the daydream fund challenge thread

Itismehonest

Lotus-eater wrote: »

It has a tray by the looks of it, but the side door looks tiny.

Yeah I was wondering if I'd have to put on some sort of handles, until I get it, I don't really know tbh.
It's really windy here too, Mmm, something to think about, thanks.
Our garden swing/lay on thingy, gets blown over all the time, so much I've stopped picking it up and it's on it's side in the middle of the garden at the moment

At one stage we resorted to tying them down with ropes over the rooves. They looked like rather strange tents It worked for quite a while but, eventually the wind won & the uprights started to break from the numerous bad landings. We then cut them down from walk-ins to crawl-ins :rotfl:
Cleaning out became a real bind but we got a few more years use out of them (very MSE) :beer:

COOLTRIKERCHICK

these are some of the ones we got

http://www.7sheds.com/8%20x%204%20ken&run.JPG

but slightly bigger, and the end of the runv is mesh too

we use these ones for the small breed birds and the ones which have feathers on their feet

Itismehonest

Nice house. That won't blow away easily
Do you have another run for them to get onto grass?
The first chicken house we had was a large solid one which was really just designed for roosting & laying in. They were completely free range during the day. Sadly the predator problem meant we had to go to ones with runs for the days when we weren't on hand to hear the rumpus when they were getting attacked.

The big old one has ended up as a sort of shed for plant pots, bits & pieces.

lostinrates

I only have one wooden house, but i don't like it. Atm the roof is off it, i use it for broodies and controlled breeding. But its. PIn because babies don't walk up the little ladder so i have to get on all fours and lifet them up at nights till they can do it themselves.

All your housing looks very organised compared to my approach of...chuck 'em in the milking parlour, there is plenty of room!

The milking parlour is actually nice housing for nirds, loads of perchEs at mixed heights from the floor to the ceiling. The nesting boxes remain an issue, though have thought anout putting something over the automatic feeders to make nesting boxes....nice and dArk. And occasionally i get an egg in them as they are now. I bought a roll away nesting box after i thought it was our hens destroying eggs, but they have never once used it.

alfie_1

lostinrates wrote: »

I only have one wooden house, but i don't like it. Atm the roof is off it, i use it for broodies and controlled breeding. But its. PIn because babies don't walk up the little ladder so i have to get on all fours and lifet them up at nights till they can do it themselves.

All your housing looks very organised compared to my approach of...chuck 'em in the milking parlour, there is plenty of room!

The milking parlour is actually nice housing for nirds, loads of perchEs at mixed heights from the floor to the ceiling. The nesting boxes remain an issue, though have thought anout putting something over the automatic feeders to make nesting boxes....nice and dArk. And occasionally i get an egg in them as they are now. I bought a roll away nesting box after i thought it was our hens destroying eggs, but they have never once used it.

my chooks will be back in the big shed by spring....i hope ! i need the greenhouse back !!

as for where they lay thier eggs ............WHAT EGGS !!!!

Itismehonest

lostinrates wrote: »

I only have one wooden house, but i don't like it. Atm the roof is off it, i use it for broodies and controlled breeding. But its. PIn because babies don't walk up the little ladder so i have to get on all fours and lifet them up at nights till they can do it themselves.

All your housing looks very organised compared to my approach of...chuck 'em in the milking parlour, there is plenty of room!

The milking parlour is actually nice housing for nirds, loads of perchEs at mixed heights from the floor to the ceiling. The nesting boxes remain an issue, though have thought anout putting something over the automatic feeders to make nesting boxes....nice and dArk. And occasionally i get an egg in them as they are now. I bought a roll away nesting box after i thought it was our hens destroying eggs, but they have never once used it.

When we first moved here the chicken house was an outbuilding opposite to the house. We used to keep all the fowl in it with hens & cockerels roosting high & ducks & broodies below.Then we started to notice the chicks were disappearing. One day we opened the door to find a headless duck just inside:eek: A few hours later in the morning I saw something shoot into the shed so DH went to investigate. It was a ruddy mink :mad:
Needless to say it was shortly laid to rest but, after that, we started using the houses on legs.
We had separate lower houses for the ducks & sitting hens/chicks, though ........ more like little kennels. Not great for cleaning - particularly for squirty ducks but they could be turned on all sides & given a regular hosing out so not as bad as they could have been.

We used to put tea chests or other boxes on their sides & fill them with straw. They all laid or sat in those. As long as there were enough boxes they seemed to sort out who used which one. Some queued up I think :rotfl: If an egg was laid in a box where another hen was sitting she used to just roll it under her. They must have worked on a more-the-merrier theory

alfie_1

WELL, BARNEY BOO HAS BEEN "HAVING US ON "..............

the vet said hes sound as a bell for his age...... no tooth problem etc.

i THINK he maybe had a wodge of food up in his back teeth and he couldnt shift it [vet agreed] so just me being a worrier and him being just greedy !!

im just gonna put another bale of straw in for mabel as its predicted to be a freeze here... and im going to put wodges of straw ,like paving slabs, outside her house over the deep mud too....
the only pig i know that HATES mud ?????

Itismehonest

alfie_1 wrote: »

WELL, BARNEY BOO HAS BEEN "HAVING US ON "..............

the vet said hes sound as a bell for his age...... no tooth problem etc.

i THINK he maybe had a wodge of food up in his back teeth and he couldnt shift it [vet agreed] so just me being a worrier and him being just greedy !!

im just gonna put another bale of straw in for mabel as its predicted to be a freeze here... and im going to put wodges of straw ,like paving slabs, outside her house over the deep mud too....
the only pig i know that HATES mud ?????

Good news on Barney ..... the old fraudster
Are you sure that Mabel hasn't just worked out she gets even more straw to play with if it's muddy? Much too intelligent for their own good are pigs :cool:

alfie_1

i remember when i used to breed rare breed pheasants , i had a beut pair and i went to feed one morning and it looked like they had been in a lawn mower accident...i have ,and hope never to again, seen anything like it..... MINK !! they had anialated them . everything every where...
im no shooter but i sat and waited that evening [i left the remnants in the aviary] and hey ho ,they came up and along the tall old brick wall and i wacked em with my gun ! bit like a fair ground game ! i knew there was mink further down the beaulieu river but had never had a problem till then and never again after ??

alfie_1

Itismehonest wrote: »

Good news on Barney ..... the old fraudster
Are you sure that Mabel hasn't just worked out she gets even more straw to play with if it's muddy? Much too intelligent for their own good are pigs :cool:

probably !!:D