Reviews by dawntreader

I have been able to heal a broken leg on one of our chickens and she seems to be grateful for the care and comfort we gave her while she healed. Her leg healed beautifully and she moves as fast as any other of our hens now, her leg moves normally. This article, however, was way beyond what I have done, and hope I never have to go through this with any of our hens or our rooster. Since we live in Texas that will probably be true, but I sure do appreciate knowing how to prevent frostbite issues if we ever do get an extended period of cold weather.

Excellent advice! I have done most of these things with our rooster just by intuition and he has never attacked me. He loves to crow around me at times, so I have used some of the techniques in the article to show him that I am still the boss, but I appreciate him protecting the hens and treating them well, which he does! He always, and I mean always lets them know where food can be found and lets them have food first. He'll look at me with that look after letting the hens eat that seems to say -I'm treating them right, just want you to know! We have been able to have people in the same area with the rooster with no problems, as long as they show no fear - he really does pick up on that and I think he has fun with it when he senses that, because he doesn't attack, he just acts like he will but has always backed off. Almost like he wants to establish that he is the boss, but because we have treated him well since he was a young chick, he is just attempting to see who will be in charge. I have picked him up and carried him around the hens on numerous occasions and it really did settle him down in the early days. He rarely needs that now, but every once in awhile he apparently has an overload of testosterone which is best handled with handling and a mealworm treat.

Well written article! We have the same idea of providing our chickens a long natural life. They seem to understand that through the way they interact with us. It is a joy to be out working in the backyard with them following us around and curious as to what project we are now taking on. Glad that our chickens will be around for years to come!

Great article! Didn't mention chicks or pullets, which do need more warmth than the adults. We live in Texas, but have known of friends that had some little ones not make it in the winter. Lot of factors in that I'm sure besides the cold weather, for sure! We've never lost a hen due to anything like weather or predators that is in our control to manage with good planning and clean, roomy structures for our hens (and rooster) to overnight in.

Good article! We have a suburban backyard flock which stays in night in a secure coop and run, but during the day have the run of a 1/8 acre fenced in backyard. We do have two dogs that have protected them on numerous occasions from possums. In two years we have not lost any chickens to predators. They are good layers, but the chicken TV in the backyard is a joy to watch! They are also quite amiable, some of which love to be held a bit every day. They definitely love getting out of the run in the early morning, and have consistently headed into the run and the coop right around dusk without any prodding. We did do a bit of training in the first week or so of being in the coop, so I concur with the article's tips with our experience.

Excellent article, and very timely for us! As I understand the article, a heating element was still used in the run while the chicks were young. The term was a "heating pad cave". What exactly was that? Is it the blue and white thing in the picture? If so, was that an actual heating pad used that was draped over a box frame that was open on one side for the chicks to walk in? It also looked pretty short, as if the chicks would actually be touching the heating pad when in the "cave".

Great article! Thanks for providing a suggestion for what to do with a hen after she dies. We had to do this with one of ours that nibbled on potato vines the day before (which are toxic for chickens). Active and healthy one day, dead in the coop the next with no other signs of harm, egg-bound or disease. Now potato vines are not accessible by other other laying hens. The rest are as sweet as hens can be. They did seem to go through a "mourning" time for Peanut, but have done well since that time.

Well written article! The inclusion of the many factors that contribute to the health of our chickens reveals the tradeoffs that must be made in a given situation. We live in a suburban environment, and have built a run and a coop, but recognized early on that they are more content (and quiet!) when free ranging during the day in our fenced backyard. We do have predators around (fox, opossum, stray dogs), but that has never been an issue with us as we have "patrol" dogs for pets that keep the chickens safe and us notified if there is a situation that needs attention. The article has confirmed our decisions that were made by observation - thanks for writing it!

Thanks for the information - haven't encountered this yet, but will get the supplies necessary now in case it does happen.

Great article introducing the common mistakes made in raising chickens! Love the links included with the article!

Thanks for this information! Haven't needed it yet, but it is good to know that it is here if I do need it.

Love the details in this article that are great advice for coop designs. Knowing the prevailing winds (when there are some!) is a great way to work with one's environment to keep chickens healthy during those long hot summer days in the southern part of the US. This article is a must read for anyone considering building a coop to house chickens in the south.