TOO Homesteading

[5Cent]

She's ready to house em for a week so they know where they need to sleep each night.

Drunk shopping on the Menard's App last night said it was a hell of a lot smarter to buy a $35 screen door then dick w/making one. Total invested in hardware was $75 today, everything else was already here. Just need to add some fencing on the inside so they don't tear that screen to shreds, then onto the outside run.

Till then, they are safe and I can get em outside when needed. Spring kit on the door and an auto-latch ensure that everytime that door closes she'll lock. A small 3" barrel latch on the bottom of the door will ensure nothing gets in or out at night.

 

[jagermeister]

Killer coop buddy! Looks great!

 

[Bigcountry40]

Butcher day, 5 down, 20 to go.

 

[Bigcountry40]

Family affair

 

[5Cent]

Coop is finally occupied. Did a flop on the count by breed, ended up with 6 Reds and 4 Rock's as the Rock's were picked on and pecked pretty heavily by other breeds growing up. Sellers were nice and we are pleased with their size and health at 16wks old @ $10/ea. prepaid.

 

[jagermeister]

View attachment 179662
Family affair

Good stuff man. Way to get the whole crew involved! A buddy and I just did 43 on Saturday morning. Pretty rewarding process, especially after you eat them. Doesn’t get much better than homegrown yard pimps.

 

[giles]

View attachment 179662
Family affair

Love the door table too!

 

[bowhunter1023]

View attachment 179660
Butcher day, 5 down, 20 to go.

Having seen you split firewood, I can only imagine how this transpired

 

[5Cent]

Chicken training is going well.
-They have learned the coop is home.
-They still sleep in piles on the floor, but more are using the branches and lowest roosting bar during the day.
-They have learned how to use their small door leading outside and how to return. This includes using the brick as a step as the diamond plate is slippery.
-They have had both fenced and free range exposure outside and stayed close.
-They have all learned that slight pressure directing them to the front of the shed and their door is open = go inside. Once one commits, they all follow quickly.

A swing and a dust bath container rounds out the inside for a bit.


These bitches are trained, get to layin!

 

[5Cent]

Been a week, not sure I'm going to build an enclosed run this summer. The last 3 days I've opened their small door at 6:30-7am, and leave it open all day. They get all kinds of squirrely in the evenings as the sun sets, really trying our their wings and legs, and exploring. Most of the day they prefer to be inside, just doing chicken shit, lol. They're also learning/establishing ranks on the roosting bars.

They're now approx. 17wks old, no eggs yet. Got em on Kalmbach medicated chick crumbles, but next bag will be their Henhouse Reserve to supplement their daily outside roaming.

Cheap entertainment at this point lol.

 

[jagermeister]

@5Cent the free ranging is cool until they discover your wife’s flowers and landscaping. Mine free ranged our property for a couple months. Now they are limited to the pasture. Got tired of cleaning up the mess around the house every day.

 

[bowhunter1023]

@5Cent the free ranging is cool until they discover your wife’s flowers and landscaping. Mine free ranged our property for a couple months. Now they are limited to the pasture. Got tired of cleaning up the mess around the house every day.

Same. The shitting all over the basketball court and back patio got old. I'm build a chicken tractor for summer use and they'll get a new area for winter. I prefer free range, but they don't know how to respect boundaries. Ask my neighbors

 

[5Cent]

2wks in and they had their first run in with a wild tom cat this eventing. 8 of 10 made it inside and onto highest roost bar, while 2 of the Reds stood firm on the high ground (on top of mulch piles each N & S positins respectively) to defend the territory. Was a sight to see, and thankfully all 10 made it home and are tucked in.

 

[Hedgelj]

2wks in and they had their first run in with a wild tom cat this eventing. 8 of 10 made it inside and onto highest roost bar, while 2 of the Reds stood firm on the high ground (on top of mulch piles each N & S positins respectively) to defend the territory. Was a sight to see, and thankfully all 10 made it home and are tucked in.

Did the tom cat suffer a high speed lead injection?

The semi feral barn cats don't last long coming across the road or up the hill they get lead poisoning.

 

[giles]

I can tell stories at the summer shoot of what my place looked like when we moved in. The wildlife has really grown since the removal process.

 

[Hedgelj]

5 S's instead of 3, cool!

 

[giles]

Lost 5 chickens yesterday. During daylight. From the yard with no barking. New one for me. Carried off with nothing but feathers to show where it happened. Guessing fox or bobcat.

 

[finelyshedded]

Time for cell camera surveillance and the three sss.

IMO, whatever it was WILL be back.

 

[giles]

She brought home 6 today from RK....me thinks this might of been a plan. Hmmmm...seems sketchy.

 

["J"]

Yellow squash and zucchini relish. First batch of the year. We just finished the last jar of relish here recently.