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I am a veteran chicken owner and I've long believed in the virtues of not heating the coop. I've read all the threads before, and feel pretty knowledgeable about chicken care in cold weather but I'm having some very specific trouble today so I thought I'd come for some advice. This isn't the...

Hi all, I've been agonizing over tree selection for my backyard for about a year or two now. I recently lost my filbert tree to verticillium wilt. Before the tree died, I had a big problem with the view out the back windows: we have a terribly ugly apartment complex right behind our house...

Pictures in the first comment! I'm so excited about the new chicken run I've been working on building. In its design, I'm attempting to address several problems that I've had over the years and to achieve a huge dream, which is to produce a lot of the chickens' feed! The problems are: The...

Though I've had chickens for many years now, I've never felt like I'm adequately addressing the issue of poo. I'm planning to make major changes in this department though, so I'm here for advice. I use the deep litter method, very poorly, but also planning to improve on that front. I'm going...

Eleven years ago, I adopted a cat that was already declawed, since its owner could no longer keep it. I am personally quite fervently opposed to declawing, but I took her in anyway since it obviously wasn't the cat's fault that she was declawed! I read up on the procedure at the time, and...

I've had the crazy idea of keeping a dairy goat for about 8 months or a year before selling it to another owner (long story, not worth going into). I know that goats are herd animals and they need company, but I'm wondering, do I really need two (or three) goats, or are there other ways to...

Hi everyone, I have a situation here and I don't have all the facts yet, but I want to get started with some detective work and crisis management. A while ago, I gave my two Wyandottes to a new neighbor who bought a house from a former chicken owner, complete with the coop. The new neighbor...

Hi all, I'm about to rework my backyard setup - getting rid of two hens and adding my three junior pullets to the one adult hen I have left. My ugly DIY-from-scrap coop has got to go and I want something pretty in its place. My husband has his ideas for what he's going to build and I feel...

Hi all, I've posted this before, but I need some reassurance because I'm between a rock and a hard place. I promised my son that he could raise his own chicks when he turns four (this year) and it's a promise I can't take back. But my husband wants to be able to enjoy his backyard again. He...

Hi BYC, I have a problem and I need some advice. A family problem. Specifically, that my family hates my chickens. And it turns out, I am remarkably sensitive to stone-throwing and criticism and I just can't deal with it, to the point that I'm just about ready to throw in the towel after...

Sigh...five years into owning hens and some days I still feel like I know absolutely nothing. So after saying goodbye to our first coop (a mostly successful coop that was getting old), we went with a chicken tractor this summer. I promptly realized I hated the chicken tractor method and so I...

Hi BYC, I'd love to hear some stories of a time when "mama bear mode" kicked in for you over something that happened to your child, and what it made you feel like physically. Whenever a kid is mean to my kid (who is honestly too young to really understand how mean others are being, so it...

I'm struggling with out-of-control levels of year-round shedding from my dog. The cat isn't so great either, but the dog sheds enough for me to sweep up a pile twice a day. My house is disgusting and she stinks up the whole downstairs. I can't sit on my couches because they're too gross from...

I'm about to change my hens' living situation from free-ranging to living in a chicken tractor. I think it'll be big enough to keep them happy, but I wanted to know if you guys had any tips on things I should expect. I'm sure it's going to be quite a big adjustment for my ladies who've always...

I thought I was having a really low-production spring this year. The girls just went on strike several times and I wasn't getting any eggs from them. But I didn't worry much because I could think of several likely potential causes of this (like changing food types). Today I went to chop...

Hi all, I've been thinking about putting in a hoop tractor for a long time and I've gone through the album on this site countless times, as well as Google images and any other place I can think of. But I'm not really sure of the specific features I want my coop to have. My husband is at the...

My chickens have suddenly started excavating in one spot under my back fence, presumably to get out of the yard. I have no idea why they'd be doing this...I've had chickens for five years and never had anything like this happen. Any ideas why they might be doing this? There's nothing back...

Hi BYC, I'm feeling a little frustrated with the low level of egg laying I'm experiencing out of this current batch of chickens. In the scheme of things, I'm pretty new to chicken keeping. I've raised two batches of chickens, so I wouldn't say I'm an expert on breeds and what's fair to...

Hi BYCers, I have a quick question for those of you out there with pregnancy and insurance experience. During my first pregnancy, my boss suspiciously "couldn't afford to pay for the company's health insurance anymore" because the company was supposedly in financial trouble. He cut off the...

I am pregnant for the second time! The first time I had a boy and when I went for my 20 week appointment, it was clear as day that I was having a boy. This time, I went in for my second doctor's appointment at 18 weeks and the OB himself did a quick gender check apart from the official "big"...