# No more sand (finished)



## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

It was nice and cool this morning but has warmed up quickly. At first light I started hauling the final load of sand from the truck to the chicken pen. I finished everything at about 1030, including washing out the truck bed. Then I took a nice hot shower and it felt good! This ole dawg is wore out and I hope I dont have to haul sand for quite some time lol.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

That looks so nice and clean. And I know the work you put in to getting it done in such a short time span.

I hope the girls let you know how much the appreciate all of your effort.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Almost forgot; while I was hauling sand into the pen, I heard the familiar "hawk cry" and sure enough there was a large hawk up in the neighbors pine tree eyeballing my chickens. Lucky for me, "Rusty" the rooster had taken notice and was ready to defend his girls.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

robin416 said:


> That looks so nice and clean. And I know the work you put in to getting it done in such a short time span.
> 
> I hope the girls let you know how much the appreciate all of your effort.


They can start laying eggs for starters hahaha!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

LOL, did Rusty live up to his name or what? You need a few crows hanging around. As long as they made an appearance at my old place the hawk sightings were few and far between.

That was what I was thinking, a few extra eggs would be nice.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I was thinking that "wow when did he get a rooster?" Then saw the picture, LOL. I have a metal rooster coming for my newly renovated garden.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I spotted Rusty once before in another pic. Thought, hmm, I'd really like one of those.

I have a rusty dog made of old engine parts. He's rather neat looking but doesn't hold a candle to Rusty.


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## zamora (May 26, 2015)

How did you make that 'feeder ball'?


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## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

zamora said:


> How did you make that 'feeder ball'?


We have small water bottles for sale around here, called aquaball. Looks like one of those with holes put in it. Great Idea, Think I will try to make one myself


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

It is a plastic round Coca Cola bottle that is put out around Christmas time at Walmart. I dont know if all Walmart's have them during the holidays. You get to drink the coke. Then drill holes through the plastic, fill it with scratch, then hang it for the chickens to peck at. It'll keep the chickens occupied all day long if you desire. You have to drill a hole through the center of the bottle cap. I used clothesline to run through the cap tied off in a knot, it's easy to screw on and off. Use a funnel to refill the bottle with scratch.
It's kind of a pain in the neck drilling through the plastic, I needed alot of patience when I did it.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

How big is the hole? You don't want it too large or all the goodies just spill out, too small and the chickens can't get at it.

Excellent idea though. Next time we have people with bored chickens it would be a great suggestion for keeping them occupied.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

robin416 said:


> How big is the hole? You don't want it too large or all the goodies just spill out, too small and the chickens can't get at it.
> 
> Excellent idea though. Next time we have people with bored chickens it would be a great suggestion for keeping them occupied.


I dont remember the size of the drill bit lol. But you said it best...holes not too big and holes not too small.


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## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

dawg53 said:


> It is a plastic round Coca Cola bottle that is put out around Christmas time at Walmart. I dont know if all Walmart's have them during the holidays. You get to drink the coke. Then drill holes through the plastic, fill it with scratch, then hang it for the chickens to peck at. It'll keep the chickens occupied all day long if you desire. You have to drill a hole through the center of the bottle cap. I used clothesline to run through the cap tied off in a knot, it's easy to screw on and off. Use a funnel to refill the bottle with scratch.
> It's kind of a pain in the neck drilling through the plastic, I needed alot of patience when I did it.


I have a woodburner I used when I was making hairbows, I was gonna use that


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Dawg, you must have some idea of how big the holes are. 1/2 inch? 1/3 inch? Less? how many holes and where are they placed?


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## jstringerrn75 (Oct 24, 2015)

Dawg, your own looks wonderful! So nice and clean . It doesn't look like your girls will get bored in there! And I love Rusty


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

jstringerrn75 said:


> Dawg, your own looks wonderful! So nice and clean . It doesn't look like your girls will get bored in there! And I love Rusty


Thank you. It's fairly easy to keep clean and the girls dont get bored. They love to scratch around and dust bathe. A lizard will wander in the pen on occasion, then it's an all out free for all and doomsday for the poor lizard.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

seminolewind said:


> Dawg, you must have some idea of how big the holes are. 1/2 inch? 1/3 inch? Less? how many holes and where are they placed?


I really dont know the sizes. I remember starting out with a small bit to get the holes started, then switching to a larger bit. The holes are all over the ball lol.


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## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

Ooo, that's really looking nice! You probably shouldn't give me any ideas for breeding pens next year!


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

WeeLittleChicken said:


> Ooo, that's really looking nice! You probably shouldn't give me any ideas for breeding pens next year!


LOL. I have a bad habit of adding grow out pens next to main pens. The next thing you know I'm building a hen house in the grow out pen. (Sigh) 
Here's an example: The first pic is a grow out pen. Then in the second pic it turned into a regular coop.


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## zamora (May 26, 2015)

I LOVE the old dresser idea, that is SO cool !!!


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

I bought the dresser for $8 at a local Habitat for Humanity. I had to open the backside and expand it just a little.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Now that's cool- a "shabby chic" coop.


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## WeeLittleChicken (Aug 31, 2012)

OK, that's it. My Seramas NEED an upcycled furniture coop.... That is too great. 

Don't worry about the grow out pens. I keep ordering meat birds and keeping them.... and eating the ones that really aren't (because they're flipping vicious - frog legs it is!)


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Here's the 3 inhabitants of the 'dresser' coop:


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Nice. You have an Ameraucana?


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

seminolewind said:


> Nice. You have an Ameraucana?


The three birds in the above pics were hatched by a broody Light Brahma. 
My two Light Brahmas were separated from the main flock. I had a Black Australorp rooster in the main flock and decided to collect 6 eggs and put them under the broody Brahma. I literally had to take the Brahma off her nest twice daily to eat, drink and poop. We had a bad drought at the time with daily temps in the upper 90's and low 100's.
Time went by and then one morning I poked my head inside the Brahma coop reaching to pull the hen off the nest, when unexpectedly something ran very close to my hand. It scared the heck out of me, I thought it was a mouse! I was surprised and then realized it was a hatched chick! To me, this was all an experiment at hatching and wasnt expecting the eggs to hatch really. I picked up the hen and there were 3 little chicks and no others. Three out of 6 eggs hatched. I tossed the unhatched eggs after three more days.
Their dad was the Black Australorp. The Barred Rock looking bird is a cockeral, one of the Barred Rock hens is the mama.
I had one Easter Egger hen. The one in the pic is BA/EE.
The other black hen is BA/unknown, but I suspect BR. 
The EE hen is the only EE I've ever owned, excluding the black one in the pic.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

So you have a BR rooster? I remember when you moved to Fl. and got 5 BR females. I don't know what you got or did after that. So now I'm confused. I think you had also said that you had needed to cull one BR due to illness. So can you catch me up??


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

seminolewind said:


> So you have a BR rooster? I remember when you moved to Fl. and got 5 BR females. I don't know what you got or did after that. So now I'm confused. I think you had also said that you had needed to cull one BR due to illness. So can you catch me up??


The pics above are from when I lived in SE Georgia. I gave all my birds to the person that bought my house. Fortunately, I knew him personally and he raised chickens as well, and owned 16 acres. He took all my birds and integrated them into his flock. They are all well taken care of. 
After I moved to Jax in late 2012, there was a big push to allow chickens in rural residential neighborhoods in the city. It took almost a full year of politics and city council finally voted 9-7 in favor of a one year probation chicken ordinance. Last year, it was voted 16-0 in favor permanently allowing chickens in the city of Jacksonville.
I've had my 5 Barred Rocks (4 now) since the beginning of the probation ordinance. Only 300 people in the city were allowed to own chickens during the probation period. I was #12 on the list. One of the caveats was that prospective chicken owners had to go through a "chicken keeping course" at the University of Florida county extension office, cost was $5. Then after completion of the two hour course, everyone had to get a $25 "chicken permit" from the city zoning department downtown. Then there were the usual property setbacks, coop size limits and other commie nonsense...all do-able. We're only allowed 5 hens per the ordinance. Haha.
My next door neighbors have 4 or 5 banty roosters and several hens. We have cool neighbors around us and no one is complaining. The roosters crowing in the mornings is music to my ears.


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

Lol Did you give the class?
I'm not allowed to have roos. I have cool neighbors. And someone behind me has sheep that bahhhhh all day long. We are only allowed to have 20 birds. But this is pigeon ville and surely their ginormous coops that match their homes have far more than 20 racing pigeons.

I didn't realize that the chicken pictures were from ga.


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