So out of the blue, one of my gold comet hens went broody. On a whim, I got some fertile eggs. The we're laid by gold comet hens with a RIR rooster. I'm curious about what the offspring will be like, and especially if I will be able to sex then by color. Any info would be much appreciated.
So for some reason one of my gold comets got it in her brain to start brooding. I thought it might be short lived, but she's been at it full-time for about four days now. I got my hands on some fertile eggs (comets bred with a RIR rooster) and stuck 14 of them under her butt. She's using one...
Sorry for the crummy pictures. My hens were being flighty and wouldn't hold still for a picture. Of my two golden comets one has tail feathers that droop. They both act very healthy and happy. I previously had a set of Rhode Island Reds (referred to as the "twins") and one of them had a...
Hi everybody,
Long-time chicken oficionado, trying to figure out ducks. I have two Khaki Campbell ducklings who were the same size when I got them (they were a week or two old). They're probably closer to 6 weeks now and one of them is twice the size of the other. My curiosity is if this...
I already have a few chickens and somewhat impulsively bought two khaki campell ducklings this weekend. Lady at the feed store sold me broiler grower to feed them. They seem to be doing ok for the two days I've had them. they are picking out the smaller pieces in the feed, which i think i...
I'm thinking ahead to my next flock. Currently my chicken's run has six foot fencing all around except the front is only four feet high. Currently my RIR, Delaware and Gold Comet chickens are unable to fly over with clipped wings. However, I'm considering at least one leghorn in my next...
Here's a link to my automatic door opener. I ended up buying the D-20 automatic pop door opener and fastening it to my own sliding pop door. It was the cheapest option and has worked great. I didn't see many videos that reviewed it in any depth, so here you get a close up on how it works.
I already know I'm going to get some comments from people who disagree with my methods, but here goes:
My chickens are too loud. I spent over $100 to make them a new automatic door thinking that would solve the problem, but they are still making a racket in the morning. This is a big deal...
This link is a video tour of my chicken coup. Hopefully helpful to anyone looking for ideas as they build their coop or just for anyone interested. Spent countless hours planning this thing and have made many modifications along the way. I think I've finally found the winning ticket, although...
I can't believe how much people are asking for them on my local (Portland, OR) Craigslist. Absolutely ridiculous. If people are really paying that much I'll make a killing.
So it has now been a year since we began the great eggsperiment and I pause to share my insights with anyone who cares to listen. We had chickens growing up, but we also had more land and they had their designated space far from the house. I consider this completely different.
We have been...
Anybody ever used one of these?
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3510043
I have gotten tired of my chickens making lots of noise wanting to get out of the coop in the mornings. I'm thinking of building a new coop that is smaller. As a side note, the 4 sq/ft rule per...
I've been reading through the forums looking for ideas on this and have had to laugh at all of the people who say chickens (I'm just talking about hens) kept in a backyard don't make any more noise than the occasional dog barking, etc. HA! My chickens are SO LOUD! In part I think it is my...
My chickens started laying in January. First my gold comet started laying and her eggs quickly went from small to medium to large. Then my RIR's and lastly my deleware started to lay. These last three's eggs have stayed medium sized. I've noticed (at least it seems to me) that the yolks are...
I keep my backyard chickens for three primary reasons:
1. Eggs
2. Fertilizer
3. Pest control
Very bummered today when I three some carpenter ants I found in the garage to the chickens and they didn't even go for it. They usually attack all insects with reckless abandon. I guess I'll just have...
Here are a couple of pictures of the inside of my coop:
I'm toying with the idea of making some kind of a poop board. The inside of the coop pictured is only about three feet deep and not quite four feet long. You can see that the roost runs across the coop and over the top of one of the...
I am coming up on the end of my bag of poultry feed. It is not layer feed, just regular feed. Since I bought the bag, the girls have started laying. I have been feeding them back their eggs shells and they also get to free range all day every day in my smallish suburban back yard. Their...
I got to be home all day today, and since we got a break in from the constant rain, I got to spend some time outside observing the girls. The gold comet started laying right after new years and the others are looking ready. Today, one of the RIR's was acting really funny. Leaving the other...
I wasn't expecting any eggs yet. Chickens were born mid August. I suspect it is Ginger, our gold sex link that layed both of them. We came home from being out of town for the weekend and I was cleaning out their coop. To my great surprise, I found an egg. My daughter and I brought it in to...