YO GEORGIANS! :)

[brucifer]

Ugh, am exhausted! The TV people are coming tomorrow to film an episode of Coop Dreams here at the house! So, Friday and Saturday was cutting grass, washing windows, pulling weeds, mulch, pinestraw, scraping chicken poop off the roosts, total redo on the bedding and the nests. Putting new sand in the duck area, and the sand box for the chicken side. Tomorrow will be last minute cleaning (our apartment area), brooder, decks, etc.

DH thinks I need to 'practice' what to say..........ummm, no. Just will be myself! Pretend I am just talking to renters. Piece of cake!

Anyway, going to get some hot tub time and then going to bed early!

Wow...that time already! I know you and R will do fine! I hope the rain hold off. I know the film crew will love your place. If you want me to show up to do a cameo for the show, just let me know.

BTW, evidently Matilda thought the front of my house was your chicken coop. Unbeknownst to us, she went around to the front of the house, came up on front porch, and laid an egg next to the front door. I imagine that she wanted to come into the coop to drop it in a nestbox. lol

 

[JennD08]

This is my first flock. Is there anything I need to do before putting my lovely ladies outside? They have been inside in a brooder their whole life so far (my fault as I broke my ankle 3 weeks ago and still restricted to the sofa). Thankfully the brooder is 4' x 5' x 3' so they have had some room as it is sort of 2-story.

I want to start prepping the coop. What does everyone have in their nesting boxes? Also can I paint the outside with regular outdoor paint? Does anyone paint the inside?

My ladies also seem to be gobbling up the starter so fast, at 5 weeks should I have them on something more filling? They do get some raw veggies and my daughters hunt crickets, worms, bugs every other night now.

 

[JennD08]

Thank you all for the wonderful advice so far. I have really enjoyed going through this thread looking at all the pics!!

 

[katsdar]

This is my first flock. Is there anything I need to do before putting my lovely ladies outside? They have been inside in a brooder their whole life so far (my fault as I broke my ankle 3 weeks ago and still restricted to the sofa). Thankfully the brooder is 4' x 5' x 3' so they have had some room as it is sort of 2-story.

I want to start prepping the coop. What does everyone have in their nesting boxes? Also can I paint the outside with regular outdoor paint? Does anyone paint the inside?

My ladies also seem to be gobbling up the starter so fast, at 5 weeks should I have them on something more filling? They do get some raw veggies and my daughters hunt crickets, worms, bugs every other night now.

The only advice on painting the inside I would give you is make sure you do it early in the day on a hot day so it will dry keep it open so the fumes will all be mostly gone before the girls go in at night. I use straw or the pine shavings in my nest boxes. I put a nice layer down. 5 weeks they should be on starter/grower it will tell you on the back of the bag what the feed steps are. ( if it is dumor brand food, if you use something else just read the back of the bag.)

 

[RoboDuck]

 

I would set the clock on the camera so you have the correct time.  If he keeps showing up around the same time, I'd have to sit out there overnight and wait for him.  When he showed up...... BOOM. 

Maybe another idea is have Daddy pee out there a few times.  See if that scares him away.   

I have a nice collection of tails nailed to the end of the "Big House"

I should not read posts so early in the morning.... At first I read that as you have a nice collection of toe nails.

 

[ronnhill7]

Welcome to the flock gafarmgirl!

 

[missy1971]

Hello. I just joined BYC. I am from Waycross, Georgia. My user name is gafarmgir

What kind of flock do you have?

 

[missy1971]

Quote: I should not read posts so early in the morning.... At first I read that as you have a nice collection of toe nails.
LMAO! Ok Roboduck, You gave me my first laugh of the day!

 

[speckledhen]

This is my first flock. Is there anything I need to do before putting my lovely ladies outside? They have been inside in a brooder their whole life so far (my fault as I broke my ankle 3 weeks ago and still restricted to the sofa). Thankfully the brooder is 4' x 5' x 3' so they have had some room as it is sort of 2-story.

I want to start prepping the coop. What does everyone have in their nesting boxes? Also can I paint the outside with regular outdoor paint? Does anyone paint the inside?

My ladies also seem to be gobbling up the starter so fast, at 5 weeks should I have them on something more filling? They do get some raw veggies and my daughters hunt crickets, worms, bugs every other night now.

Just make sure their coop is predator-proof, windows and all openings, even small ones, are covered with a stiff wire like hardware cloth, no more than a 1/2" opening in the wire.

In summer, I have pine shavings in the nests. In winter, I have a combination of hay and pine shavings, always with a sprinkle of food grade diatomaceous earth to kill any bugs that might want to live there. Hay is warmer is why I do that in winter.

I do paint my outside and inside of the pens now. The barn, a fairly recent addition, is steel, so no painting or rotting anymore, yea! Didn't used to paint the walls, but it's easier to clean with some semi-gloss paint on it. They will get poop on them. I did paint the roost shelves (I have older birds with arthritis, so easier for them to have a wider perch), but I don't care for that now. I'd rather have them sanded and oiled so poop is easier to clean off, but it's not too bad, really.

As far as food, we use a 13 grain conditioner feed for the scratch. It has grit in it and BOSS so when they are older, they get a little of that thrown out. We get them addicted so when it's in a jar and we shake it, they come running from wherever they are. Their starter or grower is adequate for them, though, at this age. They will eat more as they get older, no question. They are growing fast and need the high protein in it. Stay off too many extras unless it's scrambled eggs or other high protein food.

 

[JennD08]

Do any of you use a little Greek yogurt due to its really high protein value? As well as digestion benefits or is it bad for chickens?

@speckledhen thank you so much!! Making a shopping list for my DH now

@livhatcher are the eggs you are incubating from your flock or did you get them somewhere? I would love to try my hand at incubating next year. Who knew chickens could become so addicting so fast. I believe I'm getting addicted faster than my chicks grow