wall and the higher roost is further from the wall. this way I can scoop poop right up to the wall without the roosts getting in the way.

there are two large removable windows right in front of the roosts. the chickens like that when it is cold and the sun is shining.
a few years ago I redid the roof. I pitched it higher and put on metal. now it doesn't leak and the snow slides right off.


when I do my spring clean out, I remove the roosts, open the windows and scoop poop right into the tractor bucket.

I also have a second coop. it is also set up for brooding chicks.
I can do several hundred chicks in that coop.

now you know why they say; " one picture is worth a thousand words"..

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

 

[jvls1942]

I have a question about pictures..

how do I find my file of pictures here on byc ?
and how can I pick out certain ones to resubmit ?

a quick response would be appreciated .

ETA
OK I figured out how to find the picture.
Now , how can I post it ?
I double click on it but nothing happens...

 

[dustergrl]

Jim,

Good question. I can't seem to figure it out.

I have a question for all of you. I got 7 hatchery chicks on Wednesday. One has been very lethargic- she has been eating if you put the food down on the ground in front of her, but doesn't really move around like the others. If you pick her up, she will peep but when you set her back down she just wobbles back to under the heat lamp, sits down, and closes her eyes. She is clearly not thriving like the other 6. She is not really eating this morning now.

Anything I can do for her? Cull or let live/die on her own?

I just don't want her to be suffering.

 

[jvls1942]

Jim,

Good question. I can't seem to figure it out.

I have a question for all of you. I got 7 hatchery chicks on Wednesday. One has been very lethargic- she has been eating if you put the food down on the ground in front of her, but doesn't really move around like the others. If you pick her up, she will peep but when you set her back down she just wobbles back to under the heat lamp, sits down, and closes her eyes. She is clearly not thriving like the other 6. She is not really eating this morning now.

Anything I can do for her? Cull or let live/die on her own?

I just don't want her to be suffering.

I am more heartless than most.
It doesn't sound good for it.
I would probable let it fight for life, but more than likely it will be dead by tomorrow.. s it happens..
Robin CC will suggest electrolytes,
getting it to drink is more important than food at this point.

let the hatchery know about it, they should either send you a replacement or credit your money ..

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

 

[Celtic Chick]

I am more heartless than most.
It doesn't sound good for it.
I would probable let it fight for life, but more than likely it will be dead by tomorrow.. s it happens..
Robin CC will suggest electrolytes,
getting it to drink is more important than food at this point.

let the hatchery know about it, they should either send you a replacement or credit your money ..

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

You know me so well Jim. And you are correct. I would put vitamins/electros in the water & make sure she drinks it often. Dip her beak into it if she won't drink. Good luck.

 

[jvls1942]

Quote:
right you are,

now how about my picture problem ?
I want to send a picture of my nests and brooders.

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

 

[Celtic Chick]

I have a question about pictures..

how do I find my file of pictures here on byc ?
and how can I pick out certain ones to resubmit ?

a quick response would be appreciated .

ETA
OK I figured out how to find the picture.
Now , how can I post it ?
I double click on it but nothing happens...

Jim, click on Insert Image. When the box comes up, under Upload Files should be some of your most recently uploaded pics, My Recent Photos. To the right of that should be a little box that says More. Click on that & it should show you all your previously uploaded pics.

Lol! you ETA'ed as I was typing. I single clicked on a pic & it worked.