Recent content by Rivenwood

I have a rock hen who lost her companion last weekend, and my new birds are too young and inexperienced for free-ranging with her yet, and she hates being locked up in a coop! So I am hoping perhaps someone on BYC near-ish Portland has a bird they're looking to part ways with. We don't need a...

When I got my goats as kids (fiber goats I may add), my uncles asked if we would be supplying everybody with mutton when they grew up Some people just don't get it. Be proud and enjoy your flock!

You could try a miniature Australian Shepherd. They tend to run 12-14" at the shoulder. I have a friend who raises them (and toy Aussies) and she's very carefully bred to remove a lot of the herding/chasing instinct but every now and then it will crop up when she has to bring in some new lines...

She's purebred cutie-pie :) Color-wise, she looks like a sooty linebacked buckskin, or perhaps a sooty dun. That would toss out being any pure breed that doesn't carry those genetics. Given that you're in the PacNW (hello neighbor! I am near Portland) I would not be surprised if she carried...

My Wyandotte was handled a lot as a chick which made her a very sweet, agreeable hen. She would let you pick her up and would hang out while she was carried around without complaint. Never once pecked at anybody. I miss her a lot. I just got some young Salmon Faverolles and so far they've been...

I found out when I got chickens that seasons make a difference in production as well. My two rock hens Laverne and Shirley were about 18 months old (roughly) when they decided to move in with us in the spring. Throughout the spring and summer, we were getting about 16-20 eggs a week from them on...

There's a workaround that disables Flash if you're using Chrome. It will also stop the autoplay on Facebook. The only caveat is that you have to right click and select "Run this plugin" in order to get any videos to play. It's one minor extra step but I have loved disabling Flash except for when...

Does anybody know if the peanut butter ball method is safe use around goats? My Nigerian Dwarves and Pygoras are all little Houdinis and get out of everything (and into everything else!). I have a few places rats are going that the goats and other animals do not, but I don't want to risk a...

Aww I am sorry you lost such a young one. Rosie seemed pretty good, was a bit lethargic the day before she passed but the weather was starting to warm and it was a bit humid in the barn so I figured that was all. I should have checked her more closely. Live and learn. What she taught me, I can...

I lost my Rosie, the same breed as your Ethel, 2 days ago to what I believe was the same thing. She was about 6 years old and still was producing eggs every now and then. I am so sorry for your loss, I know how hard it is

Thank you!

Thanks so much! I have had a blast reading through the information here, there is so much! I am sure BYC will be a wonderful resource to help me learn and start my own program :)

Oh very nice! Howdy neighbor!

In my state, prosecuting someone for trespassing is difficult unless you have a "No Trespassing" sign up, so I would start by putting something on the gate that says that. Otherwise getting a camera is a good idea, perhaps two (one pointed at the gate and one pointed at the coop). You can get...

Hehe, yes, I have drawn a little layout on paper tonight for a coop with two sections, as we like the sounds of Lavender Orpingtons and figured maybe we'd keep the different breeds separate. I believe my husband's thinking to himself "Well, a few more chickens is better than another horse"