I get hatchery hens as well. My girls are young still. A year and a half.
I do not think I have it in me to give one away lol.
I would be more inclined to just keep the original 4 and deal with a few less eggs in the winter then lose one of the crew.
Thanks for the info.
Older hen it is.
Being raised alone was a big concern of ours as well, just forgot to mention it.
I will probably throw up a new fenced in area maybe 8x4'. Leave a cage with some straw at night for the new one to go in and let her hang there for a few days. and go from...
Hi everyone.
I have room in my coop for 1 more hen and only 1 more. We are just a little shy of eggs in the winter for the 2 of us with the 4 hens.
I know the rule of thumb is not to integrate 1 hen but multiples so they have their own buddies, but that won't work for us.
My main question is...
Hi Everyone.
Does anyone recognize this and have any tips for the cure? I am relatively new to chicken raising and this is my first encounter with something like this.
We did have a cold spell just before Christmas and thought it might be frost bite but my coop is insulated and i have read that...
Thanks.
I am trying to avoid running extension cords all the way across my backyard.
Has anyone ever tried the water fall battery operated style bowls in my type of climate. In theory as long as the batteries don't die it should freeze in any temp no?
Not a ton of room in the coop i suppose.
My thought about inside is that it wouldn't freeze as quickly.
All the chickens just use the left nesting box as i have read is very common. Is it such a bad idea to put the water in the right nesting box and have a little set up so they can't crap in...
No silkies. but i will keep that in mind because i was thinking about getting one.
I have covered all the insulation. One of the first things i read on here:)
I have a heated bowl that will be near the house and i was going to just bring them fresh water 2 or 3 times a day and switch it once...
It doesn't snow like it used too thats for sure (insert walking up hill both ways in s snow storm comment)
You just gave me a great idea though. I might just take a sheet of ply wood and run it over the top exposed area out past the door and put a couple legs on it like a veranda. That way i...
Thanks for the tip on the region.
So no need to worry about the -20c days and frost bite? Between the insulation and deep litter and size/tightness they will be ok?
What temperature would you say you need to start worrying?
Hi everyone. Just looking for some advice on whether i should get set up to have some heat in the coop for winter. I really don't want to buy a heater and run extension cords across my lawn. If i going to do something i might burry some conduit and run a plug out there. But a lot of work...
Hi everyone. Looking for some advice before I put in a bit of work to extend my run size.
I have 4 hens. I have one of those designs where my little run is directly under the coop. The coop is 4x3 up top and the run I extended out a bit underneath to be 4x5.
My girls free range in my decent...