We Haz Chickens!

[Grendal_71]

So I was able to follow through on my desire to get the chicken coop put together.  I took a neighbors old unused rabbit hutch, ('cause I'm all about R3), wired it in, put some small wheels on it, then (with the help of a buddy) made a 5"x12" mobile chicken run that can but up against to coop.  Viola! A two piece "chicken tractor" that can be moved around the yard every few days or out in the pasture!  The chicks can scratch and fertlize till their hearts are content.  They should also help with bug control too.  We've got (5) juvenille chickens (can't call them "chicks" or "peeps" any longer) that had been chilling inside with us in the old guiena pig cage under a warming lamp.  We're starting to let them outside for a couple of hours a day, but bringing them in at night because of the chilly temps.  I expect we'll boot them outside permanently to their chicken tractor around Easter.  If all goes well, we should start getting eggs around Aug! 

[stumpy]

I took a neighbors old unused rabbit hutch, ('cause I'm all about R3),

Reusable Rabbit Residence? Rodent Roost Redux?

Kudos on your coup  - err, coop!

[Deaths Jester]

*rubs hands together* Finally, I can get me a chance at them chickens!!  ;P

[BlueBard]

Interesting idea...

One of my buddies kept chickens but had to get rid of the rooster to avoid municipal issues.  As soon as the rooster was gone, his dog killed and buried all of the hens.

A mobile, enclosed chicken run might have saved them.

(My friend was tempted to bury the dog, but the family would've objected...)

[Grendal_71]

Yeah, the term is "chicken tractor"....it's a concept implemented and made popular via Polyface Farms, which were featured in the book "Omnivore's Dilemma".  The idea is that the chickens are still (somewhat) free to roam, eat bugs, scratch, and fertilize the ground without de-nuding the ground.  In short they get to move and around and do "chickeny" things.  The trick is to make the chicken tractor secure from predators, big enough to be comfy, and easy enough to move manually.

I should also note that some of the spaces too small for a mature chicken to get out, are proving to be problematic for my juvenille little hens.  The two Buff Orpingtons are quite the escape artists.  No discernable roosters amongst the bunch so far, which will keep my neighbors happy, I suppose.....still, we're zoned "agricultural", so if I want a roo, then we'll get one.

They aren't the brightest critters on the planet, but (and I know I sound like a goober) it makes me happy to come home, check on them, hold out some bread crumbs in the palm of my hand, and watch them cover over for a snack.  I grew up in a family that grew all kinds of stuff, so while I can keep a respectable vegetable garden (when I'm not deployed), we never had animals beyond a cat and dog.  This is new to me, so I've been reading a ton online, and in BYC books.  It's simple stuff, but not necessarily easy; know what I mean?  Still, I'm enjoying this little experiment, and the wife likes rolling her eyes while watching her 6"2 redneck Marine husband chase chicks in the backyard.

[Deaths Jester]

Don't call yourself a redneck yet...I think I've got you beat on most redneck-ittudeness...though I really dislike claiming such seeing as I'm trying hard not to be the redneck I was raised as which was ranch bound (with cattle and such).  Man, I really should've kept that to myself. 

[Grendal_71]

You're not alone DJ.  I was raised in " 'backer country", but over a decade and a half in the service has softened some of those edges.  I still sound "country" to those not from the south, but when I take go back home for a visit I always hear, "you don't sound like you're from here no more" sort of stuff.  The lesson I've learned is that I'm from wherever it is that I have my family with me. 

I've been putting them out in one of my raised vegetable garden beds on warm-ish days under a mobile chicken run to let them scratch at the weeds, add some fertilizer, and (hopefully) save me a little work in a few weeks once my seedlings are ready to go into the ground.

[Deaths Jester]

You're not alone DJ.  I was raised in " 'backer country", but over a decade and a half in the service has softened some of those edges.  I still sound "country" to those not from the south, but when I take go back home for a visit I always hear, "you don't sound like you're from here no more" sort of stuff.  The lesson I've learned is that I'm from wherever it is that I have my family with me. 

Well, I'm a bit of a hidden Country-ite...if you were to talk to me, you'd never know I was from Texas or worked a ranch because I possess almost no accent (hell, most people say I sound like I come from nowhere because of my lack of a distinct accent and my bad habit of mixing slang from all over the world into my talk).  But as you can tell, get me talking about ranching or such and you quickly notice how messed up "Southern country" I am.  Which makes me really sad cause I've tried all my life to get away from that and yet I'm still stuck doing the same thing. 

[The Phantom Eyebrow]

Well I'm not certainly not a redneck.  I ensure that my shirt collar is up when the weather is very sunny.  Not only is it a look that is inherently Cool, but it also protects my neck from exposure to excessive solar radiation.  Something to consider at least.

[Deaths Jester]

Well I'm not certainly not a redneck.  I ensure that my shirt collar is up when the weather is very sunny.  Not only is it a look that is inherently Cool, but it also protects my neck from exposure to excessive solar radiation.  Something to consider at least.

I do the same thing but I also wear my hat on backwards to protect my neck and yet there are still blood red patches on my neck...oh wait...I think those my be my muscles showing through my rotting skin...never mind....