Posts by pattycake

I handled my birds a lot when they were babies, but they're not exactly cuddly now, at a year old. They like to hang out with me and are basically friendly, but will run away if I try to pick them up.Maybe some chickens are just more...

Yep, I had three Jersey giants who had three different tail types, right up to laying age -- one had no tail at all, just like one of my Speckled Sussexes. Now they all look the same.

Mine run inside when it rains, too. I think they think the sky is falling!

I had a runt chick, too, who just stood under the heat lamp. I thought she'd die. I gave her cooked egg yolk and yogurt and extra attention and she survived, though she lays small eggs!You will throw away a lot of food the first month or...

I ordered double the number of chicks I wanted and gave away the extras on craigslist, including the ones I suspected might be roosters, all as "straight run." I ended up keeping one rooster, who is a cool guy.I was afraid if I...

I agree that even if you freerange, you should have a strong predator-proof run for them. I like mine to be locked up safe at night and when I'm away for the day, and in the winter mine spent much more time in the run than outdoors.I've...

My rooster never tried to crow -- one day he just did it! But by that time I knew he was a he, since he had a huge comb and was twice as big as everyone else.I wasn't planning on having a rooster either, but I really like mine  now....

I feed medicated starter because I'm paranoid. I love the idea of going pure organic, but I'm afraid of kicking myself if they get sick. With my first lot I think I switched to organic chicker grower at 12 weeks.

I have six week old chicks, too, and feed them the yogurt mixed with feed, and was also wondering about buying a bag of grit for them. My older chickens freerange on a huge grit-covered driveway, so I don't worry about them.Meanwhile...

Oh, no! I broke the law by giving away four chicks last year. I had no idea!This year I bought six chicks, because they told me that it was the minimum, but I thought it was just to make ordering worth while. I wanted that many anyway....