Recent content by ATXInstantFlock

It might end up being more for us than the chickens, but this is also our backyard, so figure some plants will help spruce up the decor. 😁 Oh my goodness, we only lost heat and power for about 50 hours, but with a 5 yr old and a 5 mo pregnant wife, losing water right after that was brutal. I...

(Tue Jun 4 - Day 47) Getting dressed to get the oldest kid off to camp around 8AM when I hear a noise. I think it's the dachshund - Chihuahua mix (always crying about something or another, usually food), but it seems faint. Send the kiddo to investigate the chickens (still in the garage while we...

Thanks! Glad to be here! Yep, fenced in backyard on a 1/4 acre corner lot in Austin. Current thread for proposed build . Unfortunately did buy a SnapLock coop and a large poultry pen, but now realize the chicken math hit me hard and those items are too small for 10 fully grown birds. Trying to...

Don't leave us hanging. 🤣😂

Can anyone recommend a specific set of hog rings pliers? Bought this and it absolutely doesn't work on 1/2" hardware cloth. The nose of the pliers is too large. 😢

Hey y'all, newbie chicken owner who is about to start his coop/run build, and I had a few TX specific questions I was hoping I could rely on all y'all's experience with. Thanks in advance! So far I've been buying everything from Tractor Supply in Cedar Park. I live in Austin, but open to...

Yep, familiar with that concept, but the funny part is that Carrie, the one roosting by herself, is the one who is usually pecking at every one except the two oldest when they're eating or scratching on the ground floor.

(May 29 - Day 41) Came home from our evening out at the soccer game to find them like this: 3 roosting bars, but 9/10 had to pile onto the top bar. Haven't caught them doing this before or after. It was probably 90F out at the time, so it wasn't snuggling for warmth, either. Just being silly. 😜

I meant that 1/4 acre is my entire house. I'm not bulldozing my entire house and rebuilding it on stilts so chickens run around underneath. 😁

Thanks for the input, I linked some HFAC info below. With a 1/4 acre here, I definitely don't have a "pasture". Crossing my fingers that I don't reach that number. If I do, that means a whole bunch of my flock has died and likely doesn't have enough friends to play with. From certified humane...

Thanks, that is very useful advice. I've been reading up on different strategies to limit access to certain sections via grow friendly mesh covers that you can move around and rotate. Sounds feasible. People talk about how chicken poop can be such great fertilizer, so presumably some people...

Almost every recommendation I've seen says at least 10 sq ft. This would be close to 2.5x that minimum. Barring free range or being in the middle of nowhere with 5 acres, I don't see very many runs on this site offering a lot more space. How much space would you suggest is required?

Ahh, sorry. I misspoke earlier. What I meant was ~15' from property line of closest neighbor since that's the way I measured the guide lines in sketchup. There is ~15'2" from fence to the side of their garage. I'm liberally rounding up everywhere, so I'm aiming for ~31'. The poultry pen is a...

👍 I specifically meant the ones that are part of the SnapLock. They make the floor of that "coop" and they slide out the back, opposite the door, so you need about 3' of space in the back to pull them out. 👍

It's not. They changed regulations in 2022 to make the city more friendly to backyard chickens as part of their push for more sustainable waste management, and it's now 30'. I posted the updated regulations here.