Search results for query: *

My broody hen hatched out some chicks this weekend. I had her in a rather constricted brooder box, and wanted to give her some more space, now that the babies are running about. I put in a chicken wire internal fence, fencing off part of the main coop run - there is a...

One of my hens went broody 2 months ago, and hatched out 4 chicks. I don't know their gender yet, but am gearing up for all eventualities . I have room for 4 more girls, and can fit in 1 more rooster, but if there are more cockerels I can't keep them. These are not meat birds - one is pure...

I need some advice please. I have a little flock of (originally) 6 chickens - 5 hens and a rooster. Recently both the rooster and one hen were killed by the neighbour's dog (this is being dealt with, and is not a problem now that we know what has happened). I really liked my Silver Spangled...

In my arrogance I have avoided this forum; I thought that I had everything right, and bad things wouldn't happen. Well, so much for that. Several weeks ago my rooster was killed by "something". But that was just bad luck, right? Today one of my hens was grabbed by the neighbour's dog - the...

I keep a plastic Easter egg in each of my girls' nest boxes, the kind that can be split open, and filled with goodies. They are, of course, very light weight, and the girls seem to like playing soccer with them, and kicking them all about the coop. And, also of course, they tend to break open...

I don't know if this is a problem or not. I'm actually OK with letting nature take it's course. But one of my 5 hens hasn't laid an egg (that I know of) since a week before Christmas, so I thought I would bring it here, to the experts. Some background: - She is a silver spangled Hamburg -...

I have a question that I'm sure people here can help me with. How many different kinds of combs are there - pea combs, rose combs, etc? and what do they all look like? I have NHR hens, EE hens, and a pair of Silver Spangled Hamburgs - the combs are different, and I don't know the names. Any...

Has anyone else noticed this? When I make soft boiled eggs I usually do 4 at a time. I put them in my smallest saucepan, just cover with water, and set them on high heat. When the eggs start to jiggle in the almost boiling water I set the timer for 2 min., 45 sec., and when the water starts...

My Silver Spangled Hamburg pullet is acting weird. My 5 girls are all about 22 1/2 weeks old, and I got my first egg about 3 weeks ago. The SSH is the only white egg layer among them, so I know for sure that her first egg was on 7/27, with another on 7/29 and 7/30. Nothing since. The eggs...

My pullets started laying at almost 20 weeks; they are 22 1/2 weeks now. I have 2 NH Reds, 2 Ameracaunas/EEs, and 1 Silver Spangled Hamburg. (They started laying - of course - while we were on vacation; my cat/chicken/garden lady gave the egg to her cousin as it was his 10th birthday - he was...

Hi everybody. I got my 6 chicks at the beginning of March, and spent some time building them a coop, after looking through all the great advice here at BYC. My DH was very sick last year (better now), and I needed some therapy after tending him (and dealing with insurance people :o ), so I...

This is traditional with roast beef; it was baked in the pan with the fat and drippings from the beef. But I have had it with roast chicken, instead of potatoes, and it was good. Use a pan approx 11"x7"; bigger will work, but the pudding won't rise as high. Cast iron holds the heat well...

Which do you prefer for feeders and waterers? And why? I was doing a bit of "research" at the farm store today, preparing for my new chicks coming in a couple of months, and was wondering what, besides price, are the pros and cons of each type. Thanks for any input.

I was looking at this site yesterday - http://www.lionsgrip.com/chickens.html - and saw their recommendation to feed fresh, wild fish to chickens. Does anybody do this? Wouldn't it give the eggs a fishy taste? Another suggestion of theirs makes more sense to me, to feed them seaweed as a...

My DH just started a short term restricted diet that, among other things, doesn't allow egg yolks. He's only been on it for 2 days, and I already have 4 yolks in the freezer! And we have another 2 weeks to go. Does anyone have any wonderful recipes that will use up several yolks, and no or...

My planned coop will be where there are iris now, as well as a clematis vine. I will be removing the iris, and planning around the clematis, but it has set me thinking about toxic plants for the hens. I've found several interesting sites, but they don't specifically mention whether or not a...

Hi everybody; I am still in the planning stages for my proposed small flock of layers. My plan is to get some chicks next spring, so as to have the fun of raising them, and the goodness of their eggs when that time comes. Due to space constraints my maximum number will be 6. I would like to...

I am hoping to get a few chicks next spring, for eventual eggs. Their house is still only a few different thoughts in my head, but I'm getting lots of ideas here (for which I thank you all). I'm thinking of a raised building, with enough room underneath so they can get out of the Oregon rain...

When making a new post i am typing into an invisible message field, that is, typing blind. Does anyone else have this problem? Any ideas on how to fix it? Thanks.

I'm looking forward to learning a lot here.