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Thread: Chicken Coop

  1. #21
    Senior Member 2dumb2kwit's Avatar
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    So....A chicken coupe just isn't as big as a chicken sedan, right?
    (The car guys will get this. LOL)
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  2. #22
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
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    that's right 2d. the chickens in the back seat always complain about how hard it is to get out...
    Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. Helen Keller

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  3. #23
    Ed edr730's Avatar
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    Chickens are a great source of meat, but they will be devoured when young and picked off when they get older by dogs, coon, owls, hawks, weasels and every other thing. If you raise meat chickens you will need to protect them. Get a certain amount of food and when it runs out, then butcher them. If you let them get too big it will be harder to pluck the pin feathers. Its good to find out who plucks chickens in the area because if you are new to it, then you may decide to pay someone else to do it. Water to hot makes the skin tear and too cold makes them pluck hard. There are machines for this also. If you decide to keep some free-range chickens (not the meat kind), then make sure they don't roost over tractors or equipment or anything else that you don't want them to crap on. If you want cheap wood to build anything then look for the nearest small saw mill and the price will be much cheaper. If you have your own trees to cut, then a portable sawmill should cut them up into boards for about .17 per board foot. At least that is the price around here. You won't need to plane the wood for a chicken coop.....the band saw cuts pretty straight and smooth. Don't build it with aspen, popal or cottonwood.
    The chicks can be kept inside the house for a while, but you will know when it's time for them to go out. Make sure you have a light on them or they will die if it's a little cold. If they gather tight under the light, then lower the light. If they scatter away from the center of the light, then raise the light.

  4. #24
    Ed edr730's Avatar
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    Oh...and build a roost in the coop too. It's a wide ladder kind of thing that they like to sleep on. Put some straw or whatever under it to catch the manure. This way much of the manure will be under the roost. Don't clean the coop and let the manure be like dust in the air (as in old coops)....it's possible to catch some bad things from chicken crap in your lungs. Be careful about using too much chicken manure too fast on your plants or you will burn them.

  5. #25
    Senior Member Winnie's Avatar
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    EDR my girls are cleaned out every week, and while we're having this cold weather I top up the bedding midweek.
    I also compost my chicken manure first, it's a great activator for the compost heap and gives the manure time to cool down.

    Oh and just to be different, the girls refuse to roost!
    Recession; A period when you go without something your Grandparents never heard of.

  6. #26
    Ed edr730's Avatar
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    You are an exceptional coop keeper Winnie and it's a very good idea to keep it, at least, reasonably clean. My brother had a disease from chickens, and I tested positive for the same when we were young and at home. It's not common, but it can happen. Your none roosting chickens don't make the cleaning job any easier. What I knew about chickens is that the coop is there, the eggs are here and it's easier if the poops in a group. Maybe they are just cold, dumb or all got bad legs. Maybe the girls need an intensive roosting 101 course to help you out? I guess if it doesn't bother you and they seem to like the way things are, then why change it if it isn't broke? You seem to enjoy them.

  7. #27
    Senior Member Winnie's Avatar
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    LOL, When I first got them, I tried putting them on the perch to encourage them to roost but they'd have none of it!
    I was always taught to treat your animals as you would yourself, clean house, fresh food and water and medical attention if need be. A lot of illnesses and diseases can be avoided by good hygiene and the same goes for animals I guess. I know the girls are spoiled, but hey, I haven't bought an egg in three years and I've bartered allsorts of things with the excess.
    Recession; A period when you go without something your Grandparents never heard of.

  8. #28
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
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    winnie. would you talk some about the benefits of diatomaceous earth being added to the run and coop? It is a little expense to keep away the mites and other icky things the girls don't like.
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  9. #29
    Senior Member Winnie's Avatar
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    No probs YCC. DE is an excellent all round hygiene addition. I have always used it and the girls have never suffered from any parastitic infestation. Red mites in particular can be a real problem. They hide in the nooks and crannies and come out at night and suck the blood, in a bad case they can kill your birds and can cretainly stop them laying.
    Here's a quick link
    http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chicke...ol.html#aDIAT1

    It really does work, I sprinkle about a tablespoon onto the fresh bedding every couple of weeks when I clean them out. During the summer I also pop a little bit in any dust baths they've made. I also put a sprinkle on their food every couple of months as it also works for internal parasites.
    It also works well to keep fungal spores and the such down.
    I really can't praise the stuff enough. I've used it on the cat when he had a few unwelcome guests and it worked. When I kept horses I used it on them too!
    I know it's expensive, but it's very economical, totally natural and has so many uses, if you're into storing grains DE can be used to kill beasties spoiling the grain. I've also heard it being used to treat headlice in children, but I'm not sure of the procedure for that.
    Recession; A period when you go without something your Grandparents never heard of.

  10. #30
    Senior Member 2dumb2kwit's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by your_comforting_company View Post
    winnie. would you talk some about the benefits of diatomaceous earth being added to the run and coop? It is a little expense to keep away the mites and other icky things the girls don't like.
    Heeeey....isn't that what put Ken in the hospital?
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  11. #31
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
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    from what I understand, It can also be put around the foundation of a house to stop termites, ants, and other unwanteds.

    a neat pesticide I discovered when working at the local peanut mill ... this is gonna blow your mind... CRUSHED GLASS. If beetles or other exoskeletal critters crawl across it, it will make small cuts in their exo and they will dry up. might be worth crushing some old bottles (into a really fine dust) to treat perimeters of places that you want such critters to stay out of.
    WARNING: If you are going to be working with/near crushed glass, a respirator or very good dust mask is necessary. Inhaling the glass dust causes a condition called silicosis, common among flintknappers who do not work in well ventilated areas and potters who work with white dusty clays such as ceramic and stoneware.
    Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. Helen Keller

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  12. #32
    Senior Member Winnie's Avatar
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    Don't like the sound of that Silicosis!
    Recession; A period when you go without something your Grandparents never heard of.

  13. #33
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    Diatomaceous Earth is composed of Diatoms. They absorb the moisture out of insects so the insects die of dehydration. It's harmless to humans and pets.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth
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  14. #34
    Senior Member Old GI's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick View Post
    Diatomaceous Earth is composed of Diatoms. They absorb the moisture out of insects so the insects die of dehydration. It's harmless to humans and pets.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth
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  15. #35
    Senior Member Winnie's Avatar
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    Just to show you what can be achieved in your back yard, I found the link to the meat birds I raised last year. Dizzybell went broody so I got some fertile eggs. She did all the work brooding the eggs and looking after the chicks.

    http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ead.php?t=8776

    It was extremely satisfying knowing that from egg to table the birds had a pretty natural life and a calm end.
    Recession; A period when you go without something your Grandparents never heard of.

  16. #36
    Ed edr730's Avatar
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    Interesting about the Diatomaceous Earth. The glass too, although we don't get insect/house problems here.

  17. #37
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    We'll be happy to ship some up your way if it helps.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  18. #38
    Ed edr730's Avatar
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    I would be excited to accept any insects, from any order, not native to northern areas. Freeze them and send as many as you have time for. You may wish to check with your county Ag dept. for permits. Thank you for your kind offer.

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