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The questions shouldn't by "why" but rather "why not". I have various breeds in my mixed flock: leghorns, ovambos, Potch koekoes, austrolops and orpingtons (black and buff) and the orpingtons are by far my favourite, especially the buffs. The leghorns were the first members of the flock and I...

On this farm, we certainly DO talk to animals - whether they are pets or farm animals. All living things are treated as "people" around here and they all have names.They always get greeted in the morning and sent off to bed with a "good night, sleep tight" wish too. When they misbehave, they are...

Thanks for sharing this. This is wonderful for DIY buffs (even if you posses 10 thumbs!) Can't wait to try it.

I've heard of the term "blue Orpington" before, but here in South Africa they are commonly referred to as lavenders. It's probably because its a colour that we can more easily identify with the specific breed's plumage.

Orpingtons are just wonderful! They are a friendly and inquisitive breed that seems to like being around people. Buffs are my absolute favourite. They remind me of ginger cats which are always just "different" than other cats. I have 3 Black Orpington roosters (Caesar, Brutus and Titan) and they...

Like a lot of things, I think free ranging is a personal choice, albeit one you should make after careful consideration of the pros and cons. When I got my first flock just over a year ago, there was no other choice than free range as I am an animal loving vegetarian that can't stand the thought...

They are considered point of lay by 20 weeks of age. My hens also lay there first couple of eggs outside (they are free-range in a large 10 x 20m camp with an open coop) - until they realised that they have wonderful little nests inside the coop. Mine taught themselves so to speak. As for what...

I had a rooster like that - a very aptly named leghorn called Hitler. He was real mean and just started attacking anyone who entered the coop area for no reason. We never entered without a broom or rake and always by two's - one to collect eggs and the other as a "lookout". It was really...

Because I'm a vegetarian, all our animals on the farm are free ranging in large camps - the cows, the geese (who roam completely free) and the chickens. One part of my flock was bought from someone else and they were kept in cages. Once we got to the farm and set them free to run and scratch and...

Thanks for the insight!

Ye Yes, I do that too. Half my veggies garden belongs to my flock: kale, mustard greens, turnip greens and spinash. With the spring that just arrived, I plan to increase it to melon, watermelon and pumpkin as suggested elsewhere in the post. They get like kids at a party when they get treats...

Our flock consists of a couple of leghorns (which I got first) and Orpingtons, black and buff. The Orpies are my favourites by far, especially the buffs. They are like ginger cats and have such a wonderful personality. Of all my hens I love my 5 buffs the most. They are docile and...

My flock just love their greens, especially apples and spinash. When they see us coming from the vegetable garden they start running like crazy, ha-ha. My husband usually feed them apples after they have gone soft and floury, quartered. They seem to be able to eat that just fine; it dissappears...

Ha-ha, that NEVER crossed my mind.

Thanks so much! Will have a look.

This is how I started my flock: 4 point of lay hens, a rooster and 22 chicks - which were all supposed ro be females. After losing 60% of the chicks in the space of 2 months I was left with 9 roosters and 3 hens. I felt schnizered by the breeder I bought from. Although I had this many cockrels...

Recently my brood started refusing their store-bought layer feed. It's a good feed, but they don't seem to like it. I started feeding them maize and sunflower seeds and the occasional treat of mustard and spinach, but they seem to be "underfed" and hungry all the time on this. They are...

We have 5 dogs, but they seem to enjoy chasing the chickens more than the meerkats, ha-ha. So they aren't much help. I'm hoping the spring will deter them as more food will become available to them. They've plundered our geese's nests several times as well. Now the geese have learned their...

We've only had ours for 6 months, so we're new to this too. We started with 22 leghorn chicks, 4 POL hens and a rooster. Needless to say, we lost 60% of our chicks and our rooster (Hitler) died 2 months ago. Then we got 19 Orpingtons and we were in love. They have such a sweet disposition -...

Same problem here. This is a very rural, bushy area. Food are scares during the winter months and that's probably why they came scavanging around my coop. Both losses where hens - one only 2 months old. Very hearts-sore. In the meantime I'm loosing eggs as well and my new rooster is all...