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Reviews

I bought this chicken coop for my mom for Christmas. It arrived on time, was easy to assemble, is well made, smells good, looks good, is easy to clean, and the chickens like it. We had to put a wire floor on it to keep the chickens safe from raccoons, but that's just a regional modification. A great coop!

I was flip flopping back and forth from whether to buy this or the Eglu, but after talking to a rep at the McMurray Hatchery who owned an eglu, she said she wished she would've got this one instead. Now that I have it, I have to say that I really like this coop because a) it looks nice, b) takes up very little space and c) I like the ease of cleaning and collecting eggs that this coop gives. I was able to put it together in about an hour and I have minimal woodworking skills (hence why I didn't make one myself). I decided not to move it around my yard (that may change) and instead keep it in one spot of my backyard. I also stapled the same kind of chicken wire to the bottom of the coop just in case a predator tried digging under and in. I then put a few bags of construction sand on the bottom to make cleaning it easy. I just scoop out the poop with a cat box scooper, dump it in the compost and I'm done! the girls also enjoy dust bathing in the sand. The description says that it's big enough for 4 chickens, but I think it could really only house 3 tops. I have a RIR and a barred rock and I think they are considered to be big girls in the chicken world so they have just enough space to be comfortable. My feeders take up a good deal of run space too so if they are cooped up all day that would not afford them much room to play. Overall, we are all very happy with the coop.

First of all I can't even begin to tell you all the ways that I'm happy with my coop. No more chicken yards that look like a barren wasteland, no more worries over the smell of a 'ripe' coop, no more treks to the coop stooping over to collect eggs. My new coop is a conversation piece, fully functional, well constructed and was easy-to-put together. Could I have built this myself from scratch? Yes, if I had a free weekend to commit to the task, but I value my time and my weekends more than that. In an hour I had the hens in it - every two days I move them to a different location in the yard - just great!

I first saw this "Ark" design in England a few years ago. I looked at building one myself but was put off by the expense of materials and finding the time to complete the project. This is a really well built, solid coop. My hens love the space to roam around during the day. The roosting area has good ventilation and easy access for cleaning. Mmm, and did I mention fresh laid eggs each morning!

Reviews

I'm sorry I cannot agree with a few reviewers here about this being a great album. I have all of Watermelon Slim's albums from "Big Shoes to Fill" up to this one. I was so very disappointed when I finally purchased this new one and gave it my first listen. I enjoyed the first song, but after that I was lost. I guess to me I love it when Watermelon plays the hard core blues, I've seen him "live" and I'll tell ya, I was a huge fan before that but seeing him play live is phenominal...it was without a doubt the best live blues show I will ever see. I know this was an important album that Watermelon had wanted to make for awhile. A country album, truck driving theme, it is a big part of his life, he lived it. I respect him for making this album, he deserves to make whatever kind of album he chooses, he's payed his dues and had earned that right. I will be patiently waiting for the day when Watermelon comes out with his next blues album, I'm sure it will be another grand blues ride.

This is my first Watermelon Slim purchase so I don't have much to compare with. I would call the music on this disc country blues with many of the songs about truck driving. In reality this is the type of music that I would normally avoid like the plague, but there is something about Slim's songwriting that sticks with me and I am really enjoying this album. Slim at times reminds me of Leon Redbone in his delivery and his lyrics are heartfelt and down home. The fact that Slim has spent most of his life making his living as a long haul trucker gives these songs significant credibility. From what I have read his other albums do not have as much of a country influence as this one, so again I am not sure how this compares. The album opens with the rocking "Caterpillar Whine" and closes with "18 18 Wheeler". In between are more songs about truck driving, car wrecks, interesting characters, and moral dilemmas. Slim's slide guitar is prominent throughout as his occasional bursts of harmonica. Slim's lyrics are road weary and gruff, but get right to the heart of the American road in their bluntness. For a first purchase I am impressed and am curious to see what his less country influenced stuff is like.

Potential buyers/listeners should be aware that this collection of tunes is a departure from "Watermelon Slim's" typical style of slide blues and is definitely old school country with a hint of blues. With said, this CD is a great touch point for truck driving songs played in a Country music style. Anyone who is familiar with this artist will appreciate these songs. Likewise, I suggest that if this is your first impression of the artist then you may be very happy with other CDs from "Watermelon Slim and the Workers". My personal favorite out of his collection is the original self-titled CD "Watermelon Slim and the Workers" which is more of a bluesy-slide style more closely related to Johnny Winter, Dickie Betts, Duane Allman or Walter Trout. It is refreshing to hear old school country sound married to modern production levels. Clean language that even the preacher's family can hear. Well produced and nicely performed, "Escape From The Chicken Coop" is a great CD. Also recommended: Wayne Hancock (Tulsa)

I have all of Slim's CDs, but this is the best. He sounds completely natural and at-home with this combination of blues and country. There isn't a bad song in the bunch. If you're a fan of Slim's blues, then you'll enjoy this, too. There's definitely more of a country sound but, as usual, it's all very original and isn't typical cookie-cutter country. I can't wait for the next CD!

I love country music and blues and this album seems to be the perfect blend of both. I especially like the slide on it's hard to be humble.

Reviews

This book has ALL the information I need as a new "urban chicken farmer" to be successful. Thanks!

I've raised and purchased over 40 chickens in the city over the span of 3 times during the past 10 years, a lot of mistakes and trial and error could've been prevented by reading this book earlier, you will use this as a guide every month!

This book puts much of the basics of raising chickens in one place. If your a backyard chicken keeper, this book offers a lot of good info. This book offers a middle of the road approach to raising chickens...not too fussy and not on the end of neglect/abuse. If you'd like to keep your chooks at prissy pets, you'll need more, but you'll definelty learn how to keep 'em content and healthy in a well-spelled-out manner.

I have been researching the raising of chickens endlessly lately now that we picked up some baby silkies who are happily chirping in their brooder. (We are urban chick farmers and the 3rd homeowners in our small city neighborhood to have a flock, interestingly enough) Being a city girl, I didn't have any experience in this chicken raising stuff...yet, being an animal lover and lover of research, I insist on doing it perfectly and will research it until I do. And this helped tremendously. While researching on the net and talking to chicken "experts" at feed stores, it amazed me how much misinformation was out there. Some said line the brooder with newspaper. (The book says no, but better yet, it listed the best ideas for liner and litter in order of preference and why). I quickly found out from REAL experts how bad newspaper is for the chicken's legs and what problems often develop from slick surfaces. Some said you can use a regular lightbulb for heat then I found out how much lig including some deformities in growth/leg problems. So, with all the confusion I found out there from old wives tales to people who throw lots of hens in a too-hot unventilated coop old-school style without thinking of the BIRD, I ordered this book to get some real facts in one place. I learned a lot. This will even tell you what's bad to feed them from your scraps...such as no moldy bread, bad potato parts, no avocado etc. and why. This tells you how to select and care for your chickens through all ages and, unfortunately, even for those raising them for meat how to kill them. I DID NOT read that chapter. But I guess if someone is going to do that, at least it tells you how to do it right I suppose. Good advice on predators...some I never thought of...and how to avoid them. Good advice on pests and how to avoid them as well. Great info on housing too, how big, and how to have happy birds...and happy birds lay well. Tips on getting optimum meat production. The book is written for those rasing chicks for love, eggs, or meat. Or all three. Here is my quandry which wasn't included and I can't find anywhere on the internet. I know some have crazy wild chickens they can't catch and others have birds that run to them and cuddle in their laps. I know much of that has to do with the breed which is why we got Silkies. I want the latter. I keep reading that the best way to get a very domesticated chicken is to get it as early as possible. We got one day old chicks...but now what? Handling them too often is stressful. But does that mean get them young so they SEE you more and are rarely handled or get them young so that you can get them used to beind domesticated and gently touched or handled? I try to pick them up briefly once a day as a guess. It didn't mention this and I can't figure it out (how best to tame a chicken) so if anyone who has raised sweet chickens knows the answer, please leave a comment for me. I don't want to stress out my birds but I want them to get used to people as much as possible, even if that sounds crazy to some. I don't want to "overhandle" or "underhandle" them. I am not sure what I'm supposed to be doing. The other things that wasn't addressed enough is how to best raise chickens in an area that often is over 100 degrees in the summer. While it mentioned chickens are prone to dying when it's over 90, it didn't say much about how to avoid it. It did suggest shade trees so we are going to plant some trees this weekend by the coop and I just read elsewhere that you can put 1.5" styrofoam for insulation in between the walls and ceiling and then but an aluminum roof on top to reflect the sun so, even though the coop has a roof, we are going to add this to it. That wasn't in here...they went far more into what to do in areas where it gets to cold, which is not an issue for us in Texas for the most part. That said, There are things you wouldn't think of in here...like that A frame housing can blow over in a windy area. The other invaluable thing to me was chicken fencing. Thank God I read it prior to buying chicken wire to line the inside of our current fencing in the area they will be be beside their coop. (many predators can easily get through it and it rusts quickly.) Overall, I feel it was invaluable. Though I still have a couple questions left unanswered, I think most will find all they need to know within.

Very helpful reference material. Great for anyone learning to raise chickens....explains everything. No postage was great. Great service. Thanks

Reviews

This is not a good book at all. The information in this book can be found for free on line. I would not buy this book if you are looking for information or building plans for a coop.

This small book is full of excellent advice for the backyard chicken coop. Every sentence in it has the wisdom of persons actually building coops and raising chickens. It is a "must have" for someone like me building a coop for the first time.

This book only talks about how should be a chicken coop. It is very misleading. This is an extract of another book that I bought before. I wait and wait for week and a half just to see that is not really how to build a chicken coop but about guide lines that you need to follow. The book from where this extract have been taken is very good.

This is a very good book for exactly what it says it is: Building chicken coops. Some of us just want to get to the building, and this book answers all your questions. Sure, the people who gave it only one star had bought the bigger Storey Guide and it included the same info. (1 star people~did you notice when you were buying it, it says "Bulletin A-224"? Bulletin- a piece of information.) But this is still a very handy book to have for quick reference. For those of you who just need the knowledge of building a coop, this is an excellent book. I hate to have to get out a huge book just to read a small chapter. This book is especially handy because you can take it outside with you and set it on your workbench to refer to during construction of your coop! You cannot do that with a huge hardcover or paperback! The people who gave this less than 5 stars are missing the point. This book is easy to understand and handy to have!

i was expecting to get more than the book offered as far as didderent types anbd plans for coops...some useful info though