My son is gonna have a new chickenhouse built for me..he told me to draw up some building plans and will get started on it after Christmas! YEAH!!..will post pics as we go along building it...
A New Chickenhouse
Good deal!!! Merry Christmas Moodene! :)
What a great Christmas present!
Sounds like the best type of present. It is way too cold around here for outdoor projects so its nice that you will be able to build during the winter.
Yep, we been planting palms in backyard..lol..
When I get home I can send pictures of mine and even draw up blueprints on my pc. I can send them via E-mail. I like building things where there is little to no waist.
Hello folks ,
That is a cute chicken house!..but mine is gonna be nearly 20 long X 10 feet deep. lol..I have poles here, tin off my old barn, brackets to hold up nesting boxes from the barn. We are using stuff from my grandpa's old work barn that was here. It was damaged by Hurricane Ike. It will have a dirt floor, roosting areas made from trees that was cut down when the woods were cleaned up abit..
We will add wire fencing around the bottom to keep out anything that was to dig under..LOL...I will be able to divide the house inside into 4 areas so I can keep my roosters locked up until I want babies.. The bigger hoophouse I have here will go back to my pair of peacocks.
Woo Hoo Nadine. Can't get a much better present than that
I agree, when it comes to practicality small is cute, but large is all about functionality...Sounds like a lot of fun Moodene and I love the left overs that your using...looking forward to pic's as you build...Hay
Can`t wait for spring dh is going to buid onto the big coop for my silkies so everyone can be in the same coop.will tear down small coop .
It sounds like so much fun and lots of Chickens lol my dream too . cant wate too see pic's
Sarge
Ahhh, Moodene you go Girl! Sounds like a dream house!!
I love it Moodene! I got a chicken coop for Christmas two years ago!
This winter my DS will be working on a chicken tractor for me. When I was looking for plans some very kind person posted this link: http://www.diychickencoops.com/chicken-coop-plans-menu
You do have to pay for the plans, but they are very complete, and even if you do not use the plans there are some good ideas on the site!
Here is another good site for coops.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html
I bought the plans for the "playhouse" coop online and I think it was a rip off.. I had to redesign a lot of it and figure out the roof all on my own.. but now that I know how, it's priceless! LOL
Well I am making it in a old fashion way.. using 8 foot poles for the corners and major support beams. It will have a dirt floor..I just made another feeder from using a popcorn oil can bucket (cleaned out) and pig feed tray. The feeder is about 5 gal tall wise, not like a regular 5 gal bucket..We located the old waterline from when my grandma use this area for her horse barn.
I loved the small coop Green: I can tell you have been pillow talking that guy of yours...LOL...Can't wait to see the additions you make. You ladies sure have a way of smooth talking a guy into seeing things your way...LOL...Hay
You are a lucky lady indeed!!! Have fun with it.
Only five more months untill spring for me,the small coop is breaking my back,I can`t stand up in there and its really wearing out,and I know if I keep it there will more chickens in it which defeats my purpose (I`m just so addicted) so it will come down and maybe can use some of it for other coop.I need the room where it sets for the run.I was going to move it but thats just more work for dh.
That's really nice. So neat and clean.
The biggest $$ will be in the wire dept..Most of the front of the house will have wire and around the bottom of the house on the outside..for critter proofing..before I really make it a chickenhouse..lol
I don't really like chicken houses. In the south it does not get cold enough to need any more that a roof, if you do not have the really small chickens.
Here is their cover, it is 4' X 5'
that looks cool but in my area it does get cold so we do need a coop for the chickens to get out of the weather .
Sarge
Hi, Kenboy,mine gonna look more like a openfront pole barn by the time I get thru with it. They will still free range all they want..lol..Babebera doing good..she makes sure there is nothing in the henhouse when she and I go lock them up for the nite..Been raining off and on all day..
wow Ken we have been getting low 20's way to early in the yr I might add. Normally if we see that it is in late Jan to Feb
Hard Winter came a month early here. Hope that means Spring will be early too.
I bought this for a BO pullet. You guys ever see one this color?
BO as in Buff Orpington?
Yes. I have never seen one that color. She is kinda muted mauve or brick color. I have 2 like that I bought as BO pullets from TSC. I also bought 8 RSL pullets. They are red like a RIR. Different from the other 2.
I went back and looked at all my bo`s pictures and have none with yellow legs,they are suppose to have white or a pinkish color,I do have a buff rock that has the yellow legs.She looks a little like my golden comets at that age.Maybe she is a mix.I would tend to think that if she is called a buff orpinton that she would be buff colored,just my opinion I`m no expert.
Sarge, you are only one zone colder then I and last Winter we had zone 6 weather. Still no problem with chickens being too cold. What chickens need is to be healthy and have some place to get out of the rain. If birds get wet, then it turns cold, it is much harder on them. Still, for years I had game chickens to hatch my peafowl eggs and then switched to Phoenix ( did not like chicken fighters coming to buy birds). I have had these birds free range from 1992 until last year, we started a nursery and they were knocking plants off the benches. When I say free range, I mean even sleeping in trees. I have seen chickens with several inches of snow on top of them and can never remember having any problem with them not being able to handle the cold. Phoenix and Game are not considered a heavy breed like most kept for egg laying.
For years I have always had more problem with Texas heat than cold. Even if you have a vented hen house, it is several degrees warmer than outside. If I get a sick bird in the Winter, I will place them where I have added heat but if they get sick in the Summer, there is not much I can do for them. Back when I had lots of birds and and had a sickness running through the flock in Summer, I was always hoping for an early Winter. Bacterias and viruses are much easier to contain with freezing temps.
Still, I know everyone loves their birds and goes to extra lengths to see to it their birds are snug and warm. I have been a gardener all my life and know, nothing makes a plant grow like TLC and nothing makes a bird more healthy than TLC, we do love our birds.
Wheaten Phoenix;
you are right on that Ken
Sarge
Great looking roo. I have never seen or even heard of the breed to my knowledge.
I am not doing anything special for my flock. Sadly I do not even have a proper house for them. i do have tarps up to keep the rain and the wind off them. They are doing fine. The only problem I had was a free range roo who chose to roost on a pipe gate. He got stuck on the gate between the fence and a tarp and he couldn't move. He died fro m the cold.
Ouch..
oh poor baby. What a way to go ;-(
CajininKy I just seen a red orpington on another site,it was beautiful.
How long does it take the BO to get bulky. These 2 pullets are still shaped just like the RSLs. The black orp are very nice but I would LOVE to have the blue ones.
I don't think the pullet you posted actually is an Orpington. She doesn't have the conformation of an Orpington pullet or the white legs. Perhaps TSC got them mixed up?
Have you seen the english orps?Just beautiful
Are they all blue?