Water Heater

With the snow coming down, I was kindly reminded of the de-icer I have been meaning to buy for the chickens water for the last 2 months.  $30 through Amazon.  A friend steered me this way from a youtube video he found.  I'll write more later when I get a chance to see how it works in the sub freezing temps.  I just hope the girls will be ok through this late October storm.

Chicken Run - Day 1

Chicken run - After Day 1

I got some time this week and got a head start on the chicken run.  I have been letting the chickens "free range" out in the back yard over the last two weeks.  I've let them out from 20min up to 4 hours and they really seem to enjoy exploring the yard.  However, I do need to get their run completed so they can go in and out of their coop on their own.  The run is basically a 4'x8' rectangle about 42" high.  I am going to enclose it with welded wire to prevent predators. (I saw a raccoon infront of the house just this week).  I am also going to add rock and gravel on the floor of the coop for moisture and chick poop drainage.  I will add a door for human access too.  I dont foresee spending a lot of time in the run, but I want to be able to get in there if need be.

This was a pretty expensive trip to Home Depot.  I had to buy 50' of 4' black welded wire $60, 7 bags of river rock $30, 7 bags of gravel $30 plus some extra 2"x4"s.  I also bought an electric staple gun which is AWESOME!  Its so easy to use and only cost $27.  I am a staple fiend now and it makes attaching the wire to the wood very EASY.

Step 1 - Build frame and staple the wire around the bottom

Step 2 - Add river rock

Step 3 - Add gravel

Step 4 - Add soil

I am pretty please with the progress today.  I need to build the door, then paint all the wood, then I will finally staple the wire fencing.  I'll post more photos as I get more work done.  Cheers!

Chick Feeder

Chick feeder with cap off

I built my own chick feeder from 3" PVC piping this week.  It took about 5 minutes to build and $14 worth of materials.  The goal is to allow enough food for the chicks to be ok for a couple days with out attendance to their feed, while keeping their feed dry and allowing external access to their feed.   I used a 2 1/4" hole saw.  Another chick owner made a similar feeder and used 3" hole saw to give the chickens enough room for their combs.  I have plenty of PVC left over, so I am going to see if these holes are big enough for the girls and cut another one if the chicks have trouble with the holes.  I'll post photos of it in the finished run when completed.

Chick feeder with cap on

The chicks arrive!

I got a call today at work. It was the Golden Mill saying our Rhode Island Reds arrived! After work, the family loaded up and stopped by the store.  $12 later ($4 per chick), we took our new chickys home.

I had some names picked out, but Lucy wanted to call them "Princess Aurora Sleeping Beauty", "Belle" and of course "Mermaid". I'll ask again tomorrow and see if her princess inspired names have stuck! :)

Its been a long time coming... So here are a couple photos and I'll post a video soon.

Chick feeder

Chick feeder

$3.50 Golden Mill

Heat Lamp

a brooder lamp from Walmart for $11 for a 250W heat bulb

I just swung by the local WallyMart to pick up a heat lamp for the heat bulb.  The one I bought takes up to 300W bulbs and I purchased a 250W heat bulb.  They also have smaller heat lamps for $7 but only go up to 150W bulb.  This baby should keep those chicks nice and warm!

Getting ready

Heat bulb, waterer and chick feed

Our 3 chicken order will be coming next week, so I stopped by Golden Mill to start getting some items for when we bring the chicks home.

I picked up a 25lb bag of chick feed.  The chicks will eat this food until they are 18-20 weeks old. I also picked up a 1qt waterer, and a heating bulb.  The chicks need 95˚ temp for the first week home, and then decrease the temp 5˚ a week.  Once it gets to 70˚ or so, they don't need the heat lamp anymore.

I also picked up a tall cardboard box for their little home.  I plan to line it with newspaper for the first 2 days so they can learn to walk, then I will take out the newspaper sheets and put in wood shavings.  I am also going to put this box in our bathroom down stairs that way I can lock out two cats out.  The last  thing I want Lucy to see is Oscar gulping down a newborn chick!

The total for food, waterer and bulb was $20.56.

Planning

The City of Golden permit sign

I have had this idea of raising chickens in my head for a year and half.  It is not something I wanted to jump into uneducated.  I have spent a lot of time on the researching on the internet and scouring websites like BackYardChicken.com  As well as talking to a co-worker and another cycling buddy who have chickens too. While chatting with them and asking questions, I feel good and start to get a sense of what it will require.  Then I get on my own and I feel completely unprepared and scared.  Then I remind my self that people have been raising chickens for thousands of years.  My confidence now starts comes back.  Then I told myself that I teach middle schoolers, so I can easily raise 3 chickens!

A quick Sketchup of the property and where we are going to put the Coop

So, step 1, check with the City of Golden.  For $45 you can get a small animal permit and then are allowed to raise up to 6 hens.  I took Lucy down to the city planning department with a check and a drawing of my property indicating where the coop is going to go.  They then put up the pretty sign in our yard and sent letters to people in the neighborhood living within 500ft of our house inviting my neighbors to the first of two city meetings about our 3 chickens. The lady I spoke with said that others don't normally show up to the meetings, so I don't expect much to get in the way.  The first meeting is coming up next week, I'll let you know how it goes.

Next step, order the chicks...