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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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    Thanks buddy! Definitely worth building something to keep predators out. They WILL constantly be waiting for the right opportunity to eat chicken. I think the first page here shows the entire build. The coop has more security than the house!
     
  2. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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    Update- I did bury the posts only about a foot on blocks later on. Looks like a good spring project...... :whistle:
     
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  3. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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    Chickens love when I put new hay down.



    20181210_133922.jpg
     
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  4. bogieb

    bogieb

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    Dang, I can almost smell the hay thru the monitor.
     
  5. Canadian border VT

    Canadian border VT

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    all of them girls need protection!!
     
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  6. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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    Chickens first time venturing out in at least a month & a half! Snow melted enough mainly over the septic tank, and with a little hay on the snow, they crossed closer to the house.


    20181216_141618.jpg
     
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  7. Midwinter

    Midwinter

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  8. HDRock

    HDRock

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    Chicken ramp for da porch :thumbs:
     
  9. HDRock

    HDRock

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    I didn't know you had senior chickens :BrianK::D
     
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  10. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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    Nooo, ha ha ha! That was there for Maple when she had her leg surgery. Since she'll have the other done before long, we just kept it up, but yes..... the chickens like it too! :whistle:
     
  11. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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  12. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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    Sooo, this warmup outside with heavy rain has created a nightmare in the chicken run. The beaten down trail through the snow turned into a stream of snow melt & rain straight through the chicken run. Tomorrow morning I'll place pallets down and cover with straw in hopes they'll be out of the water which will freeze hard once this cold front moves through. Uggg!

    Spring project will be building up the run with stone & dirt. I'll take pictures tomorrow.
     
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  13. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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    Well the rain subsided overnight and the run is just damp this morning with only a small area of pooling. Hopefully it continues to dry a bit more, then it won't be as icey in there.
     
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  14. Midwinter

    Midwinter

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    Just sayin'... solitary-confinement-for-chicks.jpg
     
  15. bogieb

    bogieb

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    Well, at least you have a preview of what the spring thaw will bring, so I would go ahead and put in pallets in preparation until you can build up the run with other materials.
     
  16. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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    You got that right!
     
  17. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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  18. Midwinter

    Midwinter

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  19. Chvymn99

    Chvymn99 Moderator

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    I don’t know what my chickens are telling me. But I’ve gotten two eggs in 3 days... since I’ve had chickens I don’t get eggs from basically December to February... but I don’t give extra light, I left them molt and rest. Are you getting any eggs?
     
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  20. Well Seasoned

    Well Seasoned Administrator

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    Out of the 13 girls, I'm only getting 2-3 per day. Chickens tend to need 14-15 hrs of light for high egg production, so they are on about a 3 day rotation from the 9 hours of daylight. We don't use artificial lighting either- this is their time to renew & focus on getting through winter. We haven't had any molt yet, they are still under a year old.

    I'm already wondering, when they molt & lose their feathers, how will they survive the cold?
     
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