The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Carolinajim on July 27, 2009, 03:18:44 am
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It is really simple and relatively inexpensive to construct. I plan to use it for two or three hens. It cost me about $125 USD. Below is a picture and I put together a construction guide which can be viewed at: http://www.redbayfarm.com/chickens.html
(http://www.redbayfarm.com/sitebuilder/images/Chick1-183x115.jpg)
While it may not be elegant it is light and easy to slide around the yard.
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Handsome is as handsome does!
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Would be handy for a broody hen and her chicks when they hatched :)
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A chicken snake got one of my chicks! >:( The snake apparently slipped through the gap between the coop and the cage.
I had used old tire to fill the gaps but the snake only needs a small opening to get in.
This AM when I opened up the hutch out popped the hen with the three white chicks.
No blackie. So I popped open the cage and there was a chicken snake. Blackie was a bulge.
I dispatched the snake with a blow to the head and threw it in the forest.
Time to work on my design to eliminate any gaps where the coop meets the cage.
Additionally, I had not moved the tractor in a couple of days which probably let the snake find the chicks.
Count yourself fortunate if you don't have to deal with snakes!
Here is a picture of a chicken snake my dad took which was eating a squirrel. He heard a noise up in a pecan tree and down plopped a snake next to him. The snake is pictured eating the squirrel. These are actually rat snakes which eat a variety of animals including chicks and eggs.
(http://www.redbayfarm.com/sitebuilder/images/g54-132x91.jpg)