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Keeping animals
- Thread starter matt
- Start date
Anyone in So. NH looking for some hens? Heres a deal:
http://nh.craigslist.org/grd/1055240703.html
(8) laying hens for $5
http://nh.craigslist.org/grd/1055240703.html
(8) laying hens for $5
I used to work on many farms during the summers. Most chicken coops were built into the barns, with a door in the barn. I would go in there to feed them. (Feeders were made from a pvc pipe cut in half) There were old shelf’s where the chickens laid there eggs.
A east design:
Make a large dog house (or wooden box) with a back door large enof to reach into and use a scraper (for the poop) attach a large run with a removable roof.
That should work. The chickens will attack predators. So back it secure.
A east design:
Make a large dog house (or wooden box) with a back door large enof to reach into and use a scraper (for the poop) attach a large run with a removable roof.
That should work. The chickens will attack predators. So back it secure.
SemiAutoSam
Banned
No problem.
Here they are in a enclosure as their mom wouldnt feed them correctly unless I held her so she couldnt move.
Pics of them in their enclosure ( this cage thing was on a pallet with a 275 gallon plastic tank in it) now it holds goats, Good thing I dont throw anything out.
Here they are in a enclosure as their mom wouldnt feed them correctly unless I held her so she couldnt move.
Pics of them in their enclosure ( this cage thing was on a pallet with a 275 gallon plastic tank in it) now it holds goats, Good thing I dont throw anything out.
Attachments
Picked up the lumber and laid the foundation for the coop today. (feels good to build something! It's been too long!)
Chicks arrive next week. We've decided to ease in a bit slower, so livestock will wait a while... lets see how the chickens go.
Chicks arrive next week. We've decided to ease in a bit slower, so livestock will wait a while... lets see how the chickens go.
Chicks are easy really. Keep the clean, watered and a light on them and you'll be good to go.![[grin]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/041.gif "Grin [grin]")
Love the goats - they are neat animals!! Great pics!!
SemiAutoSam
Banned
We need pics and or an idea how your going to build the chicken coop, maybe a drawing or some kind of blueprint ?
I'm attempting to upload a video I took this afternoon of the 1 month old pair of kids to my Photobucket album.
Its huge like 25 MB so it will either take a long time or wont upload at all.
ETA: this one I took is only 8Meg it loaded alot easier.
I'm attempting to upload a video I took this afternoon of the 1 month old pair of kids to my Photobucket album.
Its huge like 25 MB so it will either take a long time or wont upload at all.
ETA: this one I took is only 8Meg it loaded alot easier.
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What are these 'plans' you speak of?
![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
It's kind of a design as you go project! It will be small, just 4x8', but that's enough to house a flock that will suit is nicely (8-10 layers). I'll snap some pics as I go. I'm actually building it in the garage and will move it at the end.
So far, I've just done the base: 2x8 PT framing with 3/4 external grade plywood floor (no PT for the chickens). I have a 3'x4' window to go in the "tall" 8' wall that will also have the door. One end will have a nest box (w nests) accessible without entering the coop, the other will have the roosts and chicken door to the yard.
The outside will be covered in vinyl siding left over from when the house was built - I'm expecting this to be the hard part. Never done siding before.
Matt
Coop is progressing nicely. All 4 walls are up, and I have a plan for how to do the roof.
The chicks are running around madly in thier brooder (16 of them![[thinking]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/010.gif "Thinking [thinking]")
, 5 different breeds). They are pretty funny to watch.
My wife asks: "which ones are you going to eat?"
Requested pics of the coop:
Here's the outside of the 4x8 coop designed for 8-10 chickens. There's a large window opening for a BIG free window I picked up on the side of the road. You can see the door opening through the window on the far end of the coop:
View through the door. You can see the frame of the chicken door (not cut out yet) in the bottom left on the far end of the coop. Purches will run about 4' long opposite the window. Nest boxes, food, and water will go closer to the door:
The window I picked up (I have a second just like if anyone needs one):
The chicks are running around madly in thier brooder (16 of them
, 5 different breeds). They are pretty funny to watch. My wife asks: "which ones are you going to eat?"
Requested pics of the coop:
Here's the outside of the 4x8 coop designed for 8-10 chickens. There's a large window opening for a BIG free window I picked up on the side of the road. You can see the door opening through the window on the far end of the coop:
View through the door. You can see the frame of the chicken door (not cut out yet) in the bottom left on the far end of the coop. Purches will run about 4' long opposite the window. Nest boxes, food, and water will go closer to the door:
The window I picked up (I have a second just like if anyone needs one):
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The coop is getting closer:
Today my brother and I took the thing apart and reassembled in its resting place. Nearly killed ourselves putting the roof on (we pre-built it and dropped it on top, roofing material and all).
Today my brother and I took the thing apart and reassembled in its resting place. Nearly killed ourselves putting the roof on (we pre-built it and dropped it on top, roofing material and all).
There is a semi-wild flock of guinea hens near the day-lily farm on Martha's Vineyard that we go to each year. Those guinea hens are very noisy.
Tagged!
SemiAutoSam
Banned
Very nice Matt.
It actually matches your house.
It actually matches your house.
We had left over siding from when we had the house built, so we figured what the heck. It's better than the chickens need (or deserve... stinky little things).
Wow, very nice indeed. Here is one that I put together from scrap lumber.
The chickens seem to like a simple 2x4 for perching. I put old screens on the inside to keep them from perching on the window sills. (What a mess that was!)
Here are some of the birds.
The coop is under some large spruces for shade in the summer. Their "yard" is fenced in with standard garden mesh and tposts, a section in the sun for "tanning".
I don't know much about them--they (and a bunch of other animals) are my wife's hobby. We are, I suppose, a reverse of the Green Acres couple!![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
You'll need a nest box in there. She trained them to lay in the nest box rather than on the floor or in the yard by keeping a wooden egg in it for them to roost on. Power is helpful. We use a heated water bucket in the winter. That allows you to go away and not worry about frozen water. I have the light on a timer to give them long days in the winter so we get eggs all year round.
I (she) has a 10 hole nest box (similar to http://www.teksupply.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ts1_poultry_management-ts1_poultry_housing_flooring;21710cf1.html that you are welcome to have--she opted for a couple of single boxes.
Her friends often do group buys in the spring.![[shocked]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/007.gif "Shocked [shocked]")
I can't believe I said that--had a shriver at the thought that I could wind up organizing a chick buy as my first NES group buy sponsorship! ![[laugh2]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/014.gif "Laugh at above [laugh2]")
PM me if you want more info.
The chickens seem to like a simple 2x4 for perching. I put old screens on the inside to keep them from perching on the window sills. (What a mess that was!)
Here are some of the birds.
The coop is under some large spruces for shade in the summer. Their "yard" is fenced in with standard garden mesh and tposts, a section in the sun for "tanning".
I don't know much about them--they (and a bunch of other animals) are my wife's hobby. We are, I suppose, a reverse of the Green Acres couple!
You'll need a nest box in there. She trained them to lay in the nest box rather than on the floor or in the yard by keeping a wooden egg in it for them to roost on. Power is helpful. We use a heated water bucket in the winter. That allows you to go away and not worry about frozen water. I have the light on a timer to give them long days in the winter so we get eggs all year round.
I (she) has a 10 hole nest box (similar to http://www.teksupply.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ts1_poultry_management-ts1_poultry_housing_flooring;21710cf1.html that you are welcome to have--she opted for a couple of single boxes.
Her friends often do group buys in the spring.
I can't believe I said that--had a shriver at the thought that I could wind up organizing a chick buy as my first NES group buy sponsorship! PM me if you want more info.
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SemiAutoSam
Banned
Like OMG I had a flashback to a film when I saw your chicken house.
The Film was chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062803/
Around the 8:00 minute mark in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3yHWUYTlWE
Here is the item from that film, Its a privy or outhouse.
The Film was chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062803/
Around the 8:00 minute mark in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3yHWUYTlWE
Here is the item from that film, Its a privy or outhouse.
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Wow, very nice indeed. Here is one that I put together from scrap lumber.
View attachment 4065
The chickens seem to like a simple 2x4 for perching. I put old screens on the inside to keep them from perching on the window sills. (What a mess that was!)
View attachment 4067
Here are some of the birds.
View attachment 4066
The coop is under some large spruces for shade in the summer. Their "yard" is fenced in with standard garden mesh and tposts, a section in the sun for "tanning".
I don't know much about them--they (and a bunch of other animals) are my wife's hobby. We are, I suppose, a reverse of the Green Acres couple!
You'll need a nest box in there. She trained them to lay in the nest box rather than on the floor or in the yard by keeping a wooden egg in it for them to roost on. Power is helpful. We use a heated water bucket in the winter. That allows you to go away and not worry about frozen water. I have the light on a timer to give them long days in the winter so we get eggs all year round.
I (she) has a 10 hole nest box (similar to http://www.teksupply.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ts1_poultry_management-ts1_poultry_housing_flooring;21710cf1.html that you are welcome to have--she opted for a couple of single boxes.
Her friends often do group buys in the spring.
hmmm... can't see the pics.
EDIT: weird... now I can see them in the quote, but not the original post...
Thanks for the offer of the nest boxes. That's a serious unit! But too big for me, I'll be putting in 2-3 boxes like you wife's set up.
kevin9
NES Member
For our nest boxes I built 2 shelves against one wall with a set of open-bottomed nest boxes that sit on each shelf. The boxes open toward the wall and have a hinged panel across the front for access to collect eggs. The nice thing about them is to clean the nests we just slide each set of boxes off the shelf and the used shavings/shreddings just fall to the floor where they get swept up with the floor shavings. Anything left on the shelves is easily swept off and the boxes themselves are easy to clean because they have no tops or bottoms.
p.s. We also using shredded paper for much of our chicken bedding. Between junk mail and the newspaper we make more than enough for the chickens.
p.s. We also using shredded paper for much of our chicken bedding. Between junk mail and the newspaper we make more than enough for the chickens.
Does it compost well? And how often do you clean out the coop?
kevin9
NES Member
It composts just fine.
We kind-of do deep bedding. The area under the roosts is wired off so the chickens can't get into it. Crap just piles up there and begins composting in place. The roosts themselves get scraped into that area maybe once a month. There's a panel on the outside that opens up so we can clean underneath. That gets cleaned out about twice a year.
The floor of the coop gets cleaned about as often, but if we have a water spill or something we'll clean that part of the floor and put some more bedding down. The contents of the nest boxes get dumped to the floor whenever they get dirty. That's probably a couple of times a month. From time to time we'll add some more bedding on top of the floor to keep it getting too mushy.
The fall cleaning material usually goes straight to the garden. It finishes composting in place over the winter. The spring material goes to the larger compost area and mixed with the goat waste. Aged stuff is taken from the main compost area as needed both spring and fall.
Between the goats, chickens and turkeys we generally produce a bit more than we use. The excess is slowly filling in the acre or two in the back where the previous owners bulldozed all the topsoil to the edges to make a banked ATV track.
