Some Chickens

[LizStreithorst]

The electric wire is offset on the outside of the fence.  I think I will go with galvanized.  What do you think?

[wallace]

You could put it on the inside. The problem we had is that its easy for a dog to get under it. I only have a short stretch so I put rocks along the perimeter, which prevents digging too. But you have hundreds and hundreds of feet. I have also pinned it to the ground with 3/8" rebar but again that was only in a few places. If you try an electric wire low down it will keep getting shorted by the grass. There has to be a way to stop the dogs from just sticking their nose under it and slipping through.

[LizStreithorst]

My charger isn't bothered by the grass.  I know because i used the same type of charger with the goats.  A low wire should work since dogs go first with their noses before they dig.  Of course I'll have to set it up and make sure it works as I expect and the dogs are trained to it before I get my chicks.

[wallace]

Is the charger the continuous or the clicking type. I think its the clicking kind that shorts on grass.

[LizStreithorst]

It's the clicking type.  The continuous can cause fires!  It's advertised and shocking through wet weeds and grass and I've found it to be the case.  https://www.jefferspet.com/products/se-5-super-energizer?via=533884b59fa2600f0000052d%2F533884b59fa2600f0000052e%2F533884b69fa2600f00000537

[LizStreithorst]

The die has been cast.  I just ordered my chicks.  They will be shipped sometime after April 1st.  I'm getting 12 females and one male Light Brahmas and 2 straight run buffs  https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/buff_brahmas.html  I love the buffs, but since I fisrt saw them introduced 11 years ago they were in short supply and only available straight run.  They must be hard to breed or hard to raise.  I imagine I'll end up with two roosters, but that's OK.

Now I need to step off footage and go to Lowes and buy the necessary materials.  I'll get to work either when it warms up or when I've become accustomed to the damp cold.

[wallace]

Very good. Sometimes our chick shipments come with the birds in poor shape. When you have them in the house its best to wash hands because they carry hex. I haven't been able to determine if the same species of Spironucleus infects both fish and birds, but I did have some problems with the Rams and some cardinals while the chicks were in the house.

[Mugwump]

...would snow fence work......even cut down to half height.... ......or just good old chicken wire stapled to the fence 

[LizStreithorst]

Dan, would you post pics of your chicken coop please?

[wallace]

Before I go take pictures... are you mostly interested in seeing the construction? I made some laying boxes 20 years ago that have worked perfectly. You don't need to go in the coop, just drop a door and get the eggs. The hard part is the 'ceiling' - but you don't get snow like we do so plain chicken wire should work.

[LizStreithorst]

Yes!  I need to see the construction.  I'm not sure if I should pull the broken tractor out and modify what I have or build new.  I can kinda do basic carpentry but it's way harder for me than doing plumbing.

[wallace]

We converted half of an old building for birds. They have an inside part with roosts and an outside they reach through a little doorway.

I didn't build these to look nice, I slap the parts together with drywall screws. They don't need to be very strong, so a triangle of plywood on some corners gives it enough strength. A staple gun for the chicken wire.

[wallace]

Some more...

[wallace]

We hang the food holders from the roof.

[LizStreithorst]

Thanks for helping me figure stuff out, Dan.  I don't care about pretty, either.  If I want to do pretty I can do it later.  The important thing is that it keeps the chickens safe.  The easiest and least expensive way for me to do it is to pull the broken tractor out and use the 8X16 place that it is taking up. 

It looks like the floor in your chicken house is dirt.  Is it?  I like a dirt floor with bedding but the chicken people say that predators can dig underneath and get to the chickens and their eggs.  They say that a real floor is necessary which I hate because having a floor involves constant cleaning out.  Since I don't trust 3 of my dogs, I have to make it so they can't get in and run off bad critters.  What do you think? 

I know that I can do this.  It will involve a lot of hard thinking because I was raised wrong.  I was raised by upper middle class parents who just called someone when they needed something.  They never wanted chickens, nor horses, no 8 dogs and a cat.  They lived in the suburbs and liked it   I must be a throw back to my mother's poor English ancestors that she was so ashamed of