Cat, I have 9 nesting boxes for 30 hens, and they only use 3 or 4 at a time. Nothing wrong with the others, but I guess they just want to fill up a few which makes it easier to collect the eggs.
GG
Chicken coop wire
I love chickens--they have such definite opinions.
myrrh, i can vouch that Jersey Giants, if they roost, like it low to the ground, so you could add one below it. they are large birds and like a 2x4 not a little dowel. and usually they hang their heads forward while sleeping. also, they are the most docile from day one, and easily accept and are accepted in with other birds pecking order...
but if you want the Marans, i have no experience with them, but have a heard a few comment on how they are the boss LOL
also, i recommend two more, so that they integrate bettter, having only one newbie coudl cause a problem...
wish i lived in N Cal, i would love to have barnevelder pullets!
tf
Marans are definitely different tf--but neither my 16 week old Brie, nor my 7 week old Pip are assertive at all with the other pullets. In fact both are rather low down on the pecking order and seem happy to be there. I think it is strain related--Marans are not "people chickens" like Orpingtons and Jersey Giants, but according to the literature different Marans strains have very different temperaments. I know Pip comes from a strain with a very nice personality, she was also the chick I kept with my sick Silkie Riley and she was very motherly with him. I am definitely going to keep one from that source--but I also have her 2 week old sister and I need to find a good home for one of them.
The Barnevelders are absolute loves. Very docile and friendly. They look just like little chipmunks. And like the Marans they auto-sex!
Well, I guess the chicken fairy broke down the door. I'm sure I must have a Marans pullet. I really don't have room for two more though. Hopefully it wont be too much of a problem.
Thanks for the info about the Jerseys TamaraFaye, ours is definately the sweetest and most laid back. We were debating on using a 2x2 or a 2x4 for her, and finally set up a convertible roost that is a 2x2 now, and can have a 2x4 added later when they are bigger.
What is the best way to do a chicken transfer?
Myrrh
This message was edited Jun 12, 2008 10:43 PM
Hi Myrrh--check your D-Mail and we can work it out. I am so happy she will have a good home!
uh oh........sounds like myrrh caught the chicken bug! lol
myrrh is snared for sure now!!!
Yes!!!! Sucked into the chicken dimension. Join us, join us, JOIN US!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, got a lil carried away, enjoy your new Marans, you'll love the pretty eggs.
The truth is, I knew I was doomed. I was just fighting the tide. When I first brought the idea of chickens up with my BF expecting some hesitation, his response was "Great!!! Can we get a goat too?" Not bad for city folk. It will have to wait until we have more space, but the long term plan is to have a large flock of dual purpose chickens, and a small herd of milk goats (and a huge vegetable garden). In the mean time I am enjoying my small flock and as many tomatoes as I can squeeze into my tiny city yard. No more chickens for a while....really.....
Myrrh
Well you have another Sucker here in OH...Getting ready to add the outdoor pen back on my HUGE Brooder house I just aquired...I have pretty much decided on Dominique's, which appear to be the ones my Grandma had...I will be delighted to learn all I can from you ladies...I want my brown eggs!!!
This is my monster brooder house....Now mind you ..my chickens are only going to get 1/2 of it...I get the front half for my garden shed...Okay, well... maybe 1/3...LOL
Oh Dusty! Do you know how MANY chickens you could fit in there!!!! You could breed all sorts of chickens. Nice henhut!
I say the chickens get the whole thing. Build a small shed for the garden stuff!!
MollyD
LOL.....I will have plenty of room pretty soon...But no ..I'm not giving up the front half...I will store their food there, and have my potting bench in there..No chemicals...there is both electric and a propane line to the brooder house as well as a stove pipe hole..I'm going to add a ceiling fan in both ends of the house to keep it cool...
http://picasaweb.google.com/DustyDS/LifeAtTheHomestead03
My gosh, look how big that is!! One breed, huh? hee hee Stick around here long enough and you'll be talking about all the different kinds you have or want to get! lol : )
a chicken mansion!! I wonder if exhaust fans like they use in greenhouses might not work better to cool it off? One on intake and the other on exhaust at the other end. Just a suggestion.
MollyD
For the chickens!?! I'm ready to move in. I think you could fit at least two of my houses in there. I'm so jealous of all of your space. We rent, but if we would to buy our tiny rundown two bedroom house that is less then 1000 sqft it would cost more then half a million. Thankfully our landlords are very acommodating, but in the tiny lot I have crammed the chickens and as many tomatoes as I can justify pulling out the lawn to put in. This pic is one third of the whole yard from the bigining of last years growing season ( I pulled out more lawn this year), and it is huge for where I live. Sigh.....someday.
If you look REALLLY close at the left side you will see there are doors across the top that raise up and latch...they are on both long sides...I just want the fans to move the air as well...I'm planning on 30 hens or less to start...
Wow myrrh....reading that just made me VERY happy to be where I am at and not in your area of CA. If you knew what we paid for 7 acres, an old house in need of TLC, a good size barn and a newer 2 car garage you would probably fall over.....just like I about did when reading about what things cost there! Of course, we are in the middle of no where....20 miles from town.....so that could be a plus or minus depending on how you look at it. It's good to see you making such good use of what you have to work with!
On a side note.....you probably shouldn't let your chickies get a taste of those ripe tomatoes.....they seem to LOVE them and you'll never keep them away. We lost ALL of our tomatoes one year to chickens and I about cried!
It's so good to find such nice landlords....that seems to be harder and harder to find these days! : )
My chickies will never know the taste of a ripe tomatoe if I have anything to do with it. I am tomato obsessed. I have 15 plants in the ground right now, with no two alike in all the colors of the rainbow. I could eat them all myself without sharing any (though I may give out a few since I am such a nice person). The ladies will only be allowed out of their run under the strictest of supervision. If I end up letting them out a lot, I will put up a temporary fence to guard my beloved fruit. My coop has to move every couple of days anyway so they wont ruin the lawn, so hopefully they will be happy in their coop most of the time.
It is always a tough choice were to live. I could never buy a house here, but the job market is good, I live near my family, and I can enjoy some of the worlds most beautiful unspoiled outdoors half an hour or less in every direction. My yearly temp averages range from 43-73 degrees. So whenever I cry over my houseless propertyless states, I remind myself that I can grow artichokes, and see the bay and the ocean on either side as I go to work. Its always a give and take.
Myrrh
myrrh....wow, 15 tomato plants...your going to have them coming out your ears! I have a few more than that, but we plant more in anticipation of not all of them making it or bird getting a hold of them.
Where to live.....what a wonderful way to put it. Life is certainly about give and take, huh?
For us, we are between 2 1/2 to 5 hours from any family, the job market is not very good, we have to drive 35 minutes to get to anything, we have very cold AND very hot weather, and I have never seen the ocean......sure hoping to one day though. I guess life is all based on how you look at it and what you can get used to, huh?
DustyDS I have a fraction of the space you've got there and I've got 23 chickens, 3 Cayuga ducks and 2 White Chinese geese. Their area looks practically empty!
ladybug, myrrh you guys are reminding me I need to get some stuff in the ground fast! This year I won't have to plant as much. We bought a share in a share farm and are hoping that will take care of our veggie needs well through the year. First share comes in this Friday. At $10./week you can't beat that price!
MollyD
congrats on getting into a CSA Molly! Mhyrr, it is nice where you live, i grew up in that area, and you cango just about anywehre for a weekend and get away!
Dusty, you could start with asstd bantams, check molly's other thread. Ideal has them cheap this week bbecause they aren't presold, so you could sell them as pets to other DGers or through craigs list... and keep them from being euthanized.... i am doing my part, taking 50 LOL...
And then i need to talk with you about Buckeyes...
tf
tf it's the cheap one too. $10./week I'll let you know this weekend how it works out. Seems we can opt out of any veggie we don't like and add more of the ones we do. I opted out of cilantro and radishes. Added more spinach and assorted greens.
MollyD
What is CSA?
molly, poultry LOVE cilantro and radishes!!!
LB, Community Supported Agriculture... google it.... dogs barking gotta run
Ladybugsabound,
The other day while driving, I thought about what some people are going through with these gas prices, especially the elderly with no income except social security, or the disabled, or young families with minimum wage jobs trying to pay rent, make a car payment, buy food and also pay for gasoline.
Have you thought about people that lives a few HOURS from a walmart store, or a hardware store, or even a grocery store? What gas prices must be doing to them.
I'll be quiet now, before I go on a verbal rampage here.
Karen
Light, we also live 35 miles from wally-world. We only go there if we absolutely have to or we have a doctor's appointment in the town where it is. Right now, our next trip is in July unless there is something we can't do without. Most of the time, we make a day of it, going to the dentist, eye doctor, shopping, and maybe breakfast or lunch while we are there. We have been doing that for about 9 years, ever since we moved here. The only time we made a special trip to Wal-mart was last year when I bought a three-wheel bike and had it shipped to the store to save on shipping charges. When it came in, we only had so much time to go get it, so we made that trip.
We are buying a share in a cow because we don't want to do cows here. We are able to get raw milk, butter, buttermilk, cheese, and other products from the farmer that owns the cows. This works similar to a CSA, but in the dairy line. We are starting to get more and more farmers markets in the small towns around here. A new one about 20 miles away is only charging $5.00 a space right now. Might be thinking about selling some of my stuff there. Don't know for sure. You can usually find some unique things at them.
Karen, I'm not sure how to take your post. I'm not sure if your thoughts are directed at me or the situation a lot of people are facing or if you are mad, concerned or both.
What I do know is this. I am 31 and my DH is 39 and we have 2 children. We are not very very young, nor all that old. We have lived where we live for a year now. We (or I should say my DH) got us into a contract for deed type of deal where are buying our place from the owner. This was the only way we could buy anything of our own......we got into the dairy cow business and got ripped off from one crooked landlord after another, ended up having to sell our herd and now our credit is shot. My DH set up the monthly mortgage payments to where we are almost paying 1/2 of his take home pay. The only benefit to him doing this is that we will be payed off in 6 years. The down side is, EVERY decision on how we live or what we get is based on money. We are 20 miles from town.....a small town where there is one grocery store and prices are higher than anywhere else, so we try not to get much there. Aldi's and Walmart is a 35 mile trip, so like Granny, we just don't go that often. For us, Aldi's is a must or we wouldn't eat. Walmart is a treat and I would rather just not go because we don't have money for anything and looking at what you can't have is depressing so I stay away. We go to the Dollar Store for paper products and toiletry items....if it can't be found there or for a reasonable (cheap) price, we go without. I thank heaven above that we have eggs and have chicken (we raised) in the freezer and that we have an egg customer that we trade eggs with for deer meat. My DH and kids go fishing for the fun of it and all I can think of is....cool....free meat! I think I have forgotten what beef tastes like and I can't begin to tell you that I am very glad I am the creative sort, because that has payed off in countless ways in the kitchen. We got out to eat 1 time about every 3 months and order water.....because of the extra cost......I tell the kids that water is so good for you and makes your food taste a lot better, which is true.....but I would rather them get their milk at home where it is $4 a gallon instead of $4 for 2 small glasses at most restaurants.
We have health insurance, offered through my DH's work and we have to pay a % of and I guess I am glad for that in case something big should happen, but we can't pay the co-pays at the Drs. office or pay for medicine so we try not to go unless we really HAVE to.
This last year, my DD was in 1/2 day preschool and I had to drive her. We almost had to pull her out because the cost of gas is so high. The only reason I didn't keep her at home and teach her all she needed to know to go into kindergarden , as I did with our DS , is because she had to be somewhere where she could socialize with other kids. We have always lived in the country and she knows how to act with adults but is so shy around other kids that she tries to hide in a corner when she is around them.
To improve our situation, I could go get a job....a min wage one.....and that sounds like an easy enough solution. However, where we live the only options are to work during the day, meaning daycare. There would be the option for working part time in the evening, but with my DH's job his hours are not always set so that would be tricky. Even if they were set hours, by the time you figure min wage at 3-5 hours of work and a 40 mile min round trip.....it just doesn't figure.
With my DD getting ready to be in school all day, I am looking into going to school and doing a work study program. There are a lot of financial aid packages and I have a lot of paper work to fill out......I am hoping it is enough to cover the cost of gas and car repair, but I don't know yet.
On our place, we are trying to get the starts of a small business with eggs, meat birds, chicks, and raising pullets ready to lay....which all seem to be in high demand right now. It has been slow going and we are not moving along nearly as fast as we had hoped, but it is a start. Believe me, our animals do not go without. Our local feed company's feed has the best prices, but not nearly as good of feed as others, so on Sat. my DH is meeting with the big shot at the Kent feed dealer and he is going to try and beat our lower feed cost......better feed for less....sounds really good to me.
We have been able to build different 'critter' housing, nice ones, and have many more in the 'works' because my DH has spent almost 8 months tearing down an old house....(one nicer than the one we live in).........for free. The duck/goose house cost us $50 in parts...the rest came from reused materials or from auctions we go to and happen to catch things that no one else wants that day. (100 foot roll of 1 inch square wire, a little rusty.....$3)
I am sorry for writing a book here and don't know if I really should have written so many private things in such an open place or if I should have Dmailed Karen privately, but there it is.
I hope that what you wrote Karen was not aimed at me for not thinking what the less fortunate people have to go through....because my every day is spent being one of the less fortunate people...of the worrying. A day doesn't go by that I don't think about people who have it even worse than we do.....if we have to struggle this much, how in the world are they doing it? I try not to think about things like, 'what if my DH lost his job?'
I get through everyday with the thought and plan that things will not always be so bad for us, it is just REALLY hard right now and that's ok.
Sorry lakesidecallas......it would appear that your thread has been hyjacked in a BIG way.
P.S.............I am very grateful to my brother who found this computer for me.....he works in a rent to own place and found it re-poed at another center and got it for me for the remaining store cost of $50 and we got it with a part of our tax return. I have not had a computer my entire adult life until now (Feb.) and I am tickled about it. I am finding it to be a wonderful tool. I am so happy to have somewhere to go to 'visit' with other people and life is not so lonely.
The phone bill though.......well, we go from one month to the next not knowing if we can pay the bill when it comes....so far, so good and I hope I don't end up losing my connection to the world! : )
Boy, ladysbugs, I kept thinking what a happy, upbeat person you were--and it is really true! As Myrrh described, housing cost are out of sight here in CA, and when I bought my house 7 years ago I spent several months almost unable to buy food. It was stressful, to say the least. Things are much better now, but I will always remember that. Good for you for being flexible and optimistic. You will do great!
Wow Catscan, thank you so much. I am smiling so big right now! I know a lot of people are going through a lot of hard times right now......it's good to hear from someone who has been there and is in a better place right now.
I have been through A LOT of hard knocks in life and used to complain a lot about it, but then grew up a bit and realized that there is no point in complaining about it, (well, not as much), that things happen to us for a reason even if we don't know what it is right now and life is much better if you focus in the positive as much as possible. No sense in dwelling in the not so good, right? It just don't seem like it has gotten me anywhere, anyway.
I know we could be worse off than we are and I think think if we were struggling like this just to meet rent on a place instead of buying our own, my attitude might be much different.
I console myself with the thought that this is ours and am so happy to have the freedom to have animals and to built whatever critter housing we want......(the shapes of little buildings/houses are going to get interesting due to the sizes and amounts of lumber/windows/doors we have to work with) and if I feel like putting something somewhere or planting somewhere I don't have to ask permission to do it. In my way of thinking, that makes what we are going through right now soooo worth it. Who can put a price on building a dream? : )
(Dang.......now I'm gonna have to tell my DH that maybe, just maybe some of his very optimistic attitude has managed to rub off on me.....well, maybe just a little!) ^_^
Oh Ladybugsabound, I am so sorry if I upset or offended you in any way. It was not my intention at all, and I apologize from the bottom of my heart.
I was just thinking out loud. My own thoughts about what might be or probably is going on in some people's lives because of the gasoline prices. I didn't really think about that until I was driving in the country a few months ago, and the reality of it hit me. What if I was living out here on my income and couldn't afford to drive to town for supplies. What a horrible situation that would be.
Sounds like you have a wonderful future ahead,and are in a great place to survive and prosper. To be able to raise your own food is a wonderful asset, and in my humble opinion, more should be doing it.
To be able to pay off a place in six years, wow, that's great, and then it's all yours. Yes, I would say you have much to be grateful for. A husband and children and a home. I often say, "If I have food, a roof over my head and am warm in winter and cool in summer, I am blessed." I truly mean that too. I've been through a lot of difficult things. I raised my daughters alone, and have been diagnosed with lupus for the last 25 years. I actually had lupus for 16 years before that. Life has not been at all easy.
Maybe I shouldn't, but I do feel a lot of anger toward our government and those oil companies. I really do. I think there are some very sinister things going on and I don't like it. If it wasn't for my faith in God I wouldn't stay sane, but I really "try" to lay my burdens down at his feet and trust Him. Yes, I also believe there is a purpose in all of this, a trying and testing of who we are, and who we will serve. I just hope I am passing these tests.
I wish the best for you and will try to be more careful of what I say and how I say it. GBU and your family Ladybugsabound.
Karen
Ladybug hats off to you! You've taken a difficult situation and made the best of it. That takes real character.
Everyone is hurting from this gas increase since it affects everything, not just what you put in your car. That's why we're so focused on stocking up our freezer. Right now I don't hop in the truck and run around because I want to. Every trip is carefully planned to make as many errands without doubling back so we get the most use out of our gas. It's hard cause it seems the more you try to do for yourself the more it cost to do it! Example: we want to have the goats eat more off the land but we'd need to spend big bucks at one time getting fencing and post. So the tradeoff is we give them hay and grain which cost money. We want some of them to eat but the more we have to raise the bigger our feed bill. It's a vicious cycle which some days you just can't seem to beat.
Lady bug what if you set up babysitting in your home? That might bring in a few dollars and wouldn't involve you traveling.
MollyD
Hey Karen, I have to say I wasn't really sure how to take what you said. Sometimes even person to person it is very hard to tell what someone means by what they say or how they say it and I think on the computer with typed messages it can be a whole lot harder. Mostly, if I don't know, I try to wait it out and not think the absolute worst right off. I guess I saw the way you put about me thinking about how hard things are one so many and I ran with it and probably a bit too far, I don't know. I was really trying to express that I know exactly how those people feel.
It's really something how some thoughts strike us at certain times, huh? I really think that with the rising cost of gas and food prices and just about everything for that matter, a lot of people have had their eyes opened and are looking for different, better, and sometimes cheaper ways to do things. I think that is why the hatcheries are overwhelmed with orders and it is so hard to get chicks now, and why stores are running out of seeds and plants. People are looking at their land in different ways and looking at possibilities they didn't even see before, or care to for that matter.
I don't want to think about who to be mad at for the high cost of fuel. It is so shocking it's hard not to go numb with every price increase. I think all we can all do about it is to do like Molly said. Watch every mile we put in and make it count. Do things like make sure we keep the regular maintenance on our cars and keep the right tire pressure in our tires to save on gas use. Look for alternatives for heating costs, if you can. We got really lucky and that old house that my DH is tearing down had a very nice wood burner in it and all the blower parts to go with it. Thank goodness! You know, I saw a brand new luxury SUV a while back at the gas station and I thought well, that must be nice. Then I realized that the lady was pumping gas while the engine was running and all I could think of was....what a waste. I guess not everyone is more aware, but at least more are. The world is a changing place and it seems to be changing so fast that it is hard not to worry about it.
I am very grateful for what I do have. I keep a gratitude journal in an attempt in staying that way and not taking anything for granted. Some days the things to make the list might be DH, DD, DS, a roof, food, water, a fan. Some days look a lot like that, but then other days, we might get new chicks in, or like last night our first of many broodies hatched her 1 st egg, or that I am grateful that we have been so lucky to have so many going broody and get a bunch more chicks for almost free. That list could go on forever. For me when I started keeping a gratitude journal it helped me to really see some of the smaller things in life and really appreciate them.
I'm sorry you have had and are having a hard time Karen. I have heard of Lupis, but didn't really know what it was. So this afternoon I went 'surfing' and read up about it and became better informed. I don't know how bad you have it...I certainly hope you are not in much pain and are able to control the different aspects of it through medication. I know being a single mom must have been an awful struggle as well. Sometimes bad things happen and there are not any answers as to why to be found. We have to learn to cope with them the best we can and move on from there. Easier said that done on somethings, I know. I can identify with you in letting it go so that we can deal with the hard things. If we didn't do that, some things might just drive us mad.
I don't know if you have to 'censure' your words....it could be the way you put it, the way I took it, or both. Whenever I write about anything, I hope that no one takes anything the wrong way. There is always the possibility that what I am thinking and the way I am writing can be taken completely different than the way I meant it.
I have no hard feelings toward you in any way. GB you too!
Molly, I know what you mean about the vicious cycle we can get into. I was trying to explain this concept to my 7 year old DS when he made the statement about being able to buy any animal he had the money for at the critter auction we go to. That was his only thought on it. I told him that there is A LOT more to getting an animal than just having the money to pay for it then. I told him that when you are bidding on an animal, you have to keep in mind.....how much is it going to eat, what is that going to cost, where will it sleep, how big will it get, does it need shot or special treatment and how much would that cost, what is the reason I want this animal? To look at and keep only as a pet or is it going to give us milk, meat, eggs, babies? He was stunned to say the least and that was an eye opener for him for sure. I asked him if he had known before that a grown up had all those things to think about and quickly when at an auction. We said no and his tone was in awe of it all. I won't let him not have something he really wants to by with his own money, but he will have to have thought all of this out first. ( there better not be snakes or rats in my future! : )
Anyway, would you be able to use some kind of some kind of leash/collar and tie out/rotation system for your goats? That way you could rotate them around on the grass you have and be able to use less bought hay. Just an idea. I don't know if it would work with your or not.....they are bigger than ours, but I wonder if with some adjustments you could do this and get away from the cost of fencing and posts right now. Just a warning though, if you try it make sure you don't use rope between the collar and the tie out.....ours thought we were offering a treat and ate right through it! Lucky they were friendly though and we didn't have to set on a merry chase over the hills and through the woods! ^ _ ^
Well dang, I went and wrote yet another 'book'......I really, really must stop doing that!! : )
Why? Your "books" are very interesting reading.
GG
Good Evening Ladies....What do you all think of starting an ongoing thread for chat... Perhaps called the Chicken Coop or the Brooder House???
A place where we can chat about anything and not be hijacking threads??
It will give us a place to go for daily discussions on anything and everything pertaining to our Farm lives...
Suggestions??
Dusty
well, belive it or not [if you have read through many threads you WILL belive it], we hijack threads all the time... so the P&L is sortof our chicken chat LOL.... that and dmail...
i cna't type fast enough or well enough for a real chat.. it's a neat idea, and if you google you will find htere are a lot out there. honestly DG is set at my home page, and when i am not too terribly busy, i am here in P&L...
Thank you, Tamara, you couldn't have said it better.
GG
Mornin TF and all...
I didn't mean a seperate unit...I was talking about an ongoing Thread here in P&L....Numbered and continued to the next when it gets too long...I guess I didn't explain it well enough...
I'm off to work.. I just hope it's not another 13 hr day like yesterday...
Have a great day!!!