YO GEORGIANS! :)

[ChickDancer]

By the way, current cost per pen is $138.62 plus tax (but not including the fact that each roll of welded wire actually covers 1.25 pens). That doesn't include the "wear and tear" of power tools such as the dremel sanding bits for the inside of the couplings. It's just the materials to build each one.

However, since I already have the welded wire for the first six (I expect 10 total pens, hopefully by next spring) each of those pens will cost me another $79. And that's something I can split up and "finish" one pen every other paycheck.

Another little "add-on" that will be worth it (and not cost me anything aside from wear and tear) will be smoothing the cuts on the welded wire fence. I plan to try to use my soldering gun on that, and use the dremel as back-up if the soldering gun doesn't give me the results I want. That should keep the pens from snagging clothes, cutting the chickens in the pens, or causing any other kind of damage with sharp edges.

And I purchased from 3/4 inch plywood to make nest boxes and/or privacy corners. My last task that I haven't planned for YET, will be to find a cheap way to make a roosting bar.

 

[jdduck]

And I purchased from 3/4 inch plywood to make nest boxes and/or privacy corners. My last task that I haven't planned for YET, will be to find a cheap way to make a roosting bar.



U can use 1x1 in the corner of the pins, slide them into the wire where u need them. put a hole in each end and zip tie them to the wire. u may need to put a center support in them if there are lots of birds in the pins that all get on the same bar. they are cheep at lowes or home depot.or 2x4 ripped in half may be cheaper. saplings cut from the woods will work the same and there free and better on the birds feet.

 

[carcar80]

You'll need to make it taller or they're just going to keep getting out.

Welcome back, RoboDork

Your egg just looks like it has extra calcium on it.  Those little bumps totally scrape off with your fingernail.  It is just a case of that chicken eating a lot of calcium.  I have one chicken who pigs out at the calcium feeder.  I have to scrape her eggs all the time.  Your chicks are so cute.  I hope they will be laying in early July because I want to get some eggs from you!

Funny we're talking about this.. The last 2-3 days my oldest hen had had this on her eggs.

 

[Flowerbh]

Just thought I would mention that the person selling polish on craigslist also has show quality silkies for sale.

 

[ChickDancer]

U can use 1x1 in the corner of the pins, slide them into the wire where u need them. put a hole in each end and zip tie them to the wire. u may need to put a center support in them if there are lots of birds in the pins that all get on the same bar. they are cheep at lowes or home depot.or 2x4 ripped in half may be cheaper. saplings cut from the woods will work the same and there free and better on the birds feet.

I was kinda thinking about that, since it's how I have my Sumatras set up. Their pen is chain-link fencing, and there is a board going through the two sides, creating a roosting bar in the center. I wonder how much thick dowel rods would be in comparison. Another option is to just trim down the 4x4's that we have laying in the back yard (I have a table saw I could use to cut them lengthwise). They're 6-feet long, already pressure treated, and just laying there with no purpose.

And if I have plywood up there around it, then I wouldn't need to worry about a raccoon's grubby little hands reaching in and grabbing the chickens at night, trying to pull them out through the wire and killing them in the process.

 

[jdduck]

I was kinda thinking about that, since it's how I have my Sumatras set up. Their pen is chain-link fencing, and there is a board going through the two sides, creating a roosting bar in the center. I wonder how much thick dowel rods would be in comparison. Another option is to just trim down the 4x4's that we have laying in the back yard (I have a table saw I could use to cut them lengthwise). They're 6-feet long, already pressure treated, and just laying there with no purpose.

And if I have plywood up there around it, then I wouldn't need to worry about a raccoon's grubby little hands reaching in and grabbing the chickens at night, trying to pull them out through the wire and killing them in the process.

thick dowels get very pricey, I dont know about using pressure treated lumber for there roost. the chem in there stays for a long time i dont know if it would hurt the birds or not. i would use untreated with a good food safe wood oil will last for years.(Teek oil or butchers block oil) . I built feeders for the ducks using ceder and teek oil. cleans up great has been washed every day for months and still looks new. use the treated wood for extra support,?? I may just be over worrying with the treated wood.

 

[Prinette]

thick dowels get very pricey, I dont know about using pressure treated lumber for there roost. the chem in there stays for a long time i dont know if it would hurt the birds or not. i would use untreated with a good food safe wood oil will last for years.(Teek oil or butchers block oil) . I built feeders for the ducks using ceder and teek oil. cleans up great has been washed every day for months and still looks new. use the treated wood for extra support,?? I may just be over worrying with the treated wood.

Hey that duck feeder sounds neat. Could you take some pictures for us duck newbies? It sounds really nice.

 

[valleychicks]

Okay, now that I finished replying to everyone else's posts, I need to explain the photos. I simply uploaded them from my phone, and then shut it off (I'm on the computer now).

The first and third photos show the bottom of the frame. It has not been glued yet, because I'm going to cut one side and put a Tee in there for the "gate". But this is how big it is, and the basic idea of it. The top will be the same. The pipes were purchased as 10-foot pipes. The sides will be some of those pipes merely cut in half for an enclosure that is 5-feet tall. So four on top, four on bottom, and two cut in half to make the four vertical corners.

Total pipes per pen: 10.

But the elbows you see in those photos, are the ones that I don't have enough of. One store had absolutely NONE of them in stock, and the other store had four. So I bought those four, and this is all I can do for now. I need another four for the top to finish the basic frame.

About 18-20 inches from one corner, I'll put the pipe Tees - one on top, one on bottom. That will leave me the 18-20 inches for a "gate". It will also be made of PVC pipe, with simple elbows making the corners of the gate, and couplings to make the actual hinge. I have a dremel I plan to use to enlarge the coupling space JUST a bit to slide smoothly around the pipe. The coupling will be screwed directly onto the gate with a flush screw, and go around the corner pipe for the frame, and a second coupling glued to the corner of the frame right below the first to hold the gate UP. I'll repeat this pairing near the bottom for a dual-hinged gate.

I'll try to take pics as I'm doing all of this too, in case anyone wants an idea for a cheap, moveable chicken pen.

Tops will be 10ft x 12ft tarp. They don't actually have 10x10 in the stores near me, and the 2-foot can be extended over one side for more privacy, and better rain protection. The tarps will be secured to the pens with SEVERAL zip ties. I did the same with that on my sumatra pen and it actually works great as long as the zip ties go through the actual RIVETS on the tarp, and it's taut and no extra holes are made. Bonus that they get pine needles AND rain on their tarp in the Sumatra pen, but it still holds up! I go through every now and then and punch the top to scatter the pine needles.

And the photo in the middle, is the welded wire fencing. It's 5 feet tall, which I had been looking for specifically, so I didn't have to double up the fencing vertically to cover the height of the pens. I went with welded wire because it's not "weak" and "bendable" like chicken wire, but also because it doesn't need to be pulled tight to hold up properly. With a PVC frame, it would be too weak to hold up to chicken wire being pulled really tight across the length. I'd have to use MUCH thicker pipe, and probably also add in extra supports across the center of each side to hold up to the tension. And chicken wire is REALLY expensive to get 5-foot height. Overlapping a smaller size would reduce the strength, and it would be too easy for something to squeeze between them.

Welded wire, however, is too strong for most predators to get into. It doesn't bend as easily, and could actually help SUPPORT the top of the pen once installed. The biggest disadvantage is that I can't keep baby chicks in it - or broody hens with babies. The chicks will definitely be able to run right through the fencing, and that will leave momma hens freaking the hell out. But the big pen that everyone is in right now with sheet metal sides, could become the grow-out pen and/or the broody hen pen.

I know that Home Depot carries the PVC 3 way elbow usually depending on the size. As far as letting small birds or chicks stay in the enclosure could you run some 2 ft wide hardware cloth around the bottom attached to the fencing? That way they won't fit through and raccoon paws won't be able to reach through at that height. Or some corrugated metal run around the bottom at a height of 2 ft.

 

[Flowerbh]

I know that Home Depot carries the PVC 3 way elbow usually depending on the size. As far as letting small birds or chicks stay in the enclosure could you run some 2 ft wide hardware cloth around the bottom attached to the fencing? That way they won't fit through and raccoon paws won't be able to reach through at that height. Or some corrugated metal run around the bottom at a height of 2 ft.

X2

 

[ChickDancer]

I know that Home Depot carries the PVC 3 way elbow usually depending on the size. As far as letting small birds or chicks stay in the enclosure could you run some 2 ft wide hardware cloth around the bottom attached to the fencing? That way they won't fit through and raccoon paws won't be able to reach through at that height. Or some corrugated metal run around the bottom at a height of 2 ft.

I'm thinking of running chicken wire along the bottom for that exact purpose.