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This thread has caused me to look into the chicken rules of my county (I'm good to go) and start looking at both plans to build a movable coop/run and craigslists for a cheap one already made. What are you people getting me into!? 
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Jun 21, 2011 20:30
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| # ¿ May 2, 2024 01:47 |
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I'm picking up a small coop (converted rabbit hutch) and 2 hens tonight... pictures to follow later. The girlfriend isn't very happy about this. She'll come around when she sees the chickens.
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Jun 22, 2011 18:16
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So after a 4 hour drive home (Wow I'm never driving around D.C. during rush hour again... should have been a 2 hour drive), the coop and chickens were set after it got dark. I'll get better pictures over the next few days, but here they are settling in: The brown and white one is a Tracter Supply- Tetra Tint hen (some new breed within the last year that is a hybrid and heavy producer). The larger black and white one is a Silver Cuckoo Maran hen. The smaller black one is a Frizzle hen and the one left, the silver-looking one, is a Splash Maran rooster. These are all according to the lady I got them from as I really have no idea. Questions: 1) Do I need to make these laying boxes I keep hearing about? 2) How quickly will they rip up a small area of grass? 3) How long should I expect them to go through the 'getting used to each other' phase? Only two of the four were in the same coop before. 4) Where the hell do I get chicken feed? (I got a bunch from the lady I bought them from) I didn't really want a rooster because I'm afraid once it grows up the neighbors will hate it... but she claimed sometimes they grow up to be really quiet and I guess I can get rid of it if it becomes an issue. A flying piece of fucked around with this message at 03:35 on Jun 23, 2011 |
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Jun 23, 2011 03:25
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WrathofKhan posted:I would ad that since you've got a rooster you want to feed them 'Flock Raiser' or some kind of other feed that doesn't have added calcium, and put a dish of oyster shell in the coop. The hens will eat the oyster shell and not the rooster? Apparently I don't give chickens enough credit.
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Jun 23, 2011 19:53
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Figured I'd post some better pictures because, hey... who doesn't like pictures. We named this one, the rooster, Dartagnan after one of the guys I play Planetside with. His comment on the forums when I posted that info there was "The first thing that's ever named after me and it's a cock!?'  After arguing with my girlfriend, this one is named Dagda (again a Planetside thing... and a celtic mythology thing if you want to get technical). She's currently the largest of the hens and is kind of a bitch.  This one is Black Mama and is currently the way youngest... not even half grown. She's also the cutest and the one most amiable to being handled. AND SHE HAS FEATHERY FEET!  We don't have a name for this one yet. I'm letting another group of people I associate with name her. You're welcome to suggest things too. 
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Jun 24, 2011 02:03
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smitz posted:Do you have racoons or possums? They will literally reach through that chicken wire, and tear a chicken through it, piece by piece, I've seen this mess and it it's NSFW. I live just north of Baltimore, MD and I don't doubt that we have both of those around here, although I've never actually seen one in the area that this yard is in. Building a more secure (and larger) caged run is at the top of my list once we finish moving into the house tomorrow. That structure is just what came with the coop.
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Jun 24, 2011 19:09
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I successfully constructed a square structure with a functioning, swinging, latchable door!  Sometime in the fall, I'd like to make a larger coop with an attached run that is all on wheels so I can more easily move them around to fresh ground. 
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Jun 27, 2011 13:49
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Alterian posted:You might want to change that plastic out for metal. That won't keep any animal that would eat a chicken out. Then why have a few people, both in this thread and elsewhere, recommended using poultry netting over chicken wire. You people need to get your stories straight. 
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Jun 27, 2011 15:03
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What the hell are my hens doing? So I've had them now for a couple weeks and I have not seen this yet. We moved the coop/run to fresh ground last night after they went into the coop and it also rained. This morning I go outside to see the two larger hens in the corner of the run rolling around and clawing at the ground while they're on their sides. Are they cleaning themselves on the wet ground (and mud since they're clawing)? Are they trying to find worms?
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Jul 3, 2011 14:20
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My young rooster died... I have no idea what happened. There's no marks on him, he didn't/doesn't appear to be sickly.
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Jul 5, 2011 12:10
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Amethyste posted:
Hah, I live right in a nexus of like 4 firework shows within a 5 mile radius, one of which is really close... and I think the neighbors were lighting off fireworks last night. I didn't even think about that.
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Jul 5, 2011 13:46
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So another question... how often do you people clean the chicken areas? I just read a few forum posts, web pages and/or blogs elsewhere and I see people only changing the bedding every couple months. I changed the bedding in my small coop last week and it already looks gross. The whole coop/run was moved to a new patch of grass on Friday and is already looking equally gross. At what point does all the poo become unhealthy? I was planning to move the run to a new patch once a week, but the original patch from a couple weeks ago hasn't really started growing back in yet. Edit: Nevermind.. I read about the whole 'deep litter' thing. A flying piece of fucked around with this message at 18:05 on Jul 5, 2011 |
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Jul 5, 2011 15:35
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There was actually a story last night on Baltimore's local news about urban backyard chickens. Positive story about how the number of people keeping them is going way up.
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Jul 14, 2011 03:22
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My girlfriend had to chase the pitbull that got INTO our chicken run 2 weeks ago out of the yard again this morning because the bitch of an owner keeps letting the dog walk off of the leash. She and my grandmother both threatened to call the police if we ever saw the dog off of the leash again. Anyway, over the weekend I picked up a new 4x5x4 two year old coop and a 4x10 half-roofed run for $350. It also happened to come with 3 2 year old hens to add to my current 3 young, as-of-yet-not-laying hens. I'll be attaching my current 8x3 run to the new 4x10 run.    
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Jul 25, 2011 14:30
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Yea, I already had a pitbull work his way through the chicken wire on the other run... all of the chickens got into the coop, though. I'm going to be replacing it with hardware cloth soon.
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Jul 25, 2011 19:03
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Dr. Octagon posted:Those are some warm chickens, it must have been a hot weekend where you were, too. I felt bad for our hens, but as it turns out, they really hate being spritzed with the hose. The heat index in MD was over 105 for 3 days this past week and it was upper 90s all weekend... today was the first 'cooler' day. I also tried misting them with the hose a few times which was met with lots of squawking.
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Jul 26, 2011 00:36
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How long will it take for the new, older 3 hens to stop being mean to the old, younger 3 hens? They don't seem to be pulling feathers out, much less drawing blood, but the younger 3 hens seem to be in a constant state of fear on the opposite side of the run. The younger hens finding a place to roost for the night is like an hour long ordeal.
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Jul 27, 2011 02:04
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I almost forgot about this thread. It's been 5 months since this thread convinced me to get chickens. I still have just 6 hens, but the run has grown! I have my original 8x3 run that I had built for the 3 young hens I got at first to the right (still need to replace the plastic netting / chicken wire on that thing with hardware cloth). Then I have the 4x10 half-tall run in the back that is half-roofed and butted up against the chicken coop it came with. In between these two smaller runs is the new 8x8 section of the run that includes some roosting spots down the middle.
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Oct 31, 2011 22:55
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| # ¿ May 2, 2024 01:47 |
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Here's my current flock. I have a set of polish, olive-eggers, and silkies in a brooder right now to add 3 more chickens for a total of 9 once they're grown. From left to right: Foghorn Leghorn, Tilapia, Kevin, Dagda, Waffles, and just out of frame is a black silkie named Fluffybutt. 
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May 6, 2014 17:33
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