BackYard Chickens

I’ve often read that perches for chickens should be two inches wide or more. Some people recommend four inches. It’s also recommended that the perches should be flat. When the chickens here go up a tree, they don’t choose to roost on the wide branches, they seem to prefer branches that they can curl their toes around; nothing like four inches wide and usually under two. When chickens walk, they don’t bend their toes much. When chickens scratch the ground they don’t bend their toes much...

Let's have some stories about your chickens eating, pecking at, tasting, trying, exploring something that they shouldn't! Everything from the shriek of 'WHAT are you DOING???' when you discover they've hopped the fence to your vegetable garden to 'No, I will NOT allow you to eat that quarter so PUT IT DOWN!' And ... of course ... describe the rational discussions you've had with your chickens concerning these habits.

I’m trying to figure out the best way to go for my run I will have foxes and critters being a problem where I live and I don’t know if it would be better for me to get the electric poultry netting or stick with the regular chicken wire. Any suggestions

My flock consists of 11 birds that I got this past March, we're getting a half-dozen eggs per day on average now. The breeds are Golden Comets (4), White Leghorns (2), White Plymouth Rocks (2), RIR (2), and Silver-Laced Wyandotte (1). I'm thinking I should add another six chicks in the spring next year. That will, I expect, give me 17 hens laying by fall next year if I'm lucky enough to not get any males. But, I'm wondering if adding six birds a year is too often. My goal is to maintain a...

In my research for incubators and broody hens I thought it might be nice to have a centralized thread for people who are interested in hatching eggs using the broody hen method. This thread is not meant to put down incubators, as they are a very useful tool, but to share knowledge and experience with each other on how to hatch eggs using a broody hen. I will attempt to edit this post to include tips and FAQs on some of the best methods and tips to use when hatching eggs using a broody hen....