In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Homesteading Chicken Coop Build, Chickens, Pond, Garden & Projects

Discussion in 'Hobbies and Interests' started by Well Seasoned, Mar 25, 2018.

  1. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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    So true! We don't give them fake light to keep production up, so about 3 eggs a day or so during the shorter days.
     
  2. Canadian border VT

    Canadian border VT

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    What about Dawn and Maple ??
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2020
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  3. SmokeyTheBear

    SmokeyTheBear

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    My last flock was 6 Black Astrolops I put my birds down when it got to the point my BP meds made me too dizzy to be safe getting around.
     
  4. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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    Meh.... there feathers are always ruffled :D
     
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  5. SmokeyTheBear

    SmokeyTheBear

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    If they see this post ....................................
     
  6. Canadian border VT

    Canadian border VT

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    :eek:.. :rofl: :lol::rofl: :lol:
     
  7. Canadian border VT

    Canadian border VT

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  8. Meche_03

    Meche_03

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    My family is just 40 minutes from Cackle Hatchery. In the past the wife takes the youngest boy there early in the morning to pick up the chickens he selected. No shipping and he gets to hold/watch them all the way home. 4 trips in 2 years.

    Latest bunch just went out to the coop yesterday.

    If your close enough you can drive to Cackle Hatchery and pick up some of their surplus chicks. Selection is usually limited and varied...may be a mystery pack of chicks with some common feature.....egg color, bird color, long tails....
     
  9. FatBoy85

    FatBoy85

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    A good time for an update on the little layers. Since we got ours on the 10th of this month, they are looking like solid birds at 17+ days old. Feathering out and bulking up. D97BCFF4-8847-4E16-9EDA-4830D565E7C1.jpeg

    Ok as soon as my photos load as I do this, we will move the chicks at some point to our area where we have set up for dual coops. The weekend ended with working at Sugarbug87 sisters place. She has a flock of already 12 birds but hasn’t focused on eggs with them so we’re likely to build the coop in a tandem/duplex style so we can see ours grow and her sister’s birds can nest if necessary. E7C62A09-7C10-4707-AB40-58D43DCC14EF.jpeg 19138B48-2293-4923-B7E8-FF889D488082.jpeg C3081B88-FC3F-485A-A6EF-944A94DBB3C2.jpeg
    Cleared out a nice spot aside the barn. There was a needed junk dump run to do first and then the previous pile of lumber, panels and etc can be seen in the background of the pictures you see. Plenty of mix and match wood pieces for the coop build. Supplying the beams myself, we’re looking good as far as supplies and now hopefully to make it over there next weekend for the build itself.
    Of course, what’s a farm run without our 4 legged babies? They all had a blast, just tethered the Brown one up because she kept running off with the camp Duck and found her on the other side of the cow fence, sniffin’ around!
    BC4F743B-85D1-4340-A32B-7ADC56B1758E.jpeg 58F5A88C-46D6-491B-994D-85C26E1D7303.jpeg
     
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  10. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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    Looking forward to seeing the setup and hearing your experiences! Your girls look great!
     
  11. FatBoy85

    FatBoy85

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    Honestly we’re all hoping for a Lavender Orp Roo in the mix but to say we’re excited is an understatement. Thank you!
     
  12. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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    It is exciting! Like I've mentioned before, our girls free range when we're home. Some go really- far away, like 200 yards I'd say. I'll call em sometimes when I know I'll be going away for awhile and they'll come running from all over! It's funny to watch!

    Today for example, it was getting late and snowing pretty hard. 2 of them were far off, lightly huddled under a tree a few hundred yards away most likely. I knew they would hold there no matter what because of the weather. I rode down to where they typically hang out and called em, they popped out and I rode em back lol. They would've probably gotten eaten overnight.
     
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  13. FatBoy85

    FatBoy85

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    Oh god I love it when they run its the funniest thing ever. Like dang what a chicken will do for feed huh? I live aways from there but we found a large Xmas tree stand and now have some plans on making sure they have a Yule Tidings Party this year.
     
  14. Warner

    Warner

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    B99D3A7F-8E9E-4D8E-88CA-54942EBDF82B.jpeg Chicken run progress. It’s been pretty wet so far this “spring” . Wire is going up next. Then figure out what I’ll use for roofing. Rafters will be trimmed down some.
     
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  15. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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    You've been busy! Kubota thread and this... nice! Nothing wrong with some overhang... especially if you put up metal! Keep all that NH snow back a bit! :thumbs:
     
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  16. Warner

    Warner

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    Thanks, it’s nice to have a weekend day or two to get after some projects. Hauling some manure in for the garden tomorrow. The life of kings!
     
  17. Warner

    Warner

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    AC51E417-2A36-49B3-933A-EED41912F258.jpeg The girls are getting some fresh air!
     
  18. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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  19. Chvymn99

    Chvymn99 Moderator

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  20. FatBoy85

    FatBoy85

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    Well here’s the coop build so far. The sweetie is at the helm here, doing well with the impact driver. We had plans on putting the whole thing on railroad ties to combat any rot and moisture at the base level. We also had plastic pallets to work with and an even number so we just rolled with that. Put 4 tall posts up. While the tops may seem excessive in height, the notion was brought up that once we get 2x4’s across and some more beams, we’ll put down plywood and eventually make a storage attic. D4D4FE2F-0572-4D71-BE32-449A410731A1.jpeg E948B8DF-42F8-4AFF-9D69-11B922F9A7E9.jpeg F45CECC2-B07D-488A-8415-4EDF57BAFFD7.jpeg 30BB44DB-041E-4BE5-BE8E-894798BFDF18.jpeg 357556C8-E7F0-422B-9B1F-E1DE6249991A.jpeg
    The middle beam with the orange level above it is where the coops will be split and just likely a hardware cloth “wall”. This was the time we quit as we ran out of workable beams and rightly so as we had ribs and corn waiting for us back in town. The next steps are plywood upper walls, hardware cloth placement after beams are set and then next seems to be the box arrangement. Plans seem to change just slightly as creativity seems to flow.

    53383CA6-8C02-4A5B-A964-DB1863B7AEF8.jpeg
    We welcomed 4 New Additions as well... White and Dark but the exact breed names escape me. Again all new territory for us Sugarbug87! 9707F51F-9831-4512-A732-759E30723312.jpeg
     
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