New Coop and Chickens

[MadTripper]

I started out replying to the thread about Chicken Disposition however realized that I may be moving in on someone elses thread so decided to start new. Here is a link to that thread:

Chicken Disposition (http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/yabb/forum.pl?board=fau-livestock;action=display;num=1185901985)

This turned out to be perfect timing for me.

I just ordered a batch of 25 from McMurray's last night. My neighbors both have Rhode Island Reds, some Leghorns, and Barred Rocks. After discussing with one of them, I decided to go with the Special Assorted Bargain so we could swap breeds as needed. I'm sure I'll get some off the wall breeds however my 3 children will appreciate them even if they aren't tremendous layers or meat birds.

I'm really concentrating on a coop/garden plan at this point. I have an old Harvestor base right behind my house that is about 20 feet in diameter. I'm thinking it might just be the place to put the coop and stretch my garden south from there. Here is a photo link of our layout, of course it was taken 7 or so years ago and our house is now next to the silo but you can tell where the harvestor base is behind.

Tripp Homestead (http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/v/Various/House-Hunt/quack/Tripp-Farm-copy01II.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1)


Here is an image when the farm was still active in the late 80's, early 90's.

Previous Farm (http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/v/Various/House-Hunt/quack/Tripp+Farm+80+copyII.jpg.html?g2_imageViewsIndex=1 )

Since we just finished building, I managed to save quite a bit of lumber, boxes of nails, some metal roofing and additional items that will get used over the next 50 or so years, Godwilling. Our neighbor used a post style foundation for his chicken coop/goat shed. I like that idea but don't really want to give the woodchucks and other critters a safe haven. So, I'm planning on building right on top of the harvestor base. I have to do a small amount of excavating but I think the location will work out nice. I can easily get power and water to the coop and have quite a large area moving south to fence in for the garden and run.


Take a look at the pictures and let me know if triggers any ideas.

Thanks again,

Tripper

[MadTripper]

Our chickens arrived this morning. We lost one during transit but the rest seem to be doing great. I have some pictures posted for everyone to see. I'm not sure what breeds came as we ordered the "Special Assorted Bargain" from McMurray's. They are all pretty adorable and our children are very excited.

Baby Chicks (http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/v/Various/Nature-Shots/chickens)

I removed the orange halogen light and replaced it with another clip-on desk lamp. The temperature has been 90 at ground level and they have been running around so I think everything is set up correctly.

Tripper

[bee_pipes]

Yeah, that's a good sign. Active chicks are healthy and happy chicks. I see you have a block of wood under the feeder. That's a good way to get feeders and waterers to rest solid on straw bedding. We had a late freeze here last spring, so the brooder was in the house with us. Found sprinkling cedar chips in the straw every two days helped to get a week out of the straw before it needed changing..

That's a nice sized spread ya got there. Plenty of room for chickens. How are your predators?

Came across an interesting reference on the home page about a coop/garden arrangement:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/silveira44a.html

Best of luck to you with your efforts.

Regards,
Pat

[MadTripper]

That's a nice sized spread ya got there. Plenty of room for chickens. How are your predators?

Came across an interesting reference on the home page about a coop/garden arrangement:
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/silveira44a.html


Thanks! We like it out here and I'm about 3 miles from where I grew up. Nice place to have a family and freedom.
Predators range in the area. We have racoons, fox, coyotes, bobcats, ficticious nittany lions, and so on. I plan on using the same idea that John's father used. That is actually how I got into the whole chicken situation, we wanted a garden. I am putting in high tension fence posts and a burying the fence about a foot. The fence will end up being about 5 feet tall which should keep most things at bay. We also have a decent watch dog and of course, I have a few rifles. I've prepped the area by brush hogging the entire area so animals will be used to not having the cover that was there.

[MadTripper]

We lost a chick tonight. Down to 24 now. I couldn't quite tell what was wrong with it. It seemed real hazy and the other chicks were pecking at it. I cleaned its rear as it was a bit pasty but still didn't seem to come to life. I then moved into its own box with some food and a little sugar water. After a few hours it just got progressively worse so I put it down. It seemed to be the smallest in the bunch so I wondered if it had a hard time getting the water and food it needs. It almost seemed like some of the others were bullying it.
So, the others seem to be healthy and running around. I'll keep an eye on them to ensure there isn't a disease in the flock.

[Deberosa]

You do have a nice mix there! One way to tell if the light is right is to watch how they distribute in the brooder. If they all bunch under the light it's too cold if they are scattered away from the light it's too hot. I never relied on the exact temp measurement.

I lost one like you describe in my last batch from McMurrays but only one and the rest are very active so I wouldn't worry too much about the others. I guess there is always a runt. That plus sometimes the special chick is a lighter breed that simply can't keep up. I've had that problem too, where they send a banty or polish and they don't survive with larger chicks.

Have fun with your mix, I enjoyed the surprise the first time I had chickens and then you can pick out favorites later. My 50 Buff orpington females and 5 males arrive in two weeks from McMurrays!

[MadTripper]

They all seemed to be doing well today. I changed their litter and my son and I watched them for a while. I dug up a few worms and put them in the brooder. It was funny watching them all chase each other trying to get a bite.
Other than that, we spent yesterday and today clearing off the old Harvestore base and burning some wood that was laying around. Hah, interesting thing happens when you burn wood on top of a large concrete structure. The top layer pops with mild violence. Fortunately, I was standing by with the hose and it was kind of like shooting clay pigeons with a garden hose.
Anyway, I have a pretty decent plan for the coop but still need to polish it off. My wife brought home a couple books from the library so I've been occupying evenings reading about chickens.

[MadTripper]

Oddly enough, I came home from work tonight and had another chick on its deathbed. I'm getting a little frustrated at this point. I can't see any signs of trouble as the rest are very perky and seem content. They sleep fine and don't bunch up. I keep the water changed out twice a day and fill their feed up once a day. The deaths seem to be random at best. I figured if it was a disease of sorts, I would see more than one at a time dying. We lost one on Saturday and one today. The one that died today had pasty waste around its vent but didn't appear to be plugged up. I am feeding a medicated starter so I don't think it would be coccidiosis. Any thoughts are appreciated.

Tripper

[annabella1]

I don't usually put new chicks on litter. They will sometimes eat it and it will get bound up in their crop. usually I will put paper towel or crumpled newspaper under them (be sure you crumple up the newspaper, so it is not so slick or their feet may not form properly).

[MadTripper]

Well I suppose that could be the issue. Again, they are all doing well at this point. How long would you wait to put them on litter? I have to change things out tonight so perhaps I could switch over to something else. They are a week old however so maybe they are past that point. Thanks again.

Tripper

[bee_pipes]

I don't usually put new chicks on litter. They will sometimes eat it and it will get bound up in their crop. usually I will put paper towel or crumpled newspaper under them (be sure you crumple up the newspaper, so it is not so slick or their feet may not form properly).

Good tip Annabell. I usually put new chicks on paper towels until I see them poop, eat and drink. I had heard litter was a bad idea for the same reasons. After the chicks have the basic mechanics of eating and drinking down, it doesn't seem to be a problem. We use straw, because we have it on-hand and it's relatively inexpensive. I happened to have an old bag of cedar chips on hand, so was sprinkling them in the brooder for odor control. We put out about 50 some odd chicks and keets from an incubator and two clutches the guineas hatched. The litter was getting pretty fouled. We would be lucky to get a week.

After a week it started getting so crowded that we started moving chicks to a small holding pen outside. We lost a few to pile-ups, one had to be culled because a turkey poult stepped on it and broke a leg. All this happened in the holding pen, but I believe they were better off in the larger pen than the crowded brooder.

With the mild nights, the sooner we got them moved out, the better. The drought has taken it's toll on vegetation, but when we first moved them out there was plenty of clover and I'd give them a handful or two each morning.

By the time they got to a month, they were large enough to move to a larger enclosed pen (fenced in roof) off the chicken house. We kept them separated from the adults until 2 months, then turned them loose into the yard to graze with the adults.

We are fortunate to not have a predator problem (yet) and the poultry spends the day wandering the yard, grazing. We have 9 adult guineas that roam and keep an eye out for predators. The chickens and turkeys seem to pay attention to the guineas when they see a vulture or other intruder and run for cover when they sound the alert.

Next week the temperatures are supposed to break, so it will be butchering day. By my calendar the chicks will be 11 weeks, and it is getting difficult to tell them apart from the older chickens unless they are standing side-by-side. We have eight new hens to add to the layers and 9 cockerels headed for the freezer. We will also be trying guineas for meat this year.

So far, no heat casualties. Temps have been in triple digits for the last two weeks or more. We have a small creek that runs through the property, and all poultry seem to have no problem drinking and wading in the creek - with the exception of the silkies.

We picked up a pair of silkies last spring. They don't seem to care for the creek, maybe because of all the feathers on their feet, and drink from the regular waterer and an old dog-dish I fill with water.

The hens seem to be laying less with the heat.

Regards,
Pat

[annabella1]

Usually just a week to 10 days, if your chicks are a week old the ones that are left should be okay.

[MadTripper]

Thanks again. They are a week old today so I'm not going to worry about the litter. I'd like to let them into the yard a little bit however I'm not sure exactly how to accomplish that. I was thinking about making a small fenced in area where they could get in and out of the brooder with lamps. I could seal the brooder up in the evenings however I'm hoping that they would acclimate to the weather if I provided some grassy outdoor area sooner. Any thoughts??

[bee_pipes]

Don't know what the weather is like where you are, but it's plenty warm enough here to leave them out over night. The neighbor put out chicks in a fenced area with a small dog house inside the fence. At night the chicks went inside and huddled in the house, stayed warm in the litter. He made the fence out of chicken wire.

Regards,
Pat

[AlchemyAcres]

Thanks again. *They are a week old today so I'm not going to worry about the litter. *I'd like to let them into the yard a little bit however I'm not sure exactly how to accomplish that. *I was thinking about making a small fenced in area where they could get in and out of the brooder with lamps. *I could seal the brooder up in the evenings however I'm hoping that they would acclimate to the weather if I provided some grassy outdoor area sooner. *Any thoughts??

I don't usually like to let them outside until they've developed true feathers.
They'll take to the outdoors without a thought, no matter how long you wait.

An oval of *small meshed wire, say 1x2 inch, makes a handy self-supporting corral to introduce them to the great outdoors.

~Martin

[MadTripper]

We live up in the Northeast corner of Pennsylvania, about 25 minutes from the N.Y. border. The weather is still decent here, about 80 or so in the day and 60 at night. We did just have a bit of a cold snap however the heat is coming our way for the weekend. It won't be long until fall is fully upon us and we start dipping into the 50 and 60's on a regular basis and evenings in the 40's.

I'd lilke them to get out a little bit however don't really want to risk anymore of them.

[AlchemyAcres]

You're not far from me.....
Nothing really wrong with letting them 'out' as long as it's nice and dry...


~Martin

[MadTripper]

My wife and I started to get our coop together this weekend. We decided on a 8x12 coop which should be decent for up to 25 or so chickens. We have one of the 8 foot walls assembled and I need to scavenge some more lumber to get going on one of the 12 footers. I'm going to employ nest boxes that extend to the outside so we can access eggs with ease. I also plan on having the ability to divide the coop in case I want to have separate groups. The walls will be 8 feet tall and the roof is going to be metal. I'm using 1/2 inch plywood on the outside for the time being and I'm really not sure about the inside. I have plenty of 3/4" plywood which I thought would make things very durable. I'll try and snap some photos during progress.

[annabella1]

So how are the rest of the chicks doin?

[MadTripper]

They are all doing well. I'm working as much as possible to get their coop sealed up so I can move them out of the brooder. I'll try and post some pictures as soon as possible.
One of them has decided to attack when I change water and feed. Of course it doesn't hurt however I have a feeling this one won't stick around long if it continues to be so aggressive.
I'm anxious to get everything together so they have more room to play and access to the outdoors before it starts getting too chilly. They really are wild mix of birds. I'll post more info soon.

Tripper

[Deberosa]

My 55 buff orpingtons and surprise chick arrived early this morning. Only one casualty of the trip here and one chick has sort of bugged out eyes, like it hit it's eye on something in transit but so far it's doing fine. They joined the 7 week old guinea chicks I rescued from the field and so far everyone is getting along fine. Those buffs set right to chowing down in large quantities!

My dark cornish are starting to crow now - they are getting a good size. Of the 50 one died a day after arriving, one had a goofed up leg, and one was gotten by a predator the other night but I have the other 47. They actually lined up along the fence so I could count them last night! I think the predator was a weasel - there is a burrow hole going under my hoop house near the headless body. I put a rat trap out there with a box over it and the hole but no luck last night - maybe tonight...

[MadTripper]

My children and I finished putting the walls this morning. Next we'll get roof on and finish the doors and windows.
The chickens are still doing well although I'm anxious to get them outside and into their brand new coop. They have just about finished their 1st 50lb bag of feed. I'll pick more up tomorrow after work. I'm going to work on a feeder and waterer for them this week as they are starting to grow out of the chick feeder/waterer. I think I'll use some of the ideas I found using 5 gallon buckets.
I know I keep promising pictures but I'll take some soon.

Tripper

[MadTripper]

Sorry for the crooked photos however I was running late this morning. We hope to start polishing it off throughout the week however lots of rain in the forecast.


http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/v/Various/Nature-Shots/chickens/sep07+086.jpg.html


http://www.madtripper.com/gallery/v/Various/Nature-Shots/chickens/sep07+087.jpg.html

Tripper

[bee_pipes]

Nice job! Whatcha got planned for the roof? Metal?

How about feeders? Hanging works for keeping mice out. Got electric or running water?

Regards,
Pat

[MadTripper]

I'm working on the roof plans. *I thought I had it all figured out however I made it 8 inches wider than I should have. *I have 2, 18' long pieces of metal left from building our house. *So I thought I could cut them in half and have 6 inches of overhang on the front/back. *I made the walls 8' and 12' however the extra 4 inches for each 8' wall extends the 12' to 12'8". * Sooooooo, I'm trying to figure something out. *I do have some other roofing left behind from previous owners but I don't think it will match up as it is a different pattern. *
The concrete has a large "ditch" from the old harvestore equiment so I plan on running electric, water, and a drain through that and back filling it with gravel, possible a skim coat of cement on the top. *I also plan on adding a decent awning headed south but that won't happen till the spring at best. *There just isn't a lot of shade back there so I want to provide some until I can get some fruit trees to grow.

I'm working on a feeder this week. I plan on hanging them and using plastic buckets or trash cans. I'm employing our metal shop teacher to help me out with some ideas.

Tripper