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I am sure this has been asked, but I can't seem to find it....so.... how much do you feed your hens? Mine free range for about 3 hours a day. I can't free feed or they will eat me into the poorhouse (seriously these girls eat A LOT!) I've heard 1/4 lb of food per hen. Does that seem about right...

We've kept her in a dark room and limited her feed, but she laid an egg this morning and prolapsed again. We've tried 4 times now to push it back in with prep-h and honey but it just doesn't want to stay. Poor thing -it was her first egg and I just don't think her body was ready.

One of our young EEs has suffered prolapse (on her first egg ever!) and of course it is right before we are supposed to leave for vacation. We have someone coming to check on the girls every few days, but I'm wondering what is the best course of action for our prolapsed chicken. Right now she is...

My 4.5 month old EE had a very rough time this morning laying her first egg. It was sticking out of her duct, with bloody membrane kind of holding it half in/half out, and she walked around like that for a good hour before I could catch her (she is difficult and does not like to be held). I...

What is DLM?

Before I got my 13 hens, I had a naively idyllic vision of them freeranging within our large fenced in yard (almost an acre). I thought with that much space, the poop factor would be minimal. Wrong. SO.MUCH.POOP. And to make matters worse, they really seem to love to congregate on our deck and...

Our chicks are 2 months old. We currently have the nesting boxes closed off because they were sleeping (and, of course, pooping) in them. When should we open them back up? Thanks!

We just moved our 4 week old chicks to their coop (no other chickens in it). Nights are still cold here (in the 20s) so we put their heat plate under a huddle box inside the coop. For the past 2 nights, I've had to physically move them under it after I find them huddled together in one of the...

Sealed up tight from predators. Plenty of ventilation. Just a few small gaps where I think mice or snakes MIGHT be able to get through that I want to plug up.

Our coop is sealed up pretty tight but has a few areas, mostly along roof, that have small cracks and gaps. What is the best thing to fill these? Canned gap filler? Steel wool? Thanks!!

There is no heat in the bathroom but it rarely gets below 50-60 degrees in there because the rest of the house is heated. They are using a heat plate instead of a lamp for warmth. Should I start taking that from them during the day? I like the idea of the huddle box. The coop isn't finished yet...

Our chicks will be 4 weeks old on Monday and are currently residing in our bathtub :) We have guests coming next weekend and need to get them out of the guest bathroom and into the coop. They are getting lots of feathers but still have fuzz on heads and undersides. The temperatures next week...

Do external access nesting boxes need latches/locks? Ours are elevated about 3 ft off the ground and open from the top. The coop plan doesn't call for any but just wondering if there is any predator that could figure out how to get in? Thanks!

We went to ReStore but they didn't have the right size so I think we are just going to go with hardware and shutters. We had friends over yesterday to do a "coop raising" - kind of like and Amish barn raising but with fewer beards and more beer :)

You all have been such a great resource and I'm so glad to have you all here. A few of the chicks have little tiny pieces of poop stuck on their fuzz. It is not blocking their vent. I'm wondering if I should just monitor this or treat it. Will they pick this off on their own?

Thanks all!

Restore is a great suggestion! Thanks :)

It is an electric heater. The bathroom tends to get very cold so I thought some additional heat might be warranted, but maybe not then? Without the space heater, I'm guessing the room temp would get down to 55-60. The heat plate is for chicks (premiere) and they can touch it with their backs...

They are not huddled together.

Hi all, We received our chicks on Tuesday and just lost a second one (out of 15) tonight (the other died this morning). Both seemed fine yesterday. They are on medicated feed and we are using a heat plate that they spend some time under, but not a lot (they do sleep under it at night). I know...