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Good chickem.
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Jun 30, 2020 18:48
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snake and bake posted:I'm slowly reading through the thread, but while I'm doing that, would any of y'all mind sharing which breeds you kept/keep and a little about them? Just so this doesn't get lost in the Pip's teniversary. I sort of felt that same uncertainty when we started keeping chickens, and no longer feel it. Over the years we had: - black sex link - barred rock - rhode island red - golden sexlink - some other RIR based hybrid I can't remember - the neighbor's backyard mutt - ameraucana - silkie - black australorp - brahma - polish crested (rooster) - modern game bantam (rooster  )The only ones I regret, and wouldn't get again are the RIR and RIR based hybrids, incl. the golden sexlinks. They may be good if your goal is to lay as many eggs as you can and then butcher. We don't want this, and ended up with egg bound hens again and again, and always with the high performance layers. Other than this, these days when it's time for chicks we'll go to the feed store and go "oh these look cute, let's get a few." (They all look cute, too.)
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Jun 30, 2020 21:01
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forgot our white faced black spanish rooster, how could I forget!
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Jun 30, 2020 22:33
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Happy birthday, Pip!!! Man that's a handsome rooster right there...
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Jun 30, 2020 22:42
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Lawson posted:forgot our white faced black spanish rooster, how could I forget! Stunning fellow. What's his name?
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Jul 1, 2020 23:11
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Anyone have experience with hawk deterrents? I'd like to give them more space in their fenced in run. I don't want to have to build a structure around the whole thing. I was thinking about either having camo net or shade cloth above it as well as hanging some reflectors.
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Jul 2, 2020 14:19
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The last surviving chicken from the first group of chicks I ever had died yesterday. Nothing obviously wrong with her just found her face down in the yard when I went to close everything up for the night. R.I.P. Weedcat (yes I named one of my chickens Weedcat) you big obnoxious fluff butt.
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Jul 4, 2020 16:54
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Shifty Nipples posted:The last surviving chicken from the first group of chicks I ever had died yesterday. Nothing obviously wrong with her just found her face down in the yard when I went to close everything up for the night. R.I.P. Weedcat (yes I named one of my chickens Weedcat) you big obnoxious fluff butt. R.I.P. you big floof.
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Jul 4, 2020 17:00
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Aw. Enjoy the deepest of dope dozes, Weedcat.
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Jul 4, 2020 17:18
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It has been really quiet, she was a loud chicken.
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Jul 6, 2020 01:26
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 We started our backyard flock 8 days ago. Definitely learning as we go. One rookie mistake I made was the first few days using straw in their coop as bedding. I’ve since switched over to cedar chips We know they are frizzled (and adorable!) but can anyone ID the breed?
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Jul 6, 2020 05:06
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LuckyCat posted:
Frizzles are a breed in most of the world. Where are you at?
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Jul 6, 2020 05:38
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:Frizzles are a breed in most of the world. Where are you at? North Texas. From our online research any breed can be frizzled. Our neighbors have a frizzled barred rock for example!
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Jul 6, 2020 17:12
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The pristine paint job is adorable. Also, we've used straw and shavings over the years, whatever was handy. Can't say I noticed a practical difference, although I have heard suggestions for shavings as well. Maybe it matters if you have 150 hens and need to shovel poo poo daily. We've had 8 at a time at most, and things have been smooth as far as the bedding is concerned.
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Jul 6, 2020 17:33
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Our chickens are settling in a lot more and feathers are growing back nicely  Hedy  Ada  Grace Their laying has been really inconsistent, they did lay quite a few eggs not long after we got them. We found out that Grace was laying eggs in the potato bed but we put some false eggs into the nest boxes and that helped. One of them, we think Hedy, has laid a wrinkled and a couple of shell-less eggs. We did have some really awful weather in the last week so not sure if that's thrown them off. They're all eating plenty of layers pellets and grit.
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Jul 6, 2020 17:55
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Lawson posted:Also, we've used straw and shavings over the years, whatever was handy. Can't say I noticed a practical difference, although I have heard suggestions for shavings as well. Maybe it matters if you have 150 hens and need to shovel poo poo daily. We've had 8 at a time at most, and things have been smooth as far as the bedding is concerned. The big difference for us has been in the amount of flies. Because the straw decomposes when wet from feces it exacerbated the fly problem we already have. Switching over to cedar chips has already made a nice difference. I also read that they can get their crops full of straw and kill them. I am new to this and not at all an expert, so that thing I read on some website could very well be not true or just extremely rare. There is a breeder nearby that breeds silkies and we’re hoping to add 2 hens by the end of the week!
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Jul 6, 2020 18:55
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Let me understand, you got the hen, the chicken and the rooster. The rooster goes with the chicken. So, who's having sex with the hen?
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Jul 6, 2020 19:12
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LuckyCat posted:North Texas. From our online research any breed can be frizzled. Our neighbors have a frizzled barred rock for example! any breed can be frizzled but Frizzle is also a breed in the US. Your chickens are Frizzles.
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Jul 6, 2020 21:37
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Aww, belated happy birthday to Pip. It's so heartwarming that she's been able to enjoy a long and wonderful life after such a rough beginning. And RIP, Weedcat. Still reading through this very long (but very chill and sweet) thread. But I did take a backyard chicken keeping class on Zoom, offered by the University of Florida, last week. It was very cool, I learned a lot. Lawson posted:Just so this doesn't get lost in the Pip's teniversary. Thanks! I'll steer clear of the high egg production breeds. I'm not looking for meat breeds either, since my city doesn't allow me to butcher chickens. Now I'm starting to plan my coop. I'll be getting 3 or 4 hens. Space isn't really an issue. The coop needs to be very sturdy because we have a lot of predators here: raccoons, opossums, hawks, owls, bobcats, coyotes. Bald eagles in winter/spring too. The coop also needs to be well-ventilated yet weather-resistant. I'm in Florida, right on the coast - it's always humid and we get lots of rain, sometimes torrential. I'm thinking I'm going to need a raised coop just to keep it from getting flooded. My soil is basically sand so luckily drainage isn't too much of a problem. I've been looking at buying a coop online, but I'm not impressed by the selection at Amazon/Home Depot/etc. Almost all of the wood ones seem very flimsy, and likely to rot away very quickly in my climate. I've been considering the Ecoflex stuff because it might hold up better than wood, but it's kind of pricy per sq. ft. and doesn't look sturdy enough to keep out larger predators. I'm just handy enough that I could probably cobble something together out of scrap wood and leftover shingles, but my city's laws specify that the coop has to be "attractive," which is subjective as hell but understandable. Whatever I build might be functional, but it ain't gonna be pretty. Buying a kit seems like the easiest way for me to avoid that issue. Any suggestions for brands to look for, or online stores that sell decent coop kits? Edit: I just found the Omlet coops and runs. Looks interesting. I like how expandable it is. Anyone using their stuff? snake and bake fucked around with this message at 16:54 on Jul 7, 2020 |
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Jul 7, 2020 14:20
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snake and bake posted:Aww, belated happy birthday to Pip. It's so heartwarming that she's been able to enjoy a long and wonderful life after such a rough beginning. snake and bake posted:Edit: I just found the Omlet coops and runs. Looks interesting. I like how expandable it is. Anyone using their stuff? A couple of years later, after the first three hens had passed away, we then got a run extension and four hens (including Queen Pip). The run extension meant more rrom for the hens, but it was a pain to clean out (trying to squeeze in the end gate was difficult), so we invested in the 2m x 2m walk-in run and that was far easier to keep clean and deal with the hens. Obviously this meant we hada dedicated site for the run and not move the smaller run around the garden. We kept the old eglu and run for any new rescue hens we brought home. It gave the newbies a chance to find their feet, build up some weight, energy and feathers without being bullied by the established hens. The Eglu system isn't cheap, but it's pretty hard wearing and works for us.
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Jul 7, 2020 18:57
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Yeah Eglus are nice, especially if your space is limited ie urban backyard, but they are very pricey for the amount of coop real estate you get. The one we got was easy enough to put together for the coop itself but goddamn getting the run set up was more of a pain in the butt. We ended up tossing that and put the coop in a large dog kennel and securing it with chicken wire.
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Jul 8, 2020 01:44
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If you're in the UK, I went for a Solway Recycling one, it's nice but it does come fully assembled, so difficult if you need to get it through a narrow space
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Jul 8, 2020 02:17
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hope and vaseline posted:Yeah Eglus are nice, especially if your space is limited ie urban backyard, but they are very pricey for the amount of coop real estate you get. The one we got was easy enough to put together for the coop itself but goddamn getting the run set up was more of a pain in the butt. We ended up tossing that and put the coop in a large dog kennel and securing it with chicken wire. Can confirm, the runs are expensive and setting up the run is a frustrating endevour (plus they changed the sizing of the walk in runs from the original design we bought 8 years ago, the pieces are slightly smaller so we had to bodge the new run extension to the old one with loads of clips and cable ties). We bought our last Eglu second hand for £50. Still looks as good as new. Solway recycling hen houses look great, but they posted this on their FB page on the 19th of June: quote:Solway Recycling Update... Ah that's not fair.
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Jul 8, 2020 09:36
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Oh man that sucks. 
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Jul 8, 2020 09:41
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Nettle Soup posted:If you're in the UK, I went for a Solway Recycling one, it's nice but it does come fully assembled, so difficult if you need to get it through a narrow space We got a flat packed recycled plastic one from Greenfrog designs. Not cheap at all but being up in Scotland we wanted something very weatherproof and so far it seems great.
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Jul 8, 2020 10:15
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I'm in the US. A lot of people here are going into survival mode, so many coops are sold out or on backorder. TBH I'm in full blown panic survival mode myself, but I've always wanted to keep chickens, and I've been planning to set up a coop since I moved into this house over a year ago. Just wish I'd gotten around to it sooner.  I'm considering the Cube instead of the Go. It's a big investment, and it might be a bit more than I need for 3-4 hens, but I want them to have plenty of room and ventilation. snake and bake fucked around with this message at 15:50 on Jul 8, 2020 |
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Jul 8, 2020 15:36
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Sad news. Neptune took ill and died suddenly on Sunday. She was my favourite chicken.
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Jul 8, 2020 16:03
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Halloween Jack posted:Sad news. Neptune took ill and died suddenly on Sunday. She was my favourite chicken. Sad news, RIP Neptune. What kind was she? Looks a bit like our buff brahmas, but she doesn't look that big compared to the hand.
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Jul 8, 2020 16:07
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Banty Brahma, yeah. I just hoped she'd have another five years or so to roam around the yard, take dust baths, feud with her son, and make that "burb wurb burble" noise. None of my chickens are very old, and the ones who have died have died suddenly from what looked like heart failure. I don't think I'll ever buy from a big online breeder again.
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Jul 8, 2020 16:12
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snake and bake posted:I'm in the US. A lot of people here are going into survival mode, so many coops are sold out or on backorder. I have that one. Eglu’s estimate for up to 10 hens might work for bantams, but full size chickens, 6 -7 would be more accurate, and that would be getting fairly crowded in there.
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Jul 8, 2020 17:26
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Halloween Jack posted:Sad news. Neptune took ill and died suddenly on Sunday. She was my favourite chicken. Condolences I lost a buff Brahma earlier this year too, they’re just the sweetest things.
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Jul 8, 2020 17:28
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Halloween Jack posted:Banty Brahma, yeah. Yeah, none of them last very long. You get the occasional show out, but they're bred to be egg machines. Not long-term pals. If you want long-term, look for show breeders. Those birds last 90,000 years.
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Jul 8, 2020 20:05
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:any breed can be frizzled but Frizzle is also a breed in the US. That clears it up. Thank you. 
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Jul 8, 2020 21:29
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porktree posted:Tom Nook is after my chickens. dang! that's not a good situation. it looks like with time the raccoon could easily dig in there. you should also be aware that if it can reach in and grab a chicken neck or foot that will be the end of the chicken as well. hope you've been able to add some more security in the meantime Alterian posted:Anyone have experience with hawk deterrents? I'd like to give them more space in their fenced in run. I don't want to have to build a structure around the whole thing. I was thinking about either having camo net or shade cloth above it as well as hanging some reflectors. stringing up fishing line above their outdoor area was pretty effective for me. i also had a plastic hawk i would put out occasionally and move around. you can get bird netting on amazon that may also work but it's hard to deal with (easy to tangle) and birds can get caught in it which is bad. really i guess the best thing is to have plenty of things for the chickens to hide in or under (shrubbery and whatnot) and accept that if you free range there will be losses over time. i ended up making a large secure run and not free ranging - just had too small a flock for the losses to not hurt
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Jul 9, 2020 15:51
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Halloween Jack posted:Sad news. Neptune took ill and died suddenly on Sunday. She was my favourite chicken. Sorry for your loss. It really hurts when they go.
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Jul 9, 2020 17:21
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Mozi posted:
I've heard about the fishing line. We have a fake owl we've been moving around the yard for now. They're going to be semi - free range. We're fencing off part of our yard for them. We live on 1.5 acres in the woods. They won't have access to most of it, but enough that they should be pretty comfortable. There are red shoulder hawks that patrol the area sometimes. Reading on the internet, it seems that type of hawk may or may not be interested in chickens. There are A LOT of squirrels around and that tends to be their preferred food it seems. We moved since we've had chickens. This is the first time having them at our new house.There was never an issue with our old flock because we had dogs that liked to spend most of their time outdoors. Now we just have a puppy and our fence in the yard isn't 100% solid so it can't be out unsupervised anyway.
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Jul 10, 2020 13:42
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So my last 12 hens are pretty big now. They go to the processor on Wednesday. We have eaten a few of the roosters so far and they have been delicious. If someone has the backyard and a local processor I highly recommend raising your own birds. Better lives for the birds and better tasting meat by far. We are going to take a few months off from birds to do some maintenance and clean up around the coop. We have had a few bad storms recently as land with the heat of the day the water weight is bending the plastic roofing I have up. When the hens are gone I will need to remove the roof and add a lot more blocking to keep it supported. This plastic is nowhere near as sturdy as the metal i used to use. I should have known. So that’s an issue to address during the downtime. Another thing I need to do is shovel all the rocks out of the area the coop is in. It’s covered in pebbles as the previous home owner used it as a seating area. Getting back down to dirt will help the chickens scratch easier and let their poop dry faster. So lots to do when the girls are gone. It’s going to be a bittersweet time. Errant Gin Monks fucked around with this message at 03:43 on Jul 11, 2020 |
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Jul 10, 2020 14:35
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 I've got a coop full of new birds this year. 2 welsummer roos, 8 welsummer pullets, 7 australorp pullets, and one very large australorp that I think may well be a roo. I'd kept Jersey Giants and guineas (shudder) previously, and I'm sort of in awe of how fast these birds are maturing in comparison. They're pretty friendly, and as soon as I'm confident they can't slip through the poultry netting, I'll be cordoning off an area of the yard to let them get used to free-ranging.
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Jul 11, 2020 22:50
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My husband promised me our coop is going to be ready either today or tomorrow. I'm getting tired of moving them in and out of the workshop to their kiddie pool temporary house every morning and evening. We measured out the spot we're going to fence in around the coop and its going to be roughly a 35' x 35' area. I ordered some netting to hang above it to keep the hawks away. It should be here on Thursday. We're going to work on getting the fence up this week as well so hopefully by this weekend they'll be in their permanent digs.
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Jul 13, 2020 20:47
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Sorry to double post but its done! Not 100%, but well enough for them to sleep in tonight. We need to make an actual ramp and we're going to attach nest boxes to it soon. I'm just happy they won't spend another night in my workshop. The fence can go up tomorrow.
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Jul 15, 2020 16:50
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