CHICKENSSS!!!

[Dubious_Beans]

Originally Posted by chris

I have my first egg today. I have been watching one of my birds and she is very friendly and she squats when I touch her. and she also goes into the nest box and sits for a second then gets up.

I found this one outside in their run. I had suspected they would lay the first one outside.

First egg! How fun. I'll bet it will be ever so delicious.
Didja weigh it? The first ones are usually pretty small.

You have appropriate nest boxes I assume?
Our hens seemed a little confused about where to lay at first so I tossed a golf ball or 2 into each nest box and they took the hint right away. You might try that.

Heh... funny about the squat thing. She's accepted you as her rooster and she wants a little lovin' from you!

[chris]

Originally Posted by Dubious_Beans

First egg! How fun. I'll bet it will be ever so delicious.
Didja weigh it? The first ones are usually pretty small.

You have appropriate nest boxes I assume?
Our hens seemed a little confused about where to lay at first so I tossed a golf ball or 2 into each nest box and they took the hint right away. You might try that.

Heh... funny about the squat thing. She's accepted you as her rooster and she wants a little lovin' from you!

I didn't weigh it. i have boxes yes. yeah she comes up to me all the time and i pet her she hangs out when i clean the coop out.

they know the boxes so im not too overly worried about it.

[EM2]

Originally Posted by chris

I have my first egg today. I have been watching one of my birds and she is very friendly and she squats when I touch her. and she also goes into the nest box and sits for a second then gets up.

I found this one outside in their run. I had suspected they would lay the first one outside.

Originally Posted by Dubious_Beans

First egg! How fun. I'll bet it will be ever so delicious.
Didja weigh it? The first ones are usually pretty small.

You have appropriate nest boxes I assume?
Our hens seemed a little confused about where to lay at first so I tossed a golf ball or 2 into each nest box and they took the hint right away. You might try that.

Heh... funny about the squat thing. She's accepted you as her rooster and she wants a little lovin' from you!

Hahaha, my first thought also.
Apparently he has yet to see a rooster in action.

[chris]

Originally Posted by EM2

Hahaha, my first thought also.
Apparently he has yet to see a rooster in action.

LOL.

[HokeySon]

Hey Chicken guys:

Is it true that chickens will gang up on and kill rattlers (without being bitten)?

[slo5oh]

Originally Posted by EM2

I agree with your assessment.

These work quit well.
You see a 5 gal jug but I now use a 5 gal bucket which is easier to get my hand inside and scrub it out when the algea gets bad.

I have no chicken experience, but you can eliminate algae by blocking the sun. Either cover the water bottle or paint it. Of course you won't be able to tell visually when your chickens need water.

[chris]

Originally Posted by slo5oh

I have no chicken experience, but you can eliminate algae by blocking the sun. Either cover the water bottle or paint it. Of course you won't be able to tell visually when your chickens need water.

i have had mine in direct sunlight for several months and no algae in it yet. so far no problems with it.

[Dubious_Beans]

Originally Posted by chris

i have had mine in direct sunlight for several months and no algae in it yet. so far no problems with it.

It's all the chlorine & chemicals in your OC tap water.
Nuthin' lives in that stuff!

[chris]

Originally Posted by Dubious_Beans

It's all the chlorine & chemicals in your OC tap water.
Nuthin' lives in that stuff!

yep. and don't forget Flouride. LOL

[jeffrice6]

Great thread! Getting ready to move to a chicken friendly area.

[slo5oh]

Originally Posted by chris

yep. and don't forget Flouride. LOL

Probably a stupid question, but does anyone know if all the crap (flouride, chlorine, etc) cities put in our tap water is bad for chickens?

[renardsubtil]

Originally Posted by slo5oh

Probably a stupid question, but does anyone know if all the crap (flouride, chlorine, etc) cities put in our tap water is bad for chickens?

If you can drink it, it's okay for the chickens.

On a side note, a teaspoon of apple vinegar per liter of water is kinda nice for the water jugs too...helps eliminate the need to clean the insides of the container so often. I'm using a black PVC pipe for my water hanger so I don't have a problem.

http://youtu.be/ikQIfs2S50w

Weird thing about the algae build up...we have a brita water pitcher that sat near the kitchen window for about a year and that thing started to have algae so maybe it's the water in the area we live in.

[tacksman]

Not much, but its a start.

[chris]

Originally Posted by tacksman

Not much, but its a start.

that will work.

[sdnative13]

for those of you who built a coop for your chicks approx how much did you spend on the build. I am almost finished with my coop but am thinking I have already spent way too much.

[EM2]

Originally Posted by sdnative13

for those of you who built a coop for your chicks approx how much did you spend on the build. I am almost finished with my coop but am thinking I have already spent way too much.

Most of my material was surplus.
My 2x4s were actually left over 2x12s from something else and the plywood was from shelving here at work that they were getting rid of.
I did have to buy the roofing material & nails.

[sdnative13]

doesn't help that I am building it the same way I would build a house.

[chris]

Originally Posted by sdnative13

for those of you who built a coop for your chicks approx how much did you spend on the build. I am almost finished with my coop but am thinking I have already spent way too much.

I think I spent about 400.00 altogether it wasn't all at once I bought some stuff here and there some things I had left over from other projects and so on.

[sdnative13]

Well I'm over that already. Maybe it is because I am buying everything new. Lumber wise. Wish it was made from recycled material

[Baboosh]

How does one go about finding plans how to build a coop?

[SOAR79]

That chicken coop rivals my current living conditions lol

[Dubious_Beans]

Originally Posted by sdnative13

for those of you who built a coop for your chicks approx how much did you spend on the build. I am almost finished with my coop but am thinking I have already spent way too much.

Of course you spent way too much! Projects like that always go way the hell over budget. Mine sure did!

You spend what you can afford to spend and you try and make it decent for the chickens to live in and easy for the humans to clean and deal with.

Ummm, did I miss the photos of your coop somewhere? Show us!


I've probably only got $150 or so into the "coop" itself, because the doors & windows and the siding was free. I had to buy 2x4's for framing, a scrap of linoleum for the floor, door and window hinges and latches, and oodles of screws and staples.

But building the run was tremendously expensive. I wanted it large (it ended up about 600 sq ft), fully enclosed and roofed against predators, and tall enough for a human to comfortably stand up and walk around in and clean.
There's a couple hundred feet of 6' tall welded wire fence, a bunch of peeler core posts, a ton of pressure treated lumber, bags of concrete, and several sheets of fiberglass "roof panels" that cover part of the run and wrap around the sides on one corner so that there's a sheltered area during rainy weather.
I've go at least $400 in materials for the run.
But it's sturdy and it's predator proof and it's easy to get inside to clean and it has lots of room for the hens to move about and it should last a good long time.

As of today I've collected 1097 eggs from the ladies. That's over 134 lbs of eggs in just over 6 months.

[Dubious_Beans]

Originally Posted by Baboosh

How does one go about finding plans how to build a coop?

Well, start at backyardchickens.com

And of course there's always google

[EM2]

Originally Posted by Baboosh

How does one go about finding plans how to build a coop?

I made my plans myself.
I did read up on designs (they are as numerous as the owners) before I started and tried to incorporate the best ideas of each.
http://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops

[EM2]

Originally Posted by Dubious_Beans

Of course you spent way too much! Projects like that always go way the hell over budget. Mine sure did!

You spend what you can afford to spend and you try and make it decent for the chickens to live in and easy for the humans to clean and deal with.

Ummm, did I miss the photos of your coop somewhere? Show us!


I've probably only got $150 or so into the "coop" itself, because the doors & windows and the siding was free. I had to buy 2x4's for framing, a scrap of linoleum for the floor, door and window hinges and latches, and oodles of screws and staples.

But building the run was tremendously expensive. I wanted it large (it ended up about 600 sq ft), fully enclosed and roofed against predators, and tall enough for a human to comfortably stand up and walk around in and clean.
There's a couple hundred feet of 6' tall welded wire fence, a bunch of peeler core posts, a ton of pressure treated lumber, bags of concrete, and several sheets of fiberglass "roof panels" that cover part of the run and wrap around the sides on one corner so that there's a sheltered area during rainy weather.
I've go at least $400 in materials for the run.
But it's sturdy and it's predator proof and it's easy to get inside to clean and it has lots of room for the hens to move about and it should last a good long time.

As of today I've collected 1097 eggs from the ladies. That's over 134 lbs of eggs in just over 6 months.

Hmmm, that's $0.50 per egg or $6.00 per dozen so far just in construction costs.
Then you got to figure in feed and labor to maintain.
How long till you break even.


Do you even pay $0.50 per round of ammo.

[Dubious_Beans]

Originally Posted by SOAR79

That chicken coop rivals my current living conditions lol

Roosting space is available if you can lay at least 200 eggs per year.

[Dubious_Beans]

Originally Posted by EM2

Hmmm, that's $0.50 per egg or $6.00 per dozen so far just in construction costs.
Then you got to figure in feed and labor to maintain.
How long till you break even.

I don't even know what "break even" means...
I like the flavor and texture of good fresh eggs from hens that have a varied diet.
I like having control over that small bit of my food chain. (for lots of reasons)
I like that the hens don't live in battery cages like most of the egg laying hens in the US do.

I expect the cost of the coop to be averaged over many years. It's built to last a long time.

I get about 3 dozen eggs per week and sell surplus eggs at $5/dozen to pay for the $25 monthly feed cost. Nobody complains about $5/dozen. I could sell tons more if i had 'em.

I break even on feed cost and I get my eggs for free plus a few extra to distribute to friends and neighbors "gratis".
So far I think it's a pretty good deal.

Do you even pay $0.50 per round of ammo.

Depends on what I'm shooting.

[chris]

Originally Posted by Dubious_Beans

I don't even know what "break even" means...
I like the flavor and texture of good fresh eggs from hens that have a varied diet.
just started getting eggs only 1 a day at this time but the eggs taste great. it won't be long til the other 3 start laying.

I like having control over that small bit of my food chain. (for lots of reasons)

we all have our reasons to have chickens and eggs is one of them and it's quite gratifying to get eggs out of your own backyard no store to go to.

I like that the hens don't live in battery cages like most of the egg laying hens in the US do.

yeah I like that my chickens have lots of room to use they will get more when I let them out in the garden after everything is done. they will love it.

I expect the cost of the coop to be averaged over many years. It's built to last a long time.

build mine pretty solid as well.

I get about 3 dozen eggs per week and sell surplus eggs at $5/dozen to pay for the $25 monthly feed cost. Nobody complains about $5/dozen. I could sell tons more if i had 'em.

with the 4 I have I should get about 2.5 dozen a week if they lay one a day.

I break even on feed cost and I get my eggs for free plus a few extra to distribute to friends and neighbors "gratis".
So far I think it's a pretty good deal.

the feed is cheaper than I expected which is great.
Depends on what I'm shooting.

answers in bold

[renardsubtil]

Originally Posted by sdnative13

for those of you who built a coop for your chicks approx how much did you spend on the build. I am almost finished with my coop but am thinking I have already spent way too much.

Don't worry so much about it, there's no real set "cost" of how much a coop should be just as long as you have enough "space" for the birds....

Personally I used a bunch of left over 2x4s, fence boards, and a leftover pallet *shrug* it's not pretty but it works for my two birds. The main things I kept in mind during my build was the airflow, separation of the nesting box, a roosting bar, ample room for cleaning, and how to fit my sandbox so that cleaning the poop would be easy.

[sdnative13]

Trust me I am not worring about the cost. Just trying to make sure I'm not going over board with the build. Really just trying to justify with myself the cost. I will try and post up some picture tomorrow when I get home.

[sdnative13]

Originally Posted by Baboosh

How does one go about finding plans how to build a coop?

I built mine similar to a barn. Will post pics tomorrow.

[EM2]

Originally Posted by Dubious_Beans

I don't even know what "break even" means...
I like the flavor and texture of good fresh eggs from hens that have a varied diet.
I like having control over that small bit of my food chain. (for lots of reasons)
I like that the hens don't live in battery cages like most of the egg laying hens in the US do.

I expect the cost of the coop to be averaged over many years. It's built to last a long time.

I get about 3 dozen eggs per week and sell surplus eggs at $5/dozen to pay for the $25 monthly feed cost. Nobody complains about $5/dozen. I could sell tons more if i had 'em.

I break even on feed cost and I get my eggs for free plus a few extra to distribute to friends and neighbors "gratis".
So far I think it's a pretty good deal.


Depends on what I'm shooting.

I was just messin with ya, I also spent a fair amount and time on mine.
I tend toward over building when I do things, but maybe not quite as much as yourself.

I get a kick out of eating things I grow or raise and love to pick blackberries straight off the bush and eat em. We have multiple fruit trees and a vegetable garden.
Last few years I had been growing pumpkins and trying to grow corn.
We even had some potatoes going as an experiment.

[meaty-btz]

Originally Posted by EM2

Hahaha, my first thought also.
Apparently he has yet to see a rooster in action.

Assume the party submission position.

[colossians323]

Originally Posted by socalbowhunter

That is a huge pen. Almost makes them free range. Nicely done.

not even close. Free range is a whole different ball game

[colossians323]

Originally Posted by Dubious_Beans

Heh, they sure do love a big ol' zucchini!

all kinds of vegetables and fruits

[Raralith]

Been reading this thread for months, making plans, but it looks like our first home may have a pool! Our fallback home has a large yard, but the house itself just isn't as nice... Any ideas if you can still raise chickens with a backyard pool with no grass?

Regardless, thanks for keeping us updated; great thread.

[renardsubtil]

You don't need grass for chickens...but then again it depends what you want the chickens for, eggs or eating? And how many do you want?

There's only my wife and I right now and we only have two chickens who lay 1-2 eggs everyday between them which the perfect amount for us. They don't need a lot of room to be "happy" but a decent sized run is needed so they can exercise at least...and by "run" I mean the area outside the sheltered place that they sleep in, my run is just 4 sq feet of dirt/sand and the birds seem happy enough since they've consistently laid eggs....

Check out the build section of the Backyard Chicken forum, there's a lot of ideas and various landscapes to compare your situation to.

[Raralith]

I probably would say eggs first, but we may progress to eating. As far as a limit, 4-5 which I believe is the limit in the city. I will check out that forum though as I am genuinely interested in seeing other people setup for chickens over concrete with a pool.

[tacksman]

I've had these two chickens seven days now and a total 5 egg's!!!

[EM2]

Originally Posted by Raralith

Been reading this thread for months, making plans, but it looks like our first home may have a pool! Our fallback home has a large yard, but the house itself just isn't as nice... Any ideas if you can still raise chickens with a backyard pool with no grass?

Regardless, thanks for keeping us updated; great thread.

Ducks