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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...

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...

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...

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!!

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!

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?

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...

Two of my 15 chicks seem to have chronic pasty butt. And the strange thing is is that they are the same breed (silver laced wyandotte - the only two of that breed in the bunch). All of the other chicks haven't had a single episode, but I'm cleaning these two off at least twice a day. Anything I...

Look OK? We are using our huge bathtub that no one ever uses :)

Hi all! We are steadily working on our coop and starting to think about feed and watering systems. I see lots of options out there. We have a rain barrel that would like to utilize for watering. Anyone have a tried-and-true watering system using a rain barrel? Also wondering what the best...

The coop we have started building has 2 windows on the front. They are one of the most expensive parts of the plan. We live in NC and it doesn't get that cold here in the winters. I'm wondering if we really need glass windows or if we could just frame them out smaller and put hardware cloth over...

Hi all! I've read three books now on raising chickens and I still have four unanswered questions. Hoping you all can help. - Does litter just go in the coop itself, or on the floor of the run as well? - If the run is predator safe (we plan on using hardware cloth buried around perimeter...

My husband is trying to convince me that we need a rooster (we don't even have our chicks yet!). I'm not convinced, but if I was to humor him, what breed is best? We have small children, so the more docile, the better. If we get a rooster and he "services" our mixed flock, are all the chicks...

Hello all! Chicken newbie here :) I am getting my 15 chicks in mid-February. I will start them inside, but am wondering when it is OK to move them to coop. I'd like to move them by the third week in March because we have house guests coming that probably won't appreciate sharing their bathroom...