Chicken Coop

[Santa]

Taking a break from the doom.
Recently, I lost a couple of my hens to raccoons. They were going on 10 years old and still laying.
I have a few left, but overall this little hen house has served me pretty well over the years here in Florida.
Basically just an 8x8 built on 4x4's stuck in the ground with slanted metal roof and walled in used stock slat fencing.
About as cheap as you can get nowadays. Dirt floors covered in hay. It'll house a dozen hens with no issues.
The back is fenced into a 75x50 yard where the birds spend most of their time under the trees catching insects.
There were no trees when I put the coop up. Now they're at least 50ft tall. Mostly American Sycamore.
The little garden area in front has some Cuc's, Zuc's and melons producing at the moment.

Anyone else got a hen house?

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/381/19837319244_7eb9768e2e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/wdXrTA)

[milehi]

Perfect timing. I'm building one this week after discussing plans with the neighbor. I have to run power out for a light bulb for winter heat.

[ximmy]

Sweet freakin plants dude!

[Santa]

Perfect timing. I'm building one this week after discussing plans with the neighbor. I have to run power out for a light bulb for winter heat.

Here, it rarely freezes. Ventilation takes top priority. That and a roof to keep them dry at night.

[Santa]

Sweet freakin plants dude!

Thanks, ximmy. Here's todays pic of a cuc. Not to be confused with cuck. Though, I once had a wife that cucked me. Had to dump the bitch.
Please, don't ever cuck a man. You'll grow breast hair and it'll make you smell like a Fukashima fish kill. :eek:

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/424/19842528953_97658a2036_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/weq9ya)

[gunDriller]

Perfect timing. I'm building one this week after discussing plans with the neighbor. I have to run power out for a light bulb for winter heat.

when i first got some chickens, i talked to a bunch of Chicken People about their predator experiences.


one of the things that came out was, they (predators) will dig under.

anyway, i laid in an aviary wire floor, then covered that with straw. that surface is the "reference" , sort of - everything
above it can be easily moved over to the compost pile (chicken poop + hay).

anyway, it has worked well, on that front.

[Cebu_4_2]

Coons were the predators on my chickens. Had issues until I fenced the top in. One time saw a condor or whatever them big ass black birds are actually swoop right into the chicken house! Every chicken were hanging out on the other side of the yard so they were lucky. After fencing the top no issues at all except it made it a bitch to clean, top was only 4 foot off the ground.

[Santa]

anyway, i laid in an aviary wire floor, then covered that with straw. that surface is the "reference" , sort of - everything above it can be easily moved over to the compost pile (chicken poop + hay).

anyway, it has worked well, on that front.

Yeah, that aviary wire floor is a great idea. I used chicken wire on the inside walls and dug it down almost 2ft. It has worked fine, but I found out that coons can chew right through chicken wire. That's not how they got in and ate the chickens, I just stupidly left the side guillotine doors open...for a long time. About three or four years back I was having trouble with a fox, which got resolved, but coons never really entered my mind. I'd never seen them on the property. I guess everything loves chicken.

But for really cold weather, I suppose a raised wooden floor would probably be best.

I basically built the whole coop out of scrap I had laying around. Some old wood slat fencing. Some 4x4's and some sheet steel I'd used for a rabbit hutch, but had pulled down when the rabbits died after eating some avocado leaves. The front door is a fence gate. The chickens don't care if it looks like an old sharecroppers shack and I kinda like the aesthetic. In fact, I really wouldn't mind living in it myself with the chickens, except they'd probably shit on the bed. And it's not air conditioned.

[Santa]

Coons were the predators on my chickens. Had issues until I fenced the top in. One time saw a condor or whatever them big ass black birds are actually swoop right into the chicken house! Every chicken were hanging out on the other side of the yard so they were lucky. After fencing the top no issues at all except it made it a bitch to clean, top was only 4 foot off the ground.

I hear ya. You can't see it very well in the picture, but my coop has an enclosed run with another gate to the left and behind the coop that I had put up without a roof. In the beginning when there were no trees for shade I had covered that with some aluminized shade cloth to help keep the birds from baking in the sun, but later when the trees grew up, I'd taken a section down...and that's right where the coon climbed in.

[milehi]

Here, it rarely freezes. Ventilation takes top priority. That and a roof to keep them dry at night.

I'm at 7200'. It's in the high nineties right now, but I'll be throwing snow soon enough.

[Serpo]

I love my chickens and the eggs they produce are awesome................

[Dogman]

Ahhhh

Chicken crap = One of the worlds best fertilizers.

;)

[Serpo]

If only we could bag some of the stuff that comes out of this forum sometimes ............

[Dogman]

If only we could bag some of the stuff that comes out of this forum sometimes ............ No chit Shurlock !

The quality here is so pure that we could make a killing selling it at exclusive high end markets and even maybe make enough to buy both of us our own jets and the lifestyle that goes with them.

Hoot !

[Cebu_4_2]

Ahhhh

Chicken crap = One of the worlds best fertilizers.

;)

I see the formatting was fixed yeah...

Chicken shit and straw is like steroids for vegetables. I miss it and can't have chickens here due to the landscape. Can get a load of horse shit for fre but read it will kill worms... then again I don't think worms do good here either.

[Santa]

I see the formatting was fixed yeah...

Chicken shit and straw is like steroids for vegetables. I miss it and can't have chickens here due to the landscape. Can get a load of horse shit for fre but read it will kill worms... then again I don't think worms do good here either.

Horseshit makes great compost for broccoli.

[Santa]

I love my chickens and the eggs they produce are awesome................

Me too. Amazing critters.

[osoab]

Have you set out any traps for the coons?

I got some using peanuts. I guess raccoons cannot discern squirrel bait.

[Serpo]

It's eggstremely rare! Wife cracks egg to find FOUR yolks inside at odds of 11billion to one

Jan Long spotted gigantic egg in Gloucester shop where she volunteers
The 'monster' was three times size of normal egg and weighed almost 4oz
Quadruple-yolker likely to be only of its kind produced in UK this year
According to Mrs Long, it had 'much more powerful eggy taste' than usual

By Jack Crone for MailOnline (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Jack+Crone+for+MailOnline)
Published: 01:48 EST, 11 August 2015 | Updated: 02:46 EST, 11 August 2015









41 shares
35
View comments
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3192428/Eggstremely-rare-s-no-yolk-Wife-cracks-egg-FOUR-yolks-inside-odds-11billion-one.html#comments)
Despite staggeringly long odds of 11 billion to one - a wife recently cracked open an egg to find four yolks inside.
The freak egg already appeared great value before it was cracked, as it was three times the size of a normal egg and weighed nearly four ounces.
But shopper Jan Long, 63, could never have imagined it would be a quadruple-yolker - probably the only one of its kind produced in Britain this year.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/10/15/2B3E8A3500000578-0-image-a-12_1439216804476.jpg


Miracle egg: Jan Long, 63, said the egg was so large she decided to break it into a china bowl - and she was stunned when four yolks came out

She paid £1.45 for a pack of half a dozen eggs with the giant included and shared it with husband Richard for breakfast yesterday morning - eating the yolks on on toast.
She said: 'It was wonderful. I cooked it for my husband and it was delicious. I thought it tasted much richer than a normal egg. There was a much more powerful eggy taste.
'There were four yolks - it was like a mega monster. I had to crack it into a big china bowl.



Next (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3192428/Eggstremely-rare-s-no-yolk-Wife-cracks-egg-FOUR-yolks-inside-odds-11billion-one.html#)





'I imagine there must have been a certain amount of clucking when that was laid - an ostrich would have been proud of it.'
Mrs Long, from Bromsberrow Heath, Gloucester, said the egg was delivered to a shop in the village where she volunteers - and she was quickest off the mark to buy it.
She added: 'We had never seen anything that big before. Everyone in the shop was interested in it, but I'm quick off the mark. I had to have it. Even the customers were amazed.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/10/15/2B3E89AC00000578-0-image-a-11_1439216799687.jpg


Dwarfs the rest: The 'monster' egg is three times the size of a normal egg and weighs nearly four ounces

Britain produces an estimated ten billion chicken eggs annually, meaning Mrs Long's lucky find is probably the only one found in the country this year.
The last time a quadruple-yolker made the news was in 2010 when a Newcastle pensioner accidentally made herself a super-special fried egg sandwich.
Kevin Coles, of the British Egg Information Service, said: 'The chances of an egg coming out with a double yolk are 0.1 per cent, so even finding a double yolk is quite unusual.
'To find a quadruple-yolker is, therefore, a very rare phenomenon indeed.'
Poultry experts regard double yolks as a 'mistake' in the hen's reproductive system.
Tim Daniels, founder of Poultrykeeper.com, added: 'It is rare but people also find more than two yolks in a multiple yolk egg. The most yolks ever found in an egg was nine.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/10/15/2B3E8A5400000578-0-image-a-10_1439216797575.jpg


Cracking bargain: The giant egg, bought in a half-dozen pack for £1.25, is probably the only one of its kind produced in Britain this year and experts say the chances of finding one are 11 billion to one



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3192428/Eggstremely-rare-s-no-yolk-Wife-cracks-egg-FOUR-yolks-inside-odds-11billion-one.html#ixzz3iSkJtd00

[Dogman]

Dam that thing almost weighs more than my Seiko flight master sna411 !

[skid]

I lost 15 chickens this year when the kids left the chicken run door open earlier this year. Something came in and killed them all except the big rooster and 1 hen. Left half of them dead laying on the ground with no visible injuries. The other half must have got eaten...

The good news is that my 2 bee hives produced a prodigious amount of honey this year. I will have almost 40 quarts of honey, and that's with leaving half for the bees:)

[Santa]

Have you set out any traps for the coons?

I got some using peanuts. I guess raccoons cannot discern squirrel bait.

Yep. Trapped three coons. Big daddy, momma and a youngun. I used cat food. Fried chicken would probably work too.

[Santa]

I lost 15 chickens this year when the kids left the chicken run door open earlier this year. Something came in and killed them all except the big rooster and 1 hen. Left half of them dead laying on the ground with no visible injuries. The other half must have got eaten...

The good news is that my 2 bee hives produced a prodigious amount of honey this year. I will have almost 40 quarts of honey, and that's with leaving half for the bees:)

Damn, that was a slaughter.... I'd like to try my hand with a hive or two myself.

[Santa]

It's eggstremely rare! Wife cracks egg to find FOUR yolks inside at odds of 11billion to one

I've had a couple double yolkers. A few tiny yolkless ones as well.

[skid]

Damn, that was a slaughter.... I'd like to try my hand with a hive or two myself.

Bees are way easier than chickens. They do all the work themselves and you don't have to feed them... The hardest part is separating the honey from the comb. I just crush the comb and filter through a very fine stainless screen. Each frame in the hive provides a different color/flavor of honey depending what flowers were in bloom at the time.

[gunDriller]

Found a corner which had a hole dug under, from outside the coop.

Whatever it was dug about 6 inches under, then gave up.

[Serpo]

Undercover footage reveals sickening moment French farm workers disposed of unwanted male chicks by tossing them into shredders while still alive or tied them in sacks to suffocate

The gruesome footage was recorded undercover at a hatchery in Brittany
Shows staff putting the chicks on a conveyor belt heading into a shredder
Another scene shows the helpless birds being tied in a black plastic bag
Hatchery employee rests his body weight on top of the bag to crush some of the tiny chicks, while the others are left to suffocate
The whistleblower is an appalled seasonal worker at the French hatchery
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

By John Hall (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=John+Hall) and Tim Finan For Mailonline (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=&authornamef=Tim+Finan+For+Mailonline)
Published: 02:02 EST, 12 August 2015 | Updated: 05:58 EST, 12 August 2015









1.1k shares
110
View comments
(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3193879/Sickening-video-shows-French-farm-workers-disposing-unwanted-male-chicks-tossing-shredders-alive-leaving-suffocate-sacks.html#comments)
This is the sickening moment callous French farm workers disposed of unwanted male chicks by tossing them into shredders while still alive or leaving them to suffocate in plastic sacks.
Gruesome footage recorded undercover at a hatchery in Brittany and broadcast on French TV shows staff putting the chicks on a conveyor belt that leads them towards fast moving blades.
The video was filmed by a seasonal worker at the hatchery, which only sells female chicks to factory farms and egg production units as the quality of their meat and eggs is considered superior.
He described his horror at being powerless to intervene as the tiny male chicks were shredded, suffocated and tossed into skips by uncaring colleagues while they were still alive.
Scroll down for video
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/11/16/2B46A7C200000578-3193879-Sickening_Gruesome_footage_recorded_undercover_at_ a_hatchery_in_-m-28_1439307687852.jpg


Sickening: Gruesome footage recorded undercover at a hatchery in Brittany and broadcast on French TV shows staff putting the chicks on a conveyor belt that leads them towards fast moving blades

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/11/16/2B46A7D600000578-3193879-image-m-33_1439307877654.jpg


Undercover: The horrific video shows crate after crate of the tiny birds being poured into a small shredder

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/11/16/2B46A7C600000578-3193879-image-a-24_1439307622374.jpg


Horrific: Scores of tiny chicks are seen being piled into a plastic bag, where they are left to suffocate

The whistleblower's film begins by showing tiny chicks on a fast-moving conveyor belt heading towards the blades of an industrial shredder.
The next shot shows a hatchery employee piling scores of chicks into a black bin bag and pressing down of its contents, almost certainly crushing a number of the tiny chickens inside.


Share



He then ties the sack up, causing the still living birds to crash against the sides of the bag for several seconds as they struggle for breath. The movement eventually stops as the chicks slowly suffocate.
The next shot shows a chick walking around a bucket, which the depraved employee suddenly fills with debris, killing the animals.
The final sequence shows crate after crate of tiny birds being poured into a small shredder. The film then cuts to a shot of a pipe that pumps out the gruesome remains of the chicks
Shocking footage shows male chicks being shredded
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/11/15/video-undefined-2B46992500000578-759_636x358.jpg




http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/11/16/2B46A7CE00000578-3193879-image-a-25_1439307634174.jpg


Callous: The next shot shows a hatchery employee piling scores of chicks into a black bin bag and pressing down of its contents, almost certainly crushing a number of the tiny chickens inside

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/11/16/2B46A7D200000578-3193879-image-m-29_1439307825073.jpg


No escape: He then ties the sack up, causing the still living birds to crash against the sides of the bag for several seconds as they struggle for breath. The movement eventually stops as the chicks slowly suffocate

The video was originally released on the website of animals protection group L214 and prompted 36 French MPs to petition the Agriculture Minister Stéphane Le Foll.
The minister has now promised a Government financed scheme to research scientific means already in practice in Germany to enable poultry producers to drastically reduce numbers of male chicks prior to hatching.
The slogan of L214 activist group is 'Animals are not waste products'.
An estimated 50 million unwanted male chicks are disposed of by the French multi-million poultry industry. Globally that figure runs into the hundreds of millions.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/11/16/2B46A7DA00000578-3193879-image-m-31_1439307845274.jpg


Disgusting: The film cuts to a shot of a pipe that pumps out the gruesome remains of the shredded chicks

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/08/11/16/2B46A7E100000578-3193879-image-m-32_1439307856898.jpg


All that's left: The whistleblower's film showed a skip full of body parts of chicks covered in flies



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3193879/Sickening-video-shows-French-farm-workers-disposing-unwanted-male-chicks-tossing-shredders-alive-leaving-suffocate-sacks.html#ixzz3iXe1RCgp

[Santa]

All that's left: The whistleblower's film showed a skip full of body parts of chicks covered in flies

What is the humane way to kill tens of thousands of baby male chicks?

[osoab]

What is the humane way to kill tens of thousands of baby male chicks?

Ban single sex orders from hatcheries?

Just think of the number of chickens that would be sold. :o

Bonus for chicken grows. Bonus for feed suppliers. Bonus for raw feed component manufacturers.

[Serpo]

What is the humane way to kill tens of thousands of baby male chicks?

is perhaps one way ................
Raise them up to eat

[osoab]

is perhaps one way ................
Raise them up to eat

Too much fighting for the males. They would have to be caged separately and then the animal activists would be up in arms once again.