Coop life - backyard chickens

[mich1972]

So we adopted our girls in April and they bring us so much joy, eggs and beautiful fertiliser !!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

[mich1972]

 

 

 Good morning Workshop Community Friends. Here in Perth the days are getting warmer and longer sunlight hours. Our beautiful girls are starting to lay eggs again !! They have had a nice winter break 😆 Oh to have fresh eggs again. It’s also time to give the Coop a good cleaning. I will be removing all the old straw bedding , adding that to the garden. Sweeping it out, ect. Adding new straw, along with plenty of Wormwood ( repels mites and fleas ). I like to clean the Coop regularly, but after Winter and the extra bedding that’s in there, it needs a really good deep cleaning. It’s important to keep your Chicken Coop clean for the girls. 

[MitchellMc]

Thanks for the update, @mich1972! I trust the girls will enjoy a fresh spring cleaning of their coop. Do post some pictures when you are done.

I've recently cleared out a large portion of my property that could easily home a few chickens and a large run. I'm very tempted to consider the idea. I'm sure my young children would love them. My two-year-old son adores any farm animal and farm work. I recently took them to a working hobby farm that's open to the public, and he was in his element.

Mitchell

[mich1972]

Will share when it’s done @MitchellMc I’m going to the Stockfeeders tomorrow to pick up more straw. Oh I hope you add Chickens to your family , your kids will definitely enjoy them 😃🐓🐓

[Aussie-Garden]

Nice @mich1972 

I have my back yard divided into 2 with a chicken wire fence to keep the dog on one side.

6 girls on the left hand side with their own coop.

3 girls in the dog side (she leaves them alone) with their own coop.

1 girl lives in my enclosed orchard alone, as she's small and the dog thinks she's a toy. Ugh!  She does great stripping the orchard of grass and weeds and any soil living bugs.

I was never a fan of chickens until 5 years ago when illness stopped me working and staying at home and now they are my little mates.

All but the orchard girl free range in the yards and get locked up at night as we border a forest and national park and foxes are active here.

I cut fresh Rosemary and put it in the coops and nesting boxes and it seems to keep away things like mites. Smells nice too.

Two of the girls continued to lay this Winter, which was a bonus.  I freeze excess eggs in batches of 4 eggs whished for the non laying season, so it was nice to have a trickle of fresh ones this Winter.

Cleaning the coops could feel like work, but I always look forward to adding it to my compost and I make a wicked chook poo tea for the garden too.

@MitchellMc they are fun, specially if you have kids and not much work to look after really. Can't complain about fresh eggs too. The yolks are so bright!

[mich1972]

Good morning @Aussie-Garden thats awesome !!!! Would love to see photos of your girls and their chicken run. Hopefully you are all well and enjoying your Garden 😃🐓🌿

[Caron]

Love the update! I lost most of my girls last year after the floods due to tumours. I havent had the heart to adopt any more. Currently getting the house ready to sell and once relocated start again.  Love the posts!! For now will live my chicken life through here 🐓🐓🐓

[MitchellMc]

I'm so sorry to hear that @Caron. That must have been a very unpleasant experience.

Glad to see you are living vicariously through our member's posts. 

Mitchell

[Old-gal24]

Awesome idea @MitchellMc @mich1972 @Caron @KatieC @Aussie-Garden   My eldest daughter has chickens free roaming and we, my (intellectually disabled) daughter would love to do the same.  My younger daughter is pushing me to get some and the way the price of eggs just keeps going up & up I am considering the idea. 

BUT and here's the big buts I don't have a lot of room left here, as well as having small yappy dogs.  I have an area at the back of our pool yard.  It's a very old pool and wondered if this area would be suitable for chickens?   The yard is fenced off from the dogs, but they could still see them and would be barking at them for a while till they got used to the..  (we hope) 

BUT

1) how or would the chicken deal with barking dogs for a while till the dogs got used to them? and settled down?

2) would the chickens  be okay in the same yard with an inground salt water pool?

3) the pool yard is beside the small veggie garden, is that a good idea as they could possibly get in to the vegies

4) the yard it's self, is over 12mts x 6mt approx. of course most of that is pool and behind and along the back fence are fruit trees.

Years ago we hand silkies and they pottered around the yard happy as - but we didn't have dogs then.  So this is a big concern, BUT is it just unrealistic?  

Thanks for any advice folks.. 

This Oldgal

[Old-gal24]

@mich1972   

So enjoyed reading about your feathered children.. Such joy..   

Thank you for sharing..

This oldgal

[Old-gal24]

@Caron 

Sorry to read of your loss.  Very sad..  the floods certainly had a huge impact on so many..

I would dearly love to do the same.  If not just for me but my special needs daughter and young grandchildren..  More so if we handled them lots to keep them nice and tame..

I hope in time you are able to get another brood happening..

this Oldgal