The girls came to TFL today. They chilled in a cardboard box till I got the pen sealed up. Added chicken wire around the parameter, some additional bits so I could apply the bird netting over the top then rigged a rope and pulley so I can open and close the door from outside. BTW...the back side of the coop opens so I can clean and collect eggs someday. Their foster mom thinks they will start laying in September. The new arrivals spent their first few hours hiding under the coop. Had to go out at twilight and chase them into their new overnight space. I think they get it now. Carl knows somethings happening but I don't think he has actually seen them yet. Not gonna let them "mix it up" till the girls get a little older. 78,91,66,0,W,0
16 comments:
I'll take a dozen...
I reckon you know that when they do er..mix it up, some of your eggs will have red splotches in them, because they will be fertile. Hope you don't regret not having a man sized entry into the coop, LOL, duck walking or crawling in an area covered in liberal amounts of poo gets old right after the first time.
I just can't imagine that they will be able to tolerate the high summer temps, I hope so but I'm not so sure. Maybe this damn drought will end and you'll have a nice cool wet desert summer.
Don't worry Dale, I reckon John could put together some sorta off-road Roomba (with webcam and mechanical claw, natch) to patrol around inside the coop and take care of any chores he would otherwise have to.
Might make it a bit easier for 'the girls' to get in and out of their coop if ya nail some narrow strips across their entry ramp. Keep their feet from slippin' doancha know!
Lots & lots of poo. That's one reason that one of these days when I start my flock, I want to build a chicken tractor on wheels. Seems like the way to go.
I'd bring the pallets up one more level when you have enough. The added four feet will make it walkable.
John,
When you collect enough pallets from various shipments, take the coop up another 40”-48” depending on their size. That ought to be enough to walk around without crawling in the muck.
Saw this elsewhere... Could be fun!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Chicken-Coop-Controller/
Fresh eggs are well worth your work.
Jon
Don't know why your post made me think of this...
Chicken Reel - Joseph M. Daly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ7KQAw4hQE
Looks like you got it snake proofed.
Another milestone at The Field Lab - the day the chicken coop came on-line. It looks great. Happy egg eating to you!
The coop is very nice! Good job JW.
Roost?
It looks like you need a closet pole or 2x2 mounted somewhere in the pen for the chickens to roost on. Keeps them off the ground of a night. Second the addition of cleats to the nesting box ramp.
The red spots are caused by a small amount of blood and can happen to any egg, whether or not there's a rooster present. A fertiized egg will have what looks like a small yellow and white bullseye on the yolk. I had issues with my rooster, he was too brutal on the hens, but he was delicious.
Hope she's well secured. Those fox, bobcat and mountain lions can be tricky. ;)
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