Recent content by naughtyhens

  1. naughtyhens

    My Hatching Experiment

    This is my Stella last November about a month before she started laying. The funny thing is, I always thought my Cochin, Cosette, would be the mama hen, because cochins are supposed to be so broody and such good mothers. So I got a dozen ceramic eggs and left one new fake egg in the nest box...
  2. naughtyhens

    Adding a bottom and possibly tractoring a prefab coop

    I am not good with power tools but I bought an ark with no bottom and knew I had to do something to keep predators from burrowing underneath, especially living on a hill as I do. Even in city limits I see raccoons, rats, skunks and possums as well as hawks and crows. I just bought a roll of...
  3. naughtyhens

    Chickens on the Porch and Driveway!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

    This was me last summer. Chicks free ranging in the yard- no problem. Juvenile chickens in the yard- no problem. Full size hens on the porch and coming up the stairs to the kitchen and eating cat food out of the cat's dish? too much. Poop everywhere! Friends horrified. They wanted to...
  4. naughtyhens

    About to try to let broody raise day-olds but have logistical question

    I'm so pleased to see your hen with the babies. I was thinking about them from time to time today. She'll keep them warm. I know it is odd to see them run around in the cold when a brooder has to be so warm, but now they know how cozy it us under her they'll run there as soon as they feel...
  5. naughtyhens

    Grit

    My first chicks got sand that I liberated from a playground a few blocks away- only about a tablespoon full so I didn't feel bad. I think there is a lot of leeway. They went through that sand quickly and later, whatever was on the ground when I took them outside for day range lessons. I'd...
  6. naughtyhens

    About to try to let broody raise day-olds but have logistical question

    Take the golf balls away when you put in the chicks. You don't want her waiting around for them to hatch. She'll be great. Nice coop!
  7. naughtyhens

    Vent sexing?

    Curious about vent sexing myself. How do you train for this career? Day old chicks are the size of an egg and wiggly. How do you do a pelvic exam on a little ball of fluff with legs? Tiny stirrups? Poor peeps!
  8. naughtyhens

    About to try to let broody raise day-olds but have logistical question

    I would hold the babies in a brooder the day they arrive and put them under the BO in the middle of the night, when she's really out of it. Odds are good she'll take them if she's really good and broody but it's better if she hears and feels them before she sees them. It's scary but they will...
  9. naughtyhens

    Broody attacking new chicks...HELP

    Keep everyone in the dark. Hens bond with their chicks through sound. She'll make friends with them by clucking to them when they peep to her. Then by the time she sees them she'll be used to the idea. Give it a day or two and I bet all will be well.
  10. naughtyhens

    chicken poop

    I have the same issue with my Cochin. She has so many feathers back there they are always poopy. I feel like If I give her a bath, she'll just poop on herself five minutes later. I'm seriously thinking of trimming those feathers that are in the line of fire. She's so pretty- from the front.
  11. naughtyhens

    Pine Shavings = Grit?

    Shavings are for absorbency and footing. Grit is for grinding of food as chickens can't chew. I've heard that if you give them treats in addition to chick starter you should give them some grit. Personally I believe in a little sandbox for chicks from the beginning no matter what you're using...
  12. naughtyhens

    egg shells

    They will still eat their regular food. Have fun!
  13. naughtyhens

    How much chirping is normal for baby chicks?

    chirping like little songbirds is good. Chirping like a smoke alarm going off means they are in great distress. sounds like your chicks are fine.
  14. naughtyhens

    Plants that are ok to plant around the coop!

    Here's what's growing around my coop and run: Ivy- bad for chickens but they don't eat it (mine). Butterfly weed- again, bad for chickens but they just don't eat it. Passion flower vine- they don't seem to eat it- grows like crazy and will cover the trees if I don't prune it back hard. Blue...
  15. naughtyhens

    AHH! The chickens have gone mad!

    I'm just a newbie but- maybe your rooster has more girlfriends than he can handle? It sounds more like your eggs are iffy than that the hens are slipping up. You're still getting lots of chicks. My full size cochin flirts with going broody but has never done more than sit for a few hours a...
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