Recent content by Anika Bren

For the last four years I have had Phoenix and Dorking roosters running together, with younger cockerels until they get sold or eaten. I have only had one fight between the alpha and second. I sold the deposed alpha. None of them are the same age and they are free range during the day. If I were...

My last alpha roo got a bit lazy when it came to the cats and one of my cats would take a chick if the hen was not very watchful. When the new alpha roo took over he spent about two weeks making sure the cockerels and cats knew who was boss. By the end of the two weeks not one of my cats will...

Alright I have seen the "you have to have a rooster to get eggs" myth come up several time in this thread. Now I have the opposite story. A friend of mine has chickens to sell eggs. She has about thirty hens. She used to keep one rooster until someone told her that if you have a rooster that the...

It is sad that the media likes to sensationalize things, if the child had been killed by an English Springer Spanial it would never had made the news. It has happened here and the trainer who had previously evaluated the dog as dangerous(the owners would not believe her) tried to get the media...

I have some Phoenix that have been flying over a 6' fence since 5.5 weeks old. They found a less than 6" gap and out they went.

There are a few other forums(non-chicken) that I used to go on frequently, but they have gotten to the point that no matter what the original thread is about someone will attack someone else. Many times they attack people that are not even on the thread. The saddest part about the whole thing is...

Great Picture! I would hate to wake up on the ground with that above me.

Has anybody ever seen a standard cockerel bred to a standard hen throw bantams? I have five pullets by my standard red Dorking cockerel out of a standard red Dorking hen that at 6 weeks old are about half the size than other standard Dorking chicks. Any ideas?

Congratulations!

Thank you for everyone's suggestions. Anianna, great idea. Keeps the chicks from getting too close to the cold, lets them come and go as they please and keeps the ice packs clean. No chance of the sun hitting them were they will be at, though there is plenty of natural light.

Luckily we don't get 115 all summer, just a week here and there. The office is mainly for making buiness calls, filling out and storing paperwork, other than that I am either outside or in the main house, which has air conditioning. Most days the air is fairly dry so I have been outside...

I have got some chicks coming on June 3. Where I live that could mean temperatures anywhere from 90 degrees to 115 degrees. At those temperatures the office that they are going to be in will be anywhere from 80 degrees to 105 degrees. I know that too high of ambient temperatures will kill them...

I will say that the employees at both local TSCs know nothing or very little about livestock, but neither do the employees at our local feed stores. I always take that into account be for I go. On the other hand both have employees that will bend over backward to help you. Always smiling and...

I do know that the eggs did have growing embryos. Sounds like the concensis is they are immature and inexperianced. I have time and patience for them to mature and learn. She was back on them most of the day today and she is still on them at night. I guess I'll know in a week. Thank you for all...

I have Dorkings. The reason I went with Dorkings is their strong brooding instinct. I have recently had two broody hens abandon their eggs 5 days before the eggs were due to hatch. They are freerange during the day and are locked in at night. They are both nine months old. This most recent...