Our Non-Human Animal Friends

[Nepen]

How did you make the nest box?

My Ancona Duck eggs are shipping!!!! I'm so excited. Got the incubator so i'll test it out tonight.

My land was an old farm and had this little shed in the back where i'll use as a chicken/duck house. I cleared the land (it's hard when you have wisteria infestation....my chain saw broke down several times due to the thick / tough and sticky vines, the blades got dull only an hour into the work) as much as i could around the area (going to be about 1500 sq). I haven't thought about what I need in that shed yet... but I know I need a nesting area for the chicken and may be a perch? I'm hoping to get chickens soon.

this area was also covered with tall grass, so i figured the chicken will have fun eating whatever will come up (and hopefully kill the wisteria!)

Those are all vines, and the grounds are covered with the roots and vines too. My tractor couldnt pull the vine, even a tiny one, they are tough..

 

[MoonShadows]

Wisteria is one tough plant to clear, and even harder to eradicate.

Nesting boxes can be made out of many items...maybe even things you have laying around or things you can find if your eye is "tuned" to converting into a nesting box. I just googled "nesting box ideas" Try it; you'll get many ideas. Click on the "images" tab.

 

[Nepen]

Wisteria is one tough plant to clear, and even harder to eradicate.

Nesting boxes can be made out of many items...maybe even things you have laying around or things you can find if your eye is "tuned" to converting into a nesting box. I just googled "nesting box ideas" Try it; you'll get many ideas. Click on the "images" tab.

Yes, we have 5 acres full of them, the land been neglected for years so they thrived and looks like a rain forest jungle when we got it. spent fortune and many broken equipment and big machines trying to clear 2 acres.. now 3 to go. I find it easiest to cut them from ground up and let them die, a year later they just fell down and easy to pull from the trees. A lot of hard work but best result.

I tried the google. Just want to see what other real people are doing I'm thinking milk crates with tray inside for easy cleaning.. or plastic tub and cut the side out...

 

[MoonShadows]

There you go. Easy and cheap! Can't beat that.

 

[Gemma]

I still think the Buff Orps are the most laid back ones I've ever had.
Austrolorps are not bad either along with golden comets.

I'm leaning towards getting all Orpington, especially the Black and the Buff...ideally I would like 5 newly hatched chicks all different colors, but I have no idea where I can find them, cause most hatchery I researched only take orders of at least 10 chicks

 

[TAHOE]

I made my nesting boxes out a $2.99 rectangular plastic tubs from Walmart. I had an old metal shelving unit, cut it down to use 4 tubs, fill them with shavings. The plastic is nice, I just pull them out, dump them them when needed and easy to clean. I've seen boxes made out of small buckets and lids which is pretty cool idea.

 

[TAHOE]

I'm leaning towards getting all Orpington, especially the Black and the Buff...ideally I would like 5 newly hatched chicks all different colors, but I have no idea where I can find them, cause most hatchery I researched only take orders of at least 10 chicks

Search your local craigslist under the farm and garden. We have several people in our area who buy large quantities of various breeds and then sell them as few a 1 or dozens, nice for people who just want a handful.

 

[MoonShadows]

I'm leaning towards getting all Orpington, especially the Black and the Buff...ideally I would like 5 newly hatched chicks all different colors, but I have no idea where I can find them, cause most hatchery I researched only take orders of at least 10 chicks

https://www.meyerhatchery.com/
They will ship as little as 3 chicks between April and November

 

[MoonShadows]

For those thinking about getting chickens or who just got new chickens, I received this email today about keeping your flock safe. Excellent points....

Predator-Proof Your Coop
Whether you live in town or live in the suburbs, keeping your birds safe is a challenging task as they attract all kinds of predators. Nothing is worse than finding an injured, dead or missing flock member.

Here are ten tips that will help you predator-proof your birds to ensure their safety and minimize loss and/or injury:

1. Train your flock to return to the coop every night. If they are raised in a coop, they will naturally return at night to lay eggs and roost after being out all day. Make sure you lock and secure the coop every night.

2. Ensure your coop is free of any holes in the walls, doors, and floors. Cover any openings with a tight, heavy-gauge wire or hardware cloth, since softer chicken wire or plastic mesh screens can easily be chewed, pried, or torn open.

3. Raise your coop at least a foot off the ground to keep predators such as snakes, rats, skunks from living underneath and stealing eggs, chickens or younger chicks. Also, if you have cats, this allows them to crawl under the coop floor and eliminate any rodent or other small annoying visitors.

4. To deter predators that are diggers, create a 12” trench all the way around the perimeter of the coop and bury hardware cloth.

5. Cover the run with fencing, wire, or game bird netting to protect against climbing or flying predators. You can also install a random array of crisscrossing wires overhead to discourage flying predators from grabbing your flock from above.

6. Use 2-step locks on door latches, such as spring locks and barrel-style locks, as raccoons and other fairly dexterous animals are able to easily unlatch simple locks and turn basic door handles.

7. Use a motion-sensor-activated night light to flood the run with light after dark will keep most nocturnal predators away from the coop.

8. Keep the run's perimeter free from bushes and plants. Predators such as raccoons are less likely to try to work to get into a closure when they have to sit in the open to do it. You can still plant bushes inside the chicken run as your birds will like the shade and to nibble on the leaves; just keep them away from the perimeter.

9. Having chicken-friendly dogs around help serve as deterrents for predators hesitant to approach. A dog’s urine and feces smell serve as a natural deterrent as well. With this said, be sure your dog is trained not to go after your flock.

10. Don’t leave uneaten food in the run or uncollected eggs in the coop as they both will attract rodents and predators. Although rodents will not go after your chickens they can spread disease. Be sure to store feed and water away from the coop or secure them tightly.

 

[Gemma]

Search your local craigslist under the farm and garden. We have several people in our area who buy large quantities of various breeds and then sell them as few a 1 or dozens, nice for people who just want a handful.

No luck on Craigs List! ...I've searched on CL for the entire State, no one has the chicks I'm looking for ...but I never lose hope!

https://www.meyerhatchery.com/
They will ship as little as 3 chicks between April and November

They don't have the English Buff Orpington, but perhaps more breeds will become available...thanks!

 

[MoonShadows]

I have been letting the chickens free range for a little while each day. It's funny to watch. When I open the door to the field, mother hen and her two cronies are the first ones out followed by the 8 new ones. The new ones stick pretty close to the 3 older hens. A couple of times I've seen a couple of hawks. While the older chickens are aware of how dangerous the hawks are, the younger ones seem to be oblivious, and that worries me somewhat. So, I have decided to get a sentry for them, a rooster. I called the farm where we bought the new hens, and they have a few roosters available. We are going to take a ride up there today and pick one out. I told the owner I want the least aggressive one since I will be introducing him to an established flock, and from what I read, while everything should go well with the young hens, the older ones may give him some problems initially if they have to give up some of their status. Luckily, I have yet to take down the temporary coop, so I will put him in the back end of the run that has the temporary coop and is sectioned off from the front part of the run...and observe how the older gals interact with him at the fence. I have been reading on chicken forums about introducing new roosters. Some report no problems, some report minor problems, and some report knock down drag out brawls resulting in a lot of blood and torn combs, wattles, etc.

 

[MoonShadows]

We picked up a Wyandotte rooster this morning. I let the hens out into the field...then, let him out into the run. A few of the younger ones came running back in to see who the new member was...no problem, but when the Barred Rock came back in she and the rooster went at it for about a minute or so. No blood, but a lot of chest butting and comb & wattle biting. She eventually walked out of the run and hid under an old chair. Then, the big Jersey Giant came back in and they really stated. She seemed to be getting the upper hand, but then walked back out. Strange...big mama, who is the hen leader, seemed uninterested and just walked back into the coop.

I think I may have made a mistake by letting them out of the run and putting him in it. It may have been more of a surprise when the older ones came back and found this "interloper" in their yard. I put him back in the sectioned off part of the run. I think I'll give the 3 old gals time to get used to seeing him. He's a noisy one...crowing every minute or so. Here are a few pics...

 

[Nepen]

We got chickens!!!!

Went and got 6 grown chickens and 3 chicks on Saturday. My eggs suppose to hatch in a few days too. So excited!

A3 months old Americauna and a 2 months old silver laced.

My older hens.

Polish

This is Little Master as my son named her. She's very friendly and would walk right to us and follow us around.

Chicken area. Pretty proud of myself!

I designed and constructed the front myself

 

[MoonShadows]

Nice chickens and great job converting the tin shed to a coop!

Make sure you check out Backyard Chickens at http://www.backyardchickens.com/
They have tons of great info and their forum is probably the best chicken forum out there. I'm not as active as I used to be, but I learned a lot from those folks...kind of like the way I am learning about ponds on this forum.

 

[Nepen]

Nice chickens and great job converting the tin shed to a coop! View attachment 98360

Make sure you check out Backyard Chickens at http://www.backyardchickens.com/
They have tons of great info and their forum is probably the best chicken forum out there. I'm not as active as I used to be, but I learned a lot from those folks...kind of like the way I am learning about ponds on this forum.

Yes, every questions I had and googled, they have all the answers lol.