Recent content by captbridgers

My apologies for not responding sooner. Fourth and all, you know...coop is small....7 feet long, 3 feet wide & 5 feet tall....just large enough for 5 really. pen is huge...just under 1/4 acre. Then sometimes I let them out to run around the yard..which they prefer, of course, even tho their...

Yep, You need a large pen area if they are all out together. My 3 older girls are not very friendly to the young girls. I have approx 1/8 to 1/4 acre fenced in. I still keep both a small amount of food & plenty of water in the area in which they mostly frequent. When I put it out, I still...

Thanks Poultrybreeder & AdrienneG. Sounds good to me. Lived in Fremont, officed in SF 17 yrs. Loved Santa Cruz & the mtns..Ridge Winery was a favorite hangout! Not too far distant, AdrienneG! Thanks to both of you guys Hope y'all have a happy (and safe) FOURTH. Yeah, the Y'all comes from...

I have a small coop but a huge run. coop size ...4 to 6 hens. I have 3 girls 2 yrs old...just bought 2 new girls, 5 mos old. Was thinking about putting 2 new girls in coop for a few hrs so they could acclimate. Then, in afternoon, releasing them to mingle with older girls. After reading...

Alicat's question was my own...I have a small coop but a huge run. I am adding 2 new 5 mo. olds to 3 2yr olds. I thought about putting the 2 new ones in the coop for a few hrs to acclimatize them to the roost. Then in late afternoon turning them out into the pen until they all go to bed...

Wow! Thanks so much for a terrific article. I need to do a little more work! Keep up providing us with needful info like this!!

I have an egg that "rattles" for want of a better descriptive adverb. When I shake it (don't ask me why I shook it in the first place) it seems half full. What's it's problem? captbridgers

I have seen photos of roosting bars ranging from unknown diameter tree limbs, 2x2's with rounded-off edges to simple round rods, also with indeterminate diameters. My girls have pretty large feet as they are Barred Rocks, Americanas, & Rhode Island Reds. I was wondering if I should try &...

Thanks for your suggestion! Will try it & advise you of its success (hopefully) or failure if it be! Regards, captbridgers

I have fire ant mounds all over the yard. The girls free range in the same area. They won't EAT the fire ants so I have to get rid of the ants. ! HOW?,...without getting rid of them as well? Amdro kills fire ants but I'll bet it won't do my girls any good!! captbridgers

On behalf of "the girls" Thank You!! cb

I give up trying to raise meal worms... too much work...have 4 containers but still can't keep stages separated...smells like bottom of hen coop...Had 5000 worms...now have 5000 beetles...can I feed beetles to my girls? Thanks...my girls will thank you if answer is yes! captbridgers

Thanks for the response. The chart is most helpful. I have a copy in the kitchen, bedroom & laundry room!! It's hard to remember everything that's good or bad! I have probably beengiving them more than 25% of their diet in "treats". I will back off, as I do agree w/ your 10% max...

Yeah, I was wondering, should I wash the greens I get from the grocery store? I didn't think it was important since they eat dirt all the time but maybe there are some residual pest control chemicals present on the leaves. The primary type of greens is collard greens. Thanks for your...