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Chickens!

aksavanaman

aksavanaman

Work In Progress...
Supporter
"Philanthropist"
Man... after what seems like an eternity I finally finished my chicken coop. Way more time, effort and money spent on building this thing.... but my chicks do have a great home now! We've got a mixed flock of 9 total, and I think they're happy to finally be out of the Garage... or maybe I'm more happy?

All done with 2x4's and the plans in my noggin, some trial and error with a leaky roof, but now 99% done. I painted the inside with white wash to brighten things up and keep down on mites and mold. I had so much left over I did the outside as well... although it will get a coat of paint when I redo my house this spring.

They'll be getting a light fixture for the winter months, because in Feb we'll be seeing the sun come up at 10am and go down by 4pm. I'm pretty proud of myself, not just for finally being done... this is really the start to self sufficiency and reliance, all part of the bigger picture... my daughters are certainly fond of them, and I'll be happy when eggs arrive

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AK~~~

That is stupendous!!!

That is some seriously good poop. Wish I had the nads to try the same.

I wish you the best of good fortune with your family and your self sustinance!!
 
That coop looks awesome. We never had anything that good growing up.

Chickens and Roosters can be very rewarding. And a fun learning experience for the whole family.

The important thing is you all are enjoying it.

But they are messy little beasts. That's the part I hate about the nasty little things LOL

We have several chickens and roosters roaming around my neighborhood right now. I don't know where they came from and am not sure if someone has set them out, or if they've got out of a coop/pin somewhere nearby, but they've been all over the place lately.

My youngest one likes feeding them bread and crackers and stuff, but gets mad at the rooster because "He's selfish" and pecks all the hens when it wants their food he's giving them. I had to explain to him that's just how the natural order of things works and what being the "cock of the walk" meant.

Now that they've been coming around, he's claimed them as "his" and takes it personally when I told him we were going to have dumplins' one evening this week lol

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aksavanaman said:
Man... after what seems like an eternity I finally finished my chicken coop. Way more time, effort and money spent on building this thing.... but my chicks do have a great home now! We've got a mixed flock of 9 total, and I think they're happy to finally be out of the Garage... or maybe I'm more happy?

All done with 2x4's and the plans in my noggin, some trial and error with a leaky roof, but now 99% done. I painted the inside with white wash to brighten things up and keep down on mites and mold. I had so much left over I did the outside as well... although it will get a coat of paint when I redo my house this spring.

They'll be getting a light fixture for the winter months, because in Feb we'll be seeing the sun come up at 10am and go down by 4pm. I'm pretty proud of myself, not just for finally being done... this is really the start to self sufficiency and reliance, all part of the bigger picture... my daughters are certainly fond of them, and I'll be happy when eggs arrive

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Great job AK! I love your little helper.;)
 
John A. said:
...Chickens and Roosters can be very rewarding. And a fun learning experience for the whole family.

...I had to explain to him that's just how the natural order of things works and what being the "cock of the walk" meant.
Click to expand...

"Pecking Order" comes to mind.

Our 4H club has a couple dozen chickens. Kids (and I) have learned quite a lot about self-sufficiency...

AK, is that coop predator-proof?
 
Great job AK. Setting up and getting chickens is a goal of mine before the kids get to big.
 
Bobster said:
"
AK, is that coop predator-proof?
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It better be! I've got hardware cloth lining the enitre run, with another 12" hanging off the bottom that I will burry this weekend. All vents and openings are lined with hardware cloth and all my hatches and doors are lockable. I've the main door set up on a spring so that I can't accidentaly forget to leave it open. To my standards... it's bomb proof.
 
Nice work!!

My neighbor (dead IN the city) has the legal limit of 6. When they are out of town we tend their needs and get paid in eggs. The quality is amazing compared to 'store bought'!!

StL Law: no roosters allowed (works for me) - you want to grow the flock a grown hen is about $10 not far out of town.
 
Looks good AK. If I lived a little more remotely I'd get some chickens myself.
 
good lookin coop. they are pretty enjoyable. i'm at 44 now. just put 8 in quart jars a couple weekends ago. need to do a bunch more here soon. hopefully you get lucky enough to have a hen that will brood, and hatch eggs. its really really cool to raise some that hatched from eggs right on the farm.
 
The Coop Looks Great!
Wish I had the land for such things.
My Father In law does. Raises Chickens and Rabbits and has a flock of Guinea Hens running all over his property.
The eggs are fantastic and I gotta say the Rabbits are REAL TASTY!!!
Wish he was not 18 hours away........Sometimes :)
 
Thanks for the compliments folks!

dieselmudder said:
good lookin coop. they are pretty enjoyable. i'm at 44 now. just put 8 in quart jars a couple weekends ago. need to do a bunch more here soon. hopefully you get lucky enough to have a hen that will brood, and hatch eggs. its really really cool to raise some that hatched from eggs right on the farm.
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Sadly I do live within zoning laws, so no roosters for me. Technically I'm only allowed 7... so don't tell anyone;)

These gals will be strictly layers for now, obviously once they're done laying they'll be used for food as well (at least a good stock)
 
In following in AKsavanamans' example, I've been talked into (more like conned) into building a coop too.

Most all of the other hens and roosters that had been roaming around have "disappeared", but the old wiley red one still comes to the house usually twice a day and crows until someone goes out and gives him a handful of scratch seed. Another elderly neighbor of mine is also feeding him too, so he's not going hungry. I also found out that one of the tenants to a nearby rental moved and said they couldn't catch them, so they abandoned them, so they're free for the taking.

I have a couple of people who have said they'd give the boys a few hens after the coop is finished, but at the rate I'm going, may still take a while with everything else on my plate, but I've got the frame for everything pretty much laid out how it's going to go together.

The coop itself is going to be 6 foot wide and 3 foot deep so we can fit about 5 or 6 laying hens in there, plus a roost for the rooster and I am going to put the entire back wall of the coop on a hinge so it will swing down so we can gather eggs and spray out the coop when we need to.

The runner area is about 9 1/2 feet wide by 16 feet long, so they will have plenty of space to stretch and move around.

I still have a lot to do.
 
I know it's a little out of season for eggs, but I woke up with two anyway.

So, my wife (whom I have just nick-named Fern Zuckerman--Charlottes Web reference) wanted an incubator to try to hatch a few.

While I don't really mind having a few more, I think her idea for the chickens and mine may differ.

I named the Rooster Kernel Sanders, the larger hen is Dumplin' and the smaller hen is Mick Nugget.

When we went outside to gather the eggs, I ask my youngest son what he thought about having eggs laid in the coop and he said "it's cool, but makes me hungry" LOL.
 
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