• Last updated 3/4/12 by tweetysvoice

I created a nesting box from a bookshelf we had saved from the trash pile! I think it turned out pretty good.  I want to add a small perch in front of it, but will wait till it's mounted before I do that. I might want to wait until they are supposed to get up in it, so they don't decide they want to sleep in them before they start laying.   This is the shelving unit that I started with.     This is the end result of a nesting box.  I will be adding a slanted "roof" to it once it's mounted as well to keep them from perching and laying on top of it. I... read more

• Last updated 3/4/12 by Whittni

Below are what I want, what I have, what I owe and what is owed to me.   What I Want: Chicken Leg bands/Bandettes ~ ALL sizes/kinds Harnesses ~ Small Chicken Diapers Chicken Saddles Cage Cups ~ for exhibition for chickens, rabbits etc. Cage Waterers ~ for nonbearded, bearded chickens or for rabbits. Coop Cleaning Supplies Grit ~ for chickens Chicken Treat Ball 20 ml feeding syringe  Bird Powder DE ~ Food Grade Save a chick, Growers Gel or Chick Gel Chicken Books, Magazines Parasite Protector... read more

• Last updated 3/27/12 by ChestnutRidge

ChestnutRidge's   Most Ingenious Chicken Design Contest WEEK ONE CONTEST in conjunction with Mahonri's 3rd Annual Easter Hatch-A-Long   Vote here by 8pm EDT Tues. 3/27/12   During week 1 of incubation (17 to 23 March), post a picture and brief explanation of your cool brooder / feeder / waterer / saddle / whatever that you created for your fowl on the hatch thread.  Once the contest ends, the submissions will be put on a BYC poll for the kind folk of BYC to vote for a winner.    Prize: A copy of Gail Damerow's Chicken Health Handbook, which the winner... read more

• Last updated 3/3/12 by Henwillbehens@

How to secure a chicken pen from predators ,Here are a few easy steps when creating your chicken pin to secure the safety of your chickens from Predators .   1# When making your chicken pen you might need to take some chicken wire and bury some of the wire about six to twelve inches deep in the ground to secure the safety of your chickens from predators digging under the fenced in area as easily ,then secure the wire to the bottom of your chicken pin .     2# When creating a chicken coop make sure the corners of the pen are very secure because the corners... read more

• Last updated 3/3/12 by misfit

My partner, Jeannie, and I are finally keeping our own chickens.  We have a mixed breed flock of laying hens along with a few roosters.   After much discussion about the land we have and the life that we want to offer our chickens, we decide on free ranging during the day and housing them in a moveable coop at night.  We know that one of the main challenges with this system is dealing with predators.    When our chickens were about a month old they graduated from a brooder box to an outside coop.  We contained them in a small run for a few days until we were... read more

• Last updated 3/20/12 by kathyinmo

  TIPS FOR HAVING A GREAT HATCH!   Hachability Hints and Secrets, from members of the 2012 annual Mahonri Easter Hatchalong....     1.   Keep the oyster shell available at all time free choice.  The hen can regulate her intake.  Shell quality is really important because after about Day 10, the chick somehow takes calcium out of the shell to help build its skeleton!  Wow!  (I've lost the link.)   2. My tip is to be sure your breeder stock is healthy and fed appropriately for hatching. from this link  It is of basic importance to realize that hens can... read more

• Last updated 2/28/12 by ki4got

Someone commented to me recently, that too many people choose a breed because of a "Label", without understanding what it actually is that makes that breed unique. That got me to thinking about my choice of breed.   When I first decided to get back into poultry (my last flock was a mix and match assortment) I wanted to have eggs and meat. But reading up, I realized that the commercial meat birds were not self-sustaining, so then thought about crossing breeds. That was pretty much a dead end too, since they would not breed back consistently, and eventually... read more

• Last updated 2/26/12 by mlmddh

Countdown clocks for setting various egg types of the Mahonri Easter Hatch-a-long   Countdown for Setting Emu   Countdown for Setting muscovy duck   Countdown for Setting mallard (derived) duck,goose, turkey, guinea   Countdown for Setting call duck   Countdown for Setting bobwhite quail   Countdown for Setting other bantam and LFS   Countdown for Setting seramas   Countdown for Setting coturnix quail   Countdown for Setting button quail     read more

• Last updated 2/24/12 by HSR Marans

Beautiful Big Buff Orpingtons, everybody wants them.  I saw my first Buff Orpington, as most people have, at the local feed store.  When I purchased twelve of them I thought," This is it, I'm a breeder of Buff Orpingtons"  Much to my surprise these feed store chicks grew into the smallest "Large Fowl" Orpingtons I'd ever seen.   Now, many years later, I am a breeder and among the breed I have the Buff Orpington is still my all time favorite.  I spent some time way back then researching all the available lines.  There were so many to choose from I just couldn't... read more

• Last updated 5/18/12 by KYTinpusher

Here is a listing of the links to swap pages for the What Ya Got Swap thread (check us out!) I probably didn't get everyone, but I'll try to add folks as I see them swap or join the thread. PM me if you have a page not listed here and I will add it.   2hot2chicken - http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/2hot2chicken-swap-page 202roosterlane -  http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=80874-my-swaptrade-page aceschix - All-American-Chick - http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/swap-goodies anderson8505 -... read more