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When my hubby built our first coop we covered it with a tarp, and added another every year or two depending on the level of deterioration in our extreme summers in ENC. These resulted in accumulation of several layers and unfortunately the perfect air BNB for rats...I've battled them for a year...

There is a product called Rat X that is only toxic to rats, interferes with their ability to thirst so they dehydrate and die in their sleep. It also eliminates the odor of their death. Walmart and Amazon sell it-good info & explanation on the Rat X website.

There is a product called Rat X that is only toxic to rats, interferes with their ability to thirst so they dehydrate and die in their sleep. It also eliminates the odor of their death. Walmart and Amazon sell it-good info & explanation on the Rat X website.

It's called Rat X and is only toxic to rats. Good info on their website, sold by Walmart and Amazon.

Hi folks! Sorry this is long, but wanted to be thorough. Just wanted suggestions & advice. My 16 hens are all almost 2 yrs old, with 3 diff batches being about 2-4 weeks apart in age. I used to have 2 brahmas but found one dead at the bottom of the roosting bars several months ago - don't know...

I just mix up first Saturday lime, sand, and if I have some, wood ash. About a third of each.

Thanks again for the speedy reply, it all makes perfect sense. I had a good laugh at your comment about the "mental leap"...too funny but so very true. I'll keep ya posted.

Thank you for the suggestion, I'm placing my order right now. My only questions are whether the chickens will try to get the mice out of the bucket when they see them, try to eat the peanut butter, or should I just put the buckets outside of the coop and hope the mice visit them first? For...

Okay, I've read till my head feels like it will explode. Some of you may remember my post about the chicken feeder made from a garbage can with 8 feeder holes. I made it so when I go back to work (12 hr days jan-april, tax season), I won't have to worry about feeding, watering, or letting them...

It's my understanding that corn or scratch, right before bedtime will help them stay warm. I also notice that mine huddle when they're cold. They're all about a year old now and our winters rarely get below 30°F and when they do it's for short periods. I'm in Eastern NC. I worry about mine too...

I store my unopened and partially opened bags in one of those huge recycle type bins on wheels that our city provides for our trash pickup (we burn out stuff instead) AND I use a 31 gal aluminum can to mix my feed in and store what hasn't been taken to the coop. I've never had a mouse or rat...

My problem that causes dirty eggs sometimes twice a week is my Brahma girls being heavier and poking their nails through the eggs by accident, I'm sure. Usually there's no remaining sign of yoke except for the stickiness and straw. Sometimes I retrieve an egg with a hole in it that hasn't been...

That sounds like what I'd been doing with the white plastic, but much easier than all the stapling and taping. Since I have to replace it anyway, I think I'll be buying tarps! But, question, do you cover the top, bottom, or middle of your sidewalls? My girls jockey for the two highest rungs of...

Thank you all so much for your replies, suggestions, and reassuring comments. I'll focus on preventing direct wind and not so much temperature because even if we get low temps, they're seldom lower than 20°F. Last year I covered with so much plastic, I couldn't believe the dust that accumulated...

Does the forecast in the article below concern anyone else in my area, or am I worrying too much? Should I take any particular steps to safely keep my 17 girls warmer this winter? Their coop is made from chain link overlayed with hardware and chicken wire. There is also shade cloth over 3...

I don't know if any of you like and grow okra or not, but I've recently discovered that several of my girls like the leaves, so I've added them to my "arsenal" of efforts to supplement my feeding costs. My girls get all kinds of garden goodies during fall cleanup.

Absolutely! I grow them primarily for that reason, although I love the seeds as a snack myself. Growing LOTS of sunflowers (both mammoth and Black) keep me from having to buy the flock seeds during the winter. When they're harvested, I hang the heads from the ceiling in my shed, in a paper bag...

Hi there! First off, forget about having grass with chickens IF they spend more time on it than off. However, tossing cover crop or forage seed and keeping them off of it for a few weeks, will have it back and lush in no time. While you're at it, build yourself one of those hardware cloth boxes...

Sorry, I'm just seeing this question and wanted to add my two cents, but I hope you've gotten satisfactory answers by now. When we first got started with chickens my hubby bought Cornish cross by accident. YES, they will eat until no food can be found! I tried one of those bucket feeders that...

That's pretty reassuring about the self regulating...I've been trying to reduce my feed cost and useage, sure don't wanna increase it because I change feeders. I go back to seasonal work in January, 4 days a week, 12 hrs per day. That feeder and my 45 gal drum waterer, as well as my auto door...