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My tenant that I am trying to evict has begun to (slowly) move out. I probably would have gotten away with my original order date of June 18th, but I could only deal with so many projects at a time. I reordered the same exact breeds (Aconda, Welsummer, Barred Plymouth Rock, Easter Egger) and they are scheduled to come on August 6th. I’m in New England, but being next to the coast our falls tend to be mild. Typical September temps are 75 during the day, 55 at night and it through mid October it rarely drops below 50. We generally don’t have killing frosts until mid November. Will I be OK? If not I guess I could buy other people’s extras but I do want lots of different colored eggs, not just light brown. Next year I will track down an Olive Egger.
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Jun 7, 2012 15:55
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We found the body a few meters away from the coop. It was pretty much unspoiled. Stupid coon killed her for no reason!
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Jun 7, 2012 20:26
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Zeta Taskforce posted:
I think you should be ok. Chicks can be outside once they are fully feathered, and that takes about 8-9 weeks or so. Depending on the coop you get, if it's well isolated agaisnt drafts (VS used a shed for her chickens and 12_string put insulation inside). Now, even though I've been living in the US for years, I still don't quite know how cold is cold in F, but I guess that if you can find a way to even have a heat lamp in the roof of your coop for those nights it gets cold, that could help too.
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Jun 8, 2012 01:32
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I think Zeta is asking if they'll lay during the winter,which is probably a no. They'll be just about laying age when the first frost hits, so you may get some eggs before then, but MA winters are COLD cold, not like CA winters, and it's easily lower than freezing at night, even on a 'warm' night. My mom lives in rural MA, near the New Hampshire border, so it's colder there, but man those winters are brutal. My mom's hens and her neighbors didn't and don't lay during the coldest part of the winter, and if they're young hens they generally wait til it thaws before producing their first egg. You'll get eggs right up until Halloween, usually, and sometimes Thanksgiving if it hasn't snowed yet, but they'll quit by the end of November and won't start up again until mid-April or a particularly warm March. A good insulated coop and a high-functioning heat lamp can do wonders, though. My mom's neighbor has had much better success with her new heated coop, but even then it's always the older and more experienced hens that seem to lay during the winter. First year hens will need to conserve fat and energy for the cold nights and won't be able to waste it on egg production.
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Jun 8, 2012 03:10
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Actually Chico read my mind exactly.  I sort of figured that they might not start laying with any regularity through winter. Maybe if they already were they would keep going but I doubt they will start.I just don't want them to freeze to death.
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Jun 8, 2012 03:16
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Insulate insulate insulate your coop! Do you have secure wiring so you can set up a heat lamp? Those things can be fire traps if not properly adjusted and wired, don't burn your hens! Deep sawdust and straw bedding, about 6-12", is your friend, and you'll want to up their protein intake in the fall so they have enough fat storage. Go down to a bait store or a reptile supply and get earthworms, meal worms and wax worms; a dish of these every week during the winter is great enrichment and makes for healthy, entertained chickens.
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Jun 8, 2012 03:26
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Captain Foxy posted:Insulate insulate insulate your coop!
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Jun 8, 2012 09:25
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I just fed my birds loads and loads of corn last winter and not so much layer pellets, they seemed to do fine on it, the corn I get is a balanced feed and it's supposed to make them fat and raise their body heat isn't it? Only problem was the shells were a bit thin when they did start laying again in the spring, but that quickly cleared up. My chicks went outside at about 3 weeks and are doing absolutely fine despite the foul weather, they're in a covered run and don't seem to be suffering from the cold at all. They even put themselves to bed at night from the very first day, with no shooing from me at all! I didn't want to put a heat lamp in there due to the fire risks and it'd mean having a wire partly in the rain, which I didn't really want either.
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Jun 8, 2012 10:15
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My plan is to build an inner coop within the shed that they can retreat to if it gets really cold, but I’m reluctant to use lots of heat lamps to get them through the winter if I can help it. I was reading on BYC forums that the danger is they won’t properly acclimate and if there ever is a power outage they could all die. If the power went out in the middle of the night I wouldn’t even know. Boston is an old city so they are constantly doing planned outages to maintain the grid. If there is a freak early season cold snap I have a ceramic space heater, but that would be the exception. Good idea about the protein. I compost all my leaves and have been caught “stealing” my neighbors leaves in the fall so I do have a lot of worms. The compost tends to pack down, so I was thinking about regularly taking a few wheelbarrow loads at a time into the run for them to play with and pick through, and then scoop it back out after they have fluffed it up and “added their contribution” to it’s fertility.
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Jun 8, 2012 14:54
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I wish I new about carpentry, I love this chicken coop design, but I have no idea how to make a 4x8 feet version o it. The way the roof is angled makes it perfect to put against the wall of our back shed, and if I removed its legs and made it 5 feet tall, it's fit perfect under the shed's back window. http://www.mypetchicken.com/catalog/Chicken-Coops/The-Egg-Man-6-8-chickens-p626.aspx Sooo... any good carpentrs out there that wanna teach this carpentry-chappenged person the basics? 
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Jun 11, 2012 00:47
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http://forums.somethingawful.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=210 DIY might be able to help out. I don't see a carpentry thread anywhere though. 
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Jun 11, 2012 01:33
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Sometimes you can find decent chicken coops on craigslist, but I wouldn't build one yourself if you don't have the experience.
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Jun 11, 2012 01:38
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I've been browsing craigslist, but haven't found anything I like and that isn't huge. I can do simple manual labor since we were all a bit of DIY back at home in Mexico, but my problem is the design and measurements. I can put things together, but I can't make blueprints for anything. I bought that chicken coop for dummies book, and even with that one I don't know how to make their 4x4 coop into a 4x8 without messing up the measurements . I'll check the DIY forum and see if somebody can help me, thank you guys!
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Jun 11, 2012 01:48
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So I found out some neighbors have chickens. After we were told we couldn't have chickens. They apparently paid to have a permit...but we were never told about this being possible. I'm fairly certain if we pay for a yearly "chicken permit" the town will not give a poo poo, and I'm pretty certain my neighbors don't either... That being said, I might be re-thinking the possibility of having chickens  My main questions are, how big of a run would 3-6 chickens need? And how much MINIMUM daily care time would a couple chickens require? 20 minutes? They'd often get more than that, but I just want to know for those days I work on my feet all day and come home at 5pm tired, needing to make dinner and care for all my other critters.
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Jun 11, 2012 02:25
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Greycious posted:So I found out some neighbors have chickens. After we were told we couldn't have chickens. They apparently paid to have a permit...but we were never told about this being possible. I'm fairly certain if we pay for a yearly "chicken permit" the town will not give a poo poo, and I'm pretty certain my neighbors don't either... Perhaps start out with the bare minimum of hens (two) to see if you like it. What other types of pets have you had before? And how much is a chicken permit?
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Jun 11, 2012 03:13
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You can try 3 chickens if you get calm breeds. I don't have experience besides barred rock plymouths, leghorns, and brahmas, but I have to say I like brahmas and barred rocks a lot, they are pretty mellow. I think 3 would be a good number to start with, since they'd keep each other company and get more of a flock interaction than having only 2. About daycare, if they are safe inside a safe run, then they'll be fine i you have to be gone all day. There are times we aren't home at all during the day due to different stuff going on, and we lock the chickens inside the run and leave the coop open so they go to bed on their own. If you have them in a a safe enclosure with access to their coop, you don't have to worry too much about them. Also, chickens don't need that much interaction with humans during the day like a cat(ha!) or dog would, so if you need to be gone for most of the day, leave some scratch and some good treats to keep them busy and your chickens will be ok. For the coop/run, that's a tricky one. The rule of thumb is 3-4 square feet of floor per chicken for the coop, and 10 feet per bird in the run. However, I do think they coop can be smaller if you get creative with perches and areas where they can sleep. My coop is very small and crowded because we ended up keeping the chickens we caught, but still 4 chickens seep in a perch I put inside for them, and 3-5 sleep in the little room area. Kinda crowded but since I let them out at dawn every day (I wish I had an automatic door), they don't spend any time locked up in there during daytime.
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Jun 11, 2012 03:39
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Inveigle posted:Perhaps start out with the bare minimum of hens (two) to see if you like it. What other types of pets have you had before? And how much is a chicken permit? I've had all sorts of pets before..and I currently have 3 dogs, 3 cats (mostly my husband takes care of them), rodents, and a room full of reptiles, the last taking up the majority of my time..I've had caged birds when I was younger. I am guessing a chicken permit would be comparable to that in the nearest city, which is I believe $30/year. That isn't an issue. Chido posted:Coop stuff They would have to stay in the coop/run most days during the week since my husband and I are at work, but they'd be able to run around most of the evening. I do have to say though, if any chicken tries to hurt my smallest dog they are going to be soup though  Or dog food.
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Jun 11, 2012 04:12
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Greycious posted:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/wichita-cabin-coop This coop is 10x5 feet, and I think the person who built it houses 4-5 hens in it. That's a really good sized coop with run included that might fit well in your backyard. I'd say the chickens would be fine in it as long as you do let them out regularly so they don't get bored and start pecking at each other, and also it'd keep them safe from racoons at night and hawks during the day (we had one of our smaller hens being almost caught by a hawk last year). So you should be fine with a coop that size for 3 hens 
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Jun 11, 2012 04:25
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Chido posted:http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/wichita-cabin-coop Wow, I wish I had the talent to build something like that! My best friend is pretty handy and I'm sure she could help me build something with good plans...the only problem is summer classes are killing any free time she has.
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Jun 11, 2012 12:23
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tokomon posted:Silly chicken, you don't go for car rides.
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Jun 11, 2012 18:34
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coyo7e posted:Why not? Just keep the windows and sunroof mostly closed. This doesn't solve the problem of chicken poop all over everything Tokmon loves.
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Jun 11, 2012 23:45
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Well, after watching Roo being a poop and sitting wqay too much on Rusty, we've placed an order at mypetchicken.com. We're getting (if nobody changes their minds and we get the coop ready by then) an easter egger, a partridge cochin, a silver laced wyandotte, and a buff brahma since Roo likes'em brown. We also selected australorp and speckled sussex as substitutes in case the others aren't available by sept 17. I wanted to get the sussex in the order, but I let my nieces choose 2 of the chickens .
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Jun 11, 2012 23:46
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Chido posted:Well, after watching Roo being a poop and sitting wqay too much on Rusty, we've placed an order at mypetchicken.com. We're getting (if nobody changes their minds and we get the coop ready by then) an easter egger, a partridge cochin, a silver laced wyandotte, and a buff brahma since Roo likes'em brown. We also selected australorp and speckled sussex as substitutes in case the others aren't available by sept 17. Chicks or eggs?
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Jun 11, 2012 23:58
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Chicks. I don't wanna deal with hatching eggs. Hopefully I'll have a broody hen when the chicks arrive and try and get her to hang out in the brooder with the chicks. That will depend on who's broody and if the hen adopts the chicks.
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Jun 12, 2012 00:20
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Chido posted:Chicks. I don't wanna deal with hatching eggs. Hopefully I'll have a broody hen when the chicks arrive and try and get her to hang out in the brooder with the chicks. That will depend on who's broody and if the hen adopts the chicks. That would be adorable Keeping my fingers crossed this happens.
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Jun 12, 2012 03:24
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I kinda feel like calling and change my order. I want to make sure I get a buff brahma for roo and a cochin since I think they'd be perfect for Roo, butI'm not sure about the wyandotte and the easter egger. I really want an australorp and we put that as one of the options for substitutions, but I think I want to make sure I get one and also keep the brahma, so I'm gonna switch the wyandotte for an australorp, and keep the easter egger.
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Jun 13, 2012 03:10
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Just get all the chickens, you know you want to 
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Jun 13, 2012 03:19
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 stop reading my mind!!!!Supposedly we're only keeping 2 of the chicks, but I know my nieces will fall in love with them, my BIL likes chickens, and if the new coop I'm gonna build is big enough to house them all, then we're keeping the 4. So I'll switch the silver laced for the australorp and get 3 fat hens and an easter egger for fun
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Jun 13, 2012 04:04
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Chido posted:
Make sure to take picture of the eggs when the easter egger starts laying! I want to see pretty colored eggs.
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Jun 13, 2012 08:12
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Malachite_Dragon posted:This doesn't solve the problem of chicken poop all over everything Tokmon loves. That and I'd feel a bit goofy driving around with a hen. She's also probably a backseat driver. Ugh. Leaving for about a week to handle some stuff but when I get back, if I've still got broody hens, I'm going to let them try to hatch out an egg or two each. Since the only rooster I have in with the hens right now is the Ameraucana, Rufus, the chicks will be Orpington/Ameraucana mixes or just straight up Ameraucanas. Should be entertaining if it pans out.
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Jun 13, 2012 14:14
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A bit of a chicken update. A guy I know from BYC had a bunch of cockerels that he didn't want to process, most of them were barnyard mixes of cuckoo marans and something else, but there was also a very pretty Barnvelder in there. He was really pretty, and they're supposed to be quiet and docile, so we are going to try having a roo again. I hope he's quiet and doesn't crow all day long. Today I saw him giving treats to some of the younger girls, so I think that is a good sign. We've named him Malcolm. :3
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Jun 14, 2012 04:44
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WrathofKhan posted:A bit of a chicken update. A guy I know from BYC had a bunch of cockerels that he didn't want to process, most of them were barnyard mixes of cuckoo marans and something else, but there was also a very pretty Barnvelder in there. He was really pretty, and they're supposed to be quiet and docile, so we are going to try having a roo again. I hope he's quiet and doesn't crow all day long. Today I saw him giving treats to some of the younger girls, so I think that is a good sign. We've named him Malcolm. :3 Requesting photos of Malcolm wooing the girls.
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Jun 14, 2012 05:06
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Chido posted:Also, bonus picture of Roo with one of his footies bandaged
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Jun 14, 2012 11:22
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spookygonk posted:How are Roo's feet coming along? He seems to be doing fine. I got final papers to turn in this week and also got a nasty cold with a really bad cough (again ugh), so I haven't spent much time with the chickens lately. I did remove Roo's bandage yesterday to check on the scabs. I could actually peel off half of one with no problems  . Then I fell asleep because of the cough syrup I was prescribed, and didn't wake up until 4 am this morning . I hope Roo didn't manage to rip off the rest of the scab, but I'll check his feet and clean them today when I get home from school.
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Jun 14, 2012 20:20
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WrathofKhan posted:A bit of a chicken update. A guy I know from BYC had a bunch of cockerels that he didn't want to process, most of them were barnyard mixes of cuckoo marans and something else, but there was also a very pretty Barnvelder in there. He was really pretty, and they're supposed to be quiet and docile, so we are going to try having a roo again. I hope he's quiet and doesn't crow all day long. Today I saw him giving treats to some of the younger girls, so I think that is a good sign. We've named him Malcolm. :3 Don’t Barnvelder’s lay fairly dark brown eggs? Not quite as dark as Marans, but still pretty dark. Do you still have an Easter Egger? You should try hatching her eggs and see if you get an Olive Egger out of the deal.
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Jun 14, 2012 21:31
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Barnvelders are supposed to lay fairly dark eggs, although I've heard that a lot of the ones in the US don't lay as dark. Next time I talk to the guy I got Malcom from, I'll have to ask how dark an egg he hatched from. I've got four Easter Eggers, two of which aren't laying yet. Oh, I forgot to mention, last Monday I got 2 chickens from these hipsters who were going on vacation for a month and couldn't find anyone to watch their chickens, so they were giving them away. So I got another Easter Egger, who lays really nice minty green eggs, and a Rhode Island Red who isn't laying right now because she's finishing up a molt. But yeah, I might have to try hatching out some Olive Eggers. I'm just scared that if I start hatching, I'll never want to stop.
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Jun 15, 2012 01:21
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The Barnevelder egg I have in at the moment doesn't look that dark, but neither do the Maran eggs.
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Jun 15, 2012 10:43
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Ceridwen posted:Remember Short Tail? This little dude started crowing this week. So he's now confirmed as a roo! I think we'll be going out to visit our friend's farm sometime in the next week, so I'll try to get a few more pics of him. Can't wait to see how he fills out. My chicks will be 16 weeks next Wednesday. They've fully transitioned to their "grown up" chicken voices at this point and no longer cheep. Hoping we start to see eggs before too long. One question: I've got enough Start and Grow feed to last for another 2-4 weeks. I've seen recommendations of switching them to layer feed anywhere between 16 and 20 weeks, so I should be pretty much timing things right. But should I start to supplement them with calcium if they start laying before I run out of the grower feed?
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Jun 15, 2012 20:13
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Maybe you could start mixing the start and grow feed with regular lay feed. They are gonna start to lay in the following weeks, so having 2-3 weeks of lay feed should be ok. By the way, I was told (and then confirmed with my own hens) that when a pullet suddenly starts to get a bigger comb she's gonna start laying soon. Most of my hens are some sort of gamey/bantam mutts, and they have tiny combs, but whatever tiny comb they have now came out right before they started to lay. Rusty before  Rusty after, see the difference?  I don't know how that would work with big comb breeds, but it helps
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Jun 15, 2012 22:37
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Chido posted:Rusty before Awwww. Rusty is so pretty. Is she being broody in that second photo? She looks mad and all fluffed up.
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Jun 15, 2012 23:18
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