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Quote: Yes, that's what we did with our first hens, just filled the eggs with sand/gravel from the property and superglued them shut. With my bantams, I got a bag of small wooden eggs from Hobby Lobby and spray painted them with some glossy almond paint we had here. P.S. I've had the same...

An oversimplification of drafts vs ventilation would be drafts are low, ventilation is up high (over their heads to exhaust moisture).

Quote: I sure agree with you, Walt. If I was a breeder with hundreds of birds, you bet that's the way it would be. I still won't treat respiratory contagions. That's completely bad husbandry. No one has died from cocci, never had Mareks here, don't vaccinate for anything and don't plan to do...

Quote: If I can determine that one individual bird has something like pneumonia or a fungal infection, then that is a different situation. As long as it is not something contagious, I have no problem with treating. If contagious, culling, to me, is the only option. About a week post-fungal...

Some chickens are chronic sneezers, trust me. I have one particular hen who has sneezed for four of her five years. There's nothing wrong with her unless her nasal passages are just not formed well. What I don't believe in doing is treating contagious respiratory infections and keeping...

Many hatchery types won't ever go broody. You can leave eggs in the coop to pile up and rot and they still won't set on those eggs. Broodiness has simply been bred out of many hatchery type hens, even breeds would normally be known for that trait, in favor of better egg production. Hens...

Even with a lifetime of experience you can never know everything. You are absolutely correct. I've seen folks with far less than 20 years experience who are much more informed and competent than some with far more than 20 years. I don't know why the arbitrary 20 year cut-off, in truth. Just...

Bobbi, moisture protection is another great reason to paint the interior, agreed. And wet poop can't soak into untreated wood, as it tends to do when it gets splattered on walls from the roost. How on earth do they sling poop? Amazing, but they sure do!

Painted interiors are much easier to disinfect. Though we never did it in the past, I have started painting the interior of any new ones we build with Oops! paint from Home Depot, which keeps it very cheap (and extremely colorful, LOL!). I used oil-based exterior paint inside the newest one on...

Suede is such a homebody. I keep saying he just doesn't get the concept of free ranging so I just lock him back in the pen, silly thing. Now, my hatchery Buff Orp hen who is six and was raised roaming the property and my almost-four-year-old Buff Orp, Nugget, who is a regular broody, roam much...

If they are raised by a broody, especially if she is allowed to free range, they tend to forage better than brooder raised chicks. This is very true. Broodies give their chicks quite an education. I have seen general breed differences, though there are exceptions within those. The BBS Orps...

Quote: Sorry, I typed it all out, submitted, the figured some would think I was fussing them out again, so deleted, so some are probably wondering what the heck you're talking about--wow, you're a fast reader, LOL!

Mommy 2 Wee Ones, you should really post this in Emergencies so it can be seen. At times, that hanging head/hanging wings can be a sign of botulism, but best to post it in the proper section so it can be seen quickly and not lost in all this.

I am putting in my ten dollars (inflation, you know) before we get too far into the thread again. Wynette worked her behind off cleaning up this thread. I don't think some here have a clue what all that entails and how much time and thought it took out of her day. Just because someone has...

Agree with Ridge on that one.

Quote: For contagious respiratory illness, yes, yes, yes, cull always. That is always serious. I'd make no exceptions because they remain carriers, though we've never had it here because we do try to take precautions against it happening in the first place. Chicks will not inherit...

We can't afford to take a chicken to a vet, either. However, if someone has the means to do so and knows a vet who knows chickens, that's none of my business. I really do understand the feeling of wanting to help a suffering animal. Would I do it if I had generous funds available for such...

Lots of no-nonsense advice here. I have had my own chickens for six years, but have been around them on my grandfather's farm since I was a small child (I just turned 55). If someone wants chickens as pets, I don't fault them for it and don't want them put off by the gruffness of some OTs...