Coop Designs - Yay Autocad!

So Dan and I have started playing around with "Google Sketchup".  It's actually pretty complicated... and very addicting! All of a sudden it's 3 hours later!

Anyway, these are our plans.  I mentioned to Dan that it would be nice to have a "chicken tractor" so we could move it around when the grass in the pen was sufficiently decimated.  So, he drew up a neat tractor for me.  Then I started playing with it and came up with another idea... Both plans are designed to fit in the back of a pick-up truck and are meant to hold about 5 chickens at the most. (We'll probably have 3 full size hens and maybe a silkie bantam.. I love those!)

Dan's plans:

My plan:

They're pretty similar huh? What do you think?

Marilyn Monroe has a Boo-Boo!

Well, I've named the 2 Turken chicks we picked up at the chicken sale. The blond one is Marilyn Monroe and the brunette is Audrey Hepburn.

Marilyn developed a bump on her neck and I thought "Oh great, naked AND warty!" but it turns out it might be an ingrown feather. I was watching them the other day and noticed that she had scratched the lump and it was open! The other chicks were grabbing the wound and twisting it . OUCH!! So I have her in isolation and have medicated the wound. From what I hear it should take about a week to heal up.

In other (happier) news, the male leghorns are REALLY noticeable!! Their combs are getting HUGE! The hatchery said they sent 2 males, but it looks like they sent 3. *sigh*

They are even doing little rooster face-offs where they just STARE at each other... They think they're so tough... They're only 4 weeks old!! Ahh!!

For comparison, this is what the girl leghorns look like right now... Just a TINY little comb...

Pani has had a visitor in her new home... A wild bird has figured out where her food dish is and has been pilfering her pellets!!! BAD BIRD!! Pani doesn't seem to really care.. and actually just looks confused by the whole thing. I have some video of the theft... I'll add it later on (when the internet is better behaved!!)

That's all for now! I'm sure I'll post again soon! :)

Pani's Mini-Coop

I was really getting tired of Pani's little dog crate house, so I decided to turn the old table saw table that we had into a little mini-coop for her! I used the old metal table frame, some scrap plywood, some roofing paper, old tin sheeting and a piece of semi transparent fiberglass... I think it came out pretty nicely! Eventually I'm planning on using this for a "Silkie Love-Shack!" so I thought the love bird artwork was fitting. (As is the tin roof... if anyone remembers the lyrics to "Love Shack"!!)

The other chicks love to nap underneath the mini-coop. They spend a lot of time under there in the afternoon when the sun is shining from that direction.