Search results for query: *

My ladies are just getting into the swing of laying. Six out of nine so far. So I was blown away yesterday when 4 of the 6 eggs were HUGE. We had 'em for supper tonight and as I broke each egg into the skillet I was amazed. Each and every one was a double yoke! Never had that happen EVER...

Wahoo! Got our first egg today! :D

RIRs. Great egg layers. I had a flock for years. They were stolen and I kinda quit raising chickens for a bit. Got bit by the bug this year and started a new RIR flock (9 and 1). They are from Meyer and have done great! But the website says we should see our first eggs between 16-20 weeks...

I have a new flock of RIRs--a rooster and 9 pullets almost at the point of lay. Tonight as I was putting everyone up for the night, I took a quick peak into the nest box (even tho I haven't heard any egg songs yet.) I was expecting to see 3 pairs of plastic eggs marking the nests and instead...

Trying to keep the run dry. I picked what I thought was the highest spot in the side yard and I STILL have mud problems when it rains. Sand has not helped. I am considering pavers for the area around the coop. :( Rusty

Take that 10 sq ft stuff with a big grain of salt. I have 10 RIRs in a 12 x 16 run--that's over 190 sq ft--and it is way too small for such an active breed. I'm in the process of enlarging it to 12 x 24 (288 sq ft). That better be big enough because I'm out of space to make it any bigger! :D...

:D :D :D I always was a sucker for a happy ending!!

Heartbreaker. I am so sorry for your loss.

For what it's worth: Years back I kept RIRs from my grandfather--the end of his flock. We got down to just one hen. (The rest were stolen. Somehow they missed her!) Henny lived for YEARS as our sole chicken and never seemed to mind that she was our only chook. She laid 3-4 eggs a week...

Biggest mistake was starting in the first place. I was not emotionally prepared for what happened--deformed chicks that I had to euthanize. There's a learning curve with ANY new activity, but chicks are living creatures. They live and breathe and FEEL. I was not prepared for the reality of what...

A pix of Beau I think but I've never tried to do this before

Love that name! :D

Somewhere on here there is a pix of ol Beau. He was 10-11 when the coyotes got him. Otherwise he'd probably STILL be knocking around here. He was a gorgeous buff rock and I still miss him. Rusty

I have GSDs. They look fierce and everyone is afraid of them, so they have their own yard for their own protection from the folks who are afraid of them (even tho we live in the boonies). I also have a 290 sq ft run for my chickens, so the dogs and the chickens never have occasion to interact...

I've got 10 RIRs in a 4x8 coop and it's a bit tight. That's 32 sq ft and reds are smaller than barred rocks. So, no, I don't think that's a big enough coop for 7. Even tho your run is plenty big enough, I can't imagine there'd be near enough roosting space. JMO Rusty

Around here the predators have predators, so we keep all food inside the coop and work at teaching everybody where the feeders are. The coop is like Fort Knox. The run is tight but still... Oh and we have security lights too. They seem to help keep the night visitors at bay,

My babies are out in their coop for the 3rd nite. Come Monday they will get the run of the place for the first time. I expect to have to 'put them to bed' for a few nights until they get the hang of things, but I KNOW better than to risk them out in the run overnight--I won't have any babies...

I'm in Alabama. Winters are rainy here. My coops are 4 x8 with wood floors that house no more than 9 hens and a rooster in each. I use fine pine shavings and deep litter method. Dust monthly with DE. I clean the coops spring and fall. No smell. No flies. My runs are natural packed dirt...

FWIW: I raised 6 RIRs to 12 weeks before I let them free range. They loved it! They had a whole 2 acres to range with lots of tree cover. I decided to run quick to the store at the end of the road for a Slurpy. Gone not even 10 minutes. Came back to 6 dead, mangled, bloody bodies. Never...

So I asked Meyers if the RIR photos on their site are stock pix or their own stock and was told they are shots of their own breeding stock. This leaves me hopeful of typey RIRs. I'm not expecting show stock or anything--just birds that actually look like nice, dark RIRs. Time will tell. Now I...