Backyard Chickens?

[Ddski5]

Finally finished the coop/run, thank you for all your time, advice and information…it was greatly needed and appreciated!

Fort Ski- Southeast Louisiana chicken coop/run

8x8 coop with 16x24 run- started with the idea of just making a plain ole coop but the more I got into it the more I wanted it nice and right.

www.backyardchickens.com

 

[Ravenbird]

Yesterday, it was 101 feels like 112. I tried to move them out to the garage but after 5mins, two of the chicks fell to their tummies and spread their wings out- just too hot.

I'd do the same...

 

[Ravenbird]

So, the only thing with chickens is like dogs, it's likely that you will see them go, or be an assistant in their departure. Now that my youngest are 5 years old the problems are seeming to become more often. I won't go into detail here, but this morning we assisted our Buckeye hen out of pain and into whatever the afterlife consists of. I can only assure myself that 5 years of a great chicken life is bound to be better than the 1 - 2 years that the caged commercial layers get.

 

[JanS]

Aww I'm so sorry.

You're right about 5 years of a great life is so much better than the poor commercial chickens.

 

[Ravenbird]

Another FB memory came up, photo of Reckless with one of the young chickens. Reckless had a "once & done" e-collar experience with the first batch of day old chicks. She never wanted to see a chicken again. But there they were, growing, getting to run all over the place, and now at about 2 months old getting curious about the dog hanging out... Reckless was so stoic. Absolutely wouldn't move, even with a chicken about to peck her eye out. Anyway I love this photo and thought I'd share here.

 

[Ravenbird]

@Ddski5 - updates on your young chicks? How's it going? Where are all the pictures?

 

[Ddski5]

The super six out in the coop are doing well in this 105dg heat. When I come home from work, they have wings out and are panting. I go out and clean out the automatic feeder cups and add ice cubes to the cups. They love the fresh water and come scurrying quickly.

They are still on crumble and I started giving them a little scratch food? They eat that up quickly. It’s funny when a fly or cricket gets caught inside the run- it’s like the Indy500 of them running around acting crazy.

They use the wall roost and the tree roost often. The Silver Wyandotte will fly up to the top roost and wait until I pass and then jump on my shoulder. She will hang out for a while and then fly off. Three others (Sapphire splash, Spec Sussex and EE) are friendly and will come up pecking my feet/butt. The French Copper Moran and Gold Wyandotte are not friendly at all.

They cannot stand any change at all and get really spastic if I move or add things.
Since it’s been so hot, I put an ice chest on its side and put 2 frozen milk jugs in there thinking the ice chest would keep the cool air longer and they would go sit in there to cool off. I even put some scratch in there to entice them to go in and feel the cool air. They did go in and hung out a little bit they didn’t take to the idea.

Today I moved one of my large dog crates out there getting ready to move the inside Fab5 outside with the Super6. In doing this, I took the bottom plastic pan out, put ice cubes on it and added water hoping they will kinda wade in the water to cool off. I even caught a few and put them in the water so they could feel it on their feet. I read that chickens will cool off quickly if their feet are in cool water. Well, they are not taking to it as I hoped but will keep it out there. I expect they will get use to it over time.





Haaland the Sapphire Splash


Gudoguan the SLW



Marta the French Copper Moran


Phil Phoden the Easter Egger


Sergio Ramos the GLW


Mike Abbott the Speckled Sussex

 

[Ddski5]

The Fab5 inside are getting big and are very spastic….They are in the brooder in my house. It’s just been way to hot to transition outside and it’s driving me crazy. They are just about too big for the brooder and fly out when I change the pads. I have three issues of pasty butt and glad I caught that early. The Fab5 are not near as friendly as the Super6- prob because they have been confined to the room where as the Super6 were started outside from the beginning.

Blue Laced Wyandotte


The two brown ones:
One is supposed to be a Welsummer and one is supposed to be a Starlight Green Easte Egger….idk, they look the same to me.



Buckeye


Prairie bluebell Easter Egger
black chick

 

[Ddski5]

Weird thing about me is that I like the heat, like being in the heat and like to sweat- don’t like being cold at all.

I’m saying that, I generally do not complain about it being hot but damn….the heat here recently has just been downright oppressive. It has been 103-105 for three weeks straight. That’s the actual dgs but what it feels like (heat index is about 114dgs). I haven’t mowed in three weeks and the grass is dying.

But it seems as we may get a little reprieve!! Temps will be dropping into the high 90’s and I plan to move the spastic arse chicks to the big coop on Tuesday.

 

[MyBuddy]

Are the fires I'm hearing about near you?

 

[Ddski5]

Are the fires I'm hearing about near you?

Thankfully no.
They are about two hours away.

 

[Ravenbird]

@Ddski5 I read that they liked to stand in water to cool down too. I have a shallow tub for them to stand in but only one will do this. I thought maybe the others would notice and copy her, but nope. Any hot day, Dixie will stand in this tub, but nobody else does.

 

[MyBuddy]

I was going to get a dozen eggs from my friend the other day and when I got there she had two dozen in her hand. She said some of them are really small so I'm giving you two dozen. I said okay! And then I looked at them and thought how cute! LOL I told her later, you know, they're kind of nice when I'm thinking I want more than one scrambled egg but two is too many! She said they are from her youngest brood. So I guess they start out laying small eggs?...
.... Said somebody who doesn't know anything about chickens....

 

[Kswoodssue]

The super six out in the coop are doing well in this 105dg heat. When I come home from work, they have wings out and are panting. I go out and clean out the automatic feeder cups and add ice cubes to the cups. They love the fresh water and come scurrying quickly.

They are still on crumble and I started giving them a little scratch food? They eat that up quickly. It’s funny when a fly or cricket gets caught inside the run- it’s like the Indy500 of them running around acting crazy.

They use the wall roost and the tree roost often. The Silver Wyandotte will fly up to the top roost and wait until I pass and then jump on my shoulder. She will hang out for a while and then fly off. Three others (Sapphire splash, Spec Sussex and EE) are friendly and will come up pecking my feet/butt. The French Copper Moran and Gold Wyandotte are not friendly at all.

They cannot stand any change at all and get really spastic if I move or add things.
Since it’s been so hot, I put an ice chest on its side and put 2 frozen milk jugs in there thinking the ice chest would keep the cool air longer and they would go sit in there to cool off. I even put some scratch in there to entice them to go in and feel the cool air. They did go in and hung out a little bit they didn’t take to the idea.

Today I moved one of my large dog crates out there getting ready to move the inside Fab5 outside with the Super6. In doing this, I took the bottom plastic pan out, put ice cubes on it and added water hoping they will kinda wade in the water to cool off. I even caught a few and put them in the water so they could feel it on their feet. I read that chickens will cool off quickly if their feet are in cool water. Well, they are not taking to it as I hoped but will keep it out there. I expect they will get use to it over time.

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Haaland the Sapphire Splash
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Gudoguan the SLW
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Marta the French Copper Moran
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Phil Phoden the Easter Egger
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Sergio Ramos the GLW
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Mike Abbott the Speckled Sussex
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Oh my goodness! Those names!

 

[Ravenbird]

I guess they start out laying small eggs?...

I've found that the first few weeks they lay smaller than what they will lay, but seems like mine were up to a normal size egg quickly. I did have two that laid small eggs, but it said in the catalog that breed would lay small/med. size eggs. My easter egger is the smallest chicken but lays huge eggs.

Oh my goodness! Those names!

@Ddski is pushing hard for a rooster! Love the names!



^^^ if you got a rooster by accident, I'd put my $2 bet on this one. ^^^

They all look great, you're doing a fabulous job. Especially with your heat to deal with. Thanks for the updates!

 

[Ddski5]

Oh my goodness! Those names!

Yes those are male names. In todays age…all of my females are identifying themselves as males except one.

-Marta- prob the best Brazilian female soccer player I’ve ever seen.
-Haaland- a goal scoring machine on Manchester city.
-Gudoguan- phenomenal midfielder on Man city.
-Phil Phoden- a young player on Man city
-Mike Abbott- a good friend of mine
-Sergio Ramos- best meanest defensive back ever, I think on Real Madrid.

 

[Kswoodssue]

Yes those are male names. In todays age…all of my females are identifying themselves as males except one.

-Marta- prob the best Brazilian female soccer player I’ve ever seen.
-Haaland- a goal scoring machine on Manchester city.
-Gudoguan- phenomenal midfielder on Man city.
-Phil Phoden- a young player on Man city
-Mike Abbott- a good friend of mine
-Sergio Ramos- best meanest defensive back ever, I think on Real Madrid.

 

[Ddski5]

So I put the dog crate bottom tray in the coop and filled it with water….the Super6 wanted nothing to do with it.


That is until I added the Fab5 to the coop.

 

[JanS]

I didn't know chickens liked being in the water.

 

[Ddski5]

Yesterday I put the 5 new chicks out there in the coop until 2pm- 102dgs. They were panting and not happy so I boxed them up and brought them back in the house. Took them back out to the coop this morn and they love the space. They go crazy.

At about 11:30, I put the dog tray pool back in with fresh water and the new Fab5 love it. It looks like kids playing in the pool. Well…her comes the bigger Super6 chicks and kick them out. They are in the corner not happy and panting again- it’s 103dgs.

I really don’t want to box them up and bring them inside. I feel like it’s just time for the kids to move out. Plus temps are going to drop to the high 90’s tomorrow.

Bing bing bing
I have two dog crates- thus two trays. So I put one on far left edge of the run and the other on the far right. So far…all is peaceful.

The Fab5


The Super6