Hurley's Gold

Lets talk yardbird

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  • jordanmills

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    If you need some coop plans or ideas, give me a shout. Built dozens of them down through the years, many portable and for small enclosures/urban use with a view toward predator resistance.

    Here's an example

    Most of the plans were done in SketchUp, which has a free web version and/or viewer available, but I can also print them out easily in pdf format. No charge ...

    Built this for a neighbor up here in AR last summer who keeps about a dozen banty chickens. Although he's got plenty of land to let them free range during the day, being in a rural area they are in dire need of predator protection at night.

    So far he hasn't lost one since I did this one with an enclosed run for him

    View attachment 203459
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    IMO one of the more important parts of making a coop predator-resistant is to either have a buried wire or concrete barrier going down under the walls, a bottom of chicken wire or wire mesh, or a "pad" of pavers or concrete under where it touches the ground.

    You have a nice chicken hotel there though.
    Lynx Defense
     

    karlac

    Lately too damn busy to have Gone fishin' ...
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    IMO one of the more important parts of making a coop predator-resistant is to either have a buried wire or concrete barrier going down under the walls, a bottom of chicken wire or wire mesh, or a "pad" of pavers or concrete under where it touches the ground.

    You have a nice chicken hotel there though.

    Build them offsite and that is one the first things that is done when they're moved to the location.
     

    FireInTheWire

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    If you need some coop plans or ideas, give me a shout. Built dozens of them down through the years, many portable and for small enclosures/urban use with a view toward predator resistance.

    Here's an example

    Most of the plans were done in SketchUp, which has a free web version and/or viewer available, but I can also print them out easily in pdf format. No charge ...

    Built this for a neighbor up here in AR last summer who keeps about a dozen banty chickens. Although he's got plenty of land to let them free range during the day, being in a rural area they are in dire need of predator protection at night.

    So far he hasn't lost one since I did this one with an enclosed run for him

    View attachment 203459
    View attachment 203460
    OK, Thank you!
     

    digger

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    I apologize in advance....just couldn't resist:

    Chicken Coups.jpg
     

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    mongoose

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    If you need some coop plans or ideas, give me a shout. Built dozens of them down through the years, many portable and for small enclosures/urban use with a view toward predator resistance.

    Here's an example

    Most of the plans were done in SketchUp, which has a free web version and/or viewer available, but I can also print them out easily in pdf format. No charge ...

    Built this for a neighbor up here in AR last summer who keeps about a dozen banty chickens. Although he's got plenty of land to let them free range during the day, being in a rural area they are in dire need of predator protection at night.

    So far he hasn't lost one since I did this one with an enclosed run for him

    View attachment 203459
    View attachment 203460

    if you don’t want to build your own, Tractor Supply sell a similar on for around 350.00.
     

    cbp210

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    So....

    I want to build a chicken coop.

    1) how many chickens I need for 2 dozen a week?

    2) What's the significance of a rooster? My wife can't eat eggs that have been fertilized. It gives her a stomach ache for a few hours. Is that all a rooster is worth having for?

    3) will I get eggs in the winter? My MIL egg production reduces greatly in the winter. Why is this?

    Pros and cons of this hobby?

    Thanks
    Me personally I love yardbirds too but I would rather raise rabbits for meat source. Rabbits would produce more rabbits at a faster rate and you do not have to worry about loud roosters. meat is also great.
     

    BRD@66

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    Me personally I love yardbirds too but I would rather raise rabbits for meat source. Rabbits would produce more rabbits at a faster rate and you do not have to worry about loud roosters. meat is also great.
    And when you step in rabbit poop, you don't ruin your shoe.
     

    karlac

    Lately too damn busy to have Gone fishin' ...
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    Along with chickens, ducks, geese, guinea's and feedlot calves, we raised rabbits for food when I was growing up ... mostly Flemish Red's and Checkered Giants.

    Got to where I could skin a rabbit in seconds.
    We ate good, and after a short while we could supply the neighbors with what wouldn't fit in the freezer.

    And never had a problem coming up with an ongoing FFA project.
     

    karlac

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    When you are hungry it doesn't matter. Everything tastes good. When I attended survival school in the military I found this to be true. I ate things in the jungles of Panama that I had no idea what they were. But they were filling and tasted okay.

    Ah yes, Ft Sherman ... where caterpillar grubs gave you a renewed appreciation for SOS.
     

    lightflyer1

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    Ah yes, Ft Sherman ... where caterpillar grubs gave you a renewed appreciation for SOS.

    Yes Fort Sherman. Still seems to exist, at least the buildings. We took some helicopter transports with some of the best pilots I have ever seen for nap of the earth flying. What a roller coaster ride it was! Must have been some of the last of the Vietnam pilots down there.
     

    karlac

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    Yes Fort Sherman. Still seems to exist, at least the buildings. We took some helicopter transports with some of the best pilots I have ever seen for nap of the earth flying. What a roller coaster ride it was! Must have been some of the last of the Vietnam pilots down there.

    Try it while hanging from one in a rappel rig when the LZ suddenly gets hot. ;)

    A Platoon Sgt in my unit had an ND at 3:30 AM on foggy morning trying to clear a 1911 ... shot himself in the neck.

    Called for a dust off anyway, thinking there was no way in hell we would get him out in time in what was basically a no visibility situation.

    We had our position well known from artillery marking rounds fired before nightfall, but still don't know how that helicopter jockey got in an out, even knowing where we were.

    One of the bravest acts I've ever seen ... took cajones the size of bowling balls to do that.

    And yes, the Sgt recovered. AAMOF, he never lost consciousness and resisted being medvac'ed.
     

    lightflyer1

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    Been there done that, not under fire though. Dropped a jungle penetrator down through the thick, thick canopy and pulled four of us up through the trees and flew us out of there hanging from the rope suspended. Flew that way for 15 minutes or so till they could get us to a clearing to drop us off. Once they flew nap of the earth and then dropped down a couple hundred feet maybe to a river and flew along it about five feet off the water and then flared for 5 seconds or so at a point clearing in the river while we jun\mped off and they rotated and flew away. Insertion in like ten seconds. Some amazing flying I tell you. Once at Fort Bragg we called in a medivac during a live fire for someone wounded by artillery shrapnel to the head. That chopper came down in a tiny tight spot quickly and they rushed and grabbed the guy and were out of there again in what seemed like minutes. I have great respect for those guys.
     

    karlac

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    Chicken poop is a lot worse.

    A boy and his father were walking through the woods when the son spotted some rabbit droppings and asked: ''What are those? ''

    ''They're smart pills son,'' said his father. ''Eat one and it'll make you smarter."

    Boy popped one in his mouth, ''Yuck...these taste like shit!''

    ''See,'' said his father, ''you're already getting smarter!''

    Sorry ... but it was a whole lot funnier when my grandfather first told me that at the age of 6, 70 years ago:
     
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