BackYardChickens Forum

This section is for all of the FAQ's & Commonly used terms.   As certain topics / questions become popular and asked more often we (the admin and mods) will add them to this section.

General Forum FAQs:

Check out our community collaborative project:  The BYC Forum Primer : http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AWXAm … &hl=en

Q: Help - Trouble Logging In & Changing Your Forum Password or Email 
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=280709

Q: How Do I Add An Avatar (picture) To My Profile? 
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=8134#p8134
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=118987

Q: How do I post pictures on the forum? 
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=504

Q: What Are Golden Feather Members? 
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/gfm.html

Q: How do I search the BYC Site and forum? (VERY Important for new members!) 
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=47494

Q: What are user Titles and how / when do they change? 
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=190919

Q: How do I bold, link, post image code into my posts? 
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=12

Q: How do I create a page / add information to the BYC Site? 
A:   http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2-Personal_Pages

Q: How do I subscribe to topics to receive notifications of new replies? 
A:   http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=130431

Q: My Sent Private Messages Aren't Being Saved? 
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=4498509#p4498509
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=50338

Q:What is the History of BYC?:
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9631

Q: How do I sign up for the BYC newsletter? 
A: Go to www.backyardchickens.com and enter your email address where it says "Sign up for the BYC newsletter"

Q: How do I submit a pic of the week? 
A:   http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=18071

Q: I get an error when I try to delete PM's.  What do I do? 
A:   http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=535583

Q: How do I use BYC Chat? 
A:   http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=105421

Q: I can't log out / logoff the forum, what do I do? 
A:   http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=84998

Q: What is that little yellow chick next to some posts? 
A:   http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=839272

Q: How do I become a moderator? 
A:   http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=13536



General Chicken Questions:

Q: How many square feet do I need per chicken? 
A: I did a search in the coop section for:  feet per chicken and got a ton of results... here are a few good ones:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2132

Chicken / Abbreviation Dictionary / BYC Terms:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1638#p1638
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=241913

Q: What is this lump on the side of my chicken's neck? (Full crop) 
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=10821

Q: How much should I charge for eggs? 
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=138

Q: Where do I get / buy egg cartons? 
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=11117

Q. What is the Deep Litter Method?
A: http://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1560-DLM

Q. How do I find out if it is legal to keep chickens where I live?
If you live in the USA, then you can find your towns laws online at www.municode.com
If you live in the UK, then ring up Environmental Health. Normally there aren't any hard and fast rules, apart from no cockerels.

Q: When or how do I free range my chickens?
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9351
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9201
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9100

Q: What is DE, how is it used and is it safe for my chickens?
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3688
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=705
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3800

Q: What is grit and when to I give it to my chickens?
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8833
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8907
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9465
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9052

Q: What is Oyster Shell used for and when do I give it to my hens?
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9109
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9927
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3808

Q: What is scratch? How and when do I give it to my chickens?
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8545
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8503
A:http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8704

What incubator should I get:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=15091

Learning to use an incubator and hatch eggs:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=32402&p=1 (long, but w/ valuable info)
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=31806&p=1 (long, but w/ valuable info)

How to build an incubator
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=19675
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=21547
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8510
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=19496

Chicken first-aid kit
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=33871
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=3054
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=454
http://dlhunicorn.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=emergencies

How much space do I need per chicken (in coop, in run, total)?
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=18442
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=15096
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=34001

Why can't I peel my hardboiled eggs, and what do I do about it?
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=24428

Prolapse:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=32448
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=26390&p=1
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=20555

Egg bound
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=32648&p=1
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=22308

Chick raising care sheet:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=409847#p409847

how to tell if an egg is fertile/Infertile
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008
My chickens are pecking/eating each other's feathers:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=34705
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=31291
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=36139
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=30486

CROP problems (sour? impacted?)
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=21498
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=22357
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=26215
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=31377
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=36772
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=38081
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=21096

Helping chicks out of shell/ when to intervene:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9316

Q. How do I get chickens ready for Fall Winter and Cold Weather?

A. http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=71542
A. http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=27182

Q. How do I find a veterinarian who treats chickens?

A. http://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=200108&p=1




To add to this list, please reply to this thread with a general FAQ and Answer / Link in the same format as above:
Q: General Question Here 
A: Link to thread with answers here

NOTE: In an effort to keep this post / thread clean we'll delete off topic replies and maybe other replies once the FAQ is added to this main post.