Reviews by karenerwin

This is a very informative article about hatching peachicks! I have never hatched any, or raised any, so I can not speak to it's accuracy. However, it seems to be a very good article.

I love the idea of grazing frames! I would have liked more details about what hardware you used and what size frames you built. You said you like the top frame better. How come? What is different about it? Did you find that one size frame worked better than another? Did one size hold up better than the others?
I'm sure some people will be able to replicate your frames from what you provided, but unfortunately, I need more details!

I really like your idea for a cattle panel hoop coop. I plan to have my hubby make this for me for our meat chicks to sleep in. You have some very good details, like the supply list and the explanation about attaching the cattle panels onto the top of the 2x4 instead of the side. I would have liked to know the overall dimensions of the base, and details about how you framed out & made the door. Also, where did you use the chicken wire? Was that for the front and back? Or for the door? I don't plan on using chicken wire because it does not keep predators out and we have very hungry, ambitious raccoons where I live. I am also not sure that you have enough ventilation ( at least in my opinion) for the winter version. Overall, very nice article with great ideas. Thanks for posting it.

Fabulous article chock full of very good tips to help you stay healthy ( and help keep your flock healthy too) while enjoying your chickens!

Great job getting pictures of most of the (breeds listed) eggs.

Great collection of article links with awesome advice, especially for the newbie!
Under the brooder section I would love to see the link added for the article about brooding your chicks outside!! It is a fabulous alternative to brooding inside and makes transitioning to joining existing flock MUCH easier!!

Great article with lots of information. I love how you linked other appropriate threads to this one.

Good summary of what is needed in a nest box. I was expecting the article to describe/show how to build one, instead it has several links attached. I did not go to each link, so I am not sure how many of them actually show how to build nest boxes. Judging by the titles, not all of them do.
I liked the pictures of the some of the different styles of nest boxes.

Very well written and very thorough guide to incubating eggs!! The pictures you included are spot on!
Thank you for sharing your article!!

Nice, simple brooder. I see you have not updated with the top yet.
I have one suggestion, that is that you put linoleum or something similar on the floor to make clean up easier.
To clean out the brooder are you having to lift it all out through the top?
I thought of another suggestion. Some people advocate for a window in the side of the brooder so that the chicks can see "the world" instead of just always seeing a large hand swooping down on them ( like a hawk would!).

Please update with a picture and description of the lid you built. Would also like to hear how it worked for you. Were there any problems? Did you add roosts? How/where did you place the food and water? Were you able to keep the water clean wherever you put it?
Thanks for sharing your ideas.

I will admit that I did not check each link to make sure that they still work, but aside from that, this is a fantastic overview of what new or potential chicken owners need to know. I love that you have it all in 1 place and with all the links attached!

Nice article for a simple yet effective waterer. Is there a way to make it fillable from the top? I tend to make a mess when I "flip" waterers over! LOL. I also wondered if the black PVC would make the water hot in the summer, but then you mentioned Winter and I thought, well, maybe it will help keep it a tad warmer in the Winter so it may not be as likely to freeze. I guess it's 6 of one and a half dozen of the other.
I like the bungee cords. Seems like they would make it easy to remove to clean and refill. Have you had any problems with slime or algee build up in the PVC pipe? What about mosquitoes? Do they get in the water and lay their eggs?

Can you update this to let us know how it did in the Winter? Was the bulb under the cinder block enough to keep the water from freezing?

You provided lots of background information about eagles!
The part about how to protect your flock was short, with just a few suggestions. However, they were good suggestions! I have also strung fishing line overhead to deter hawks, supposedly, they see the line and know they can "get in" but aren't sure if they can get out. I don't know how true that is, but it has worked very well for us. I don't know if it would work for eagles as well, but it's a thought.

Thank you for sharing all of the information about eagles!

I enjoyed your article. It was brief but full of good information! I have hatched many of my own eggs successfully.
Did you know that you can even store eggs in the refrigerator while you wait to collect enough?
You just need to let them "warm up" to room temperature before putting them in the incubator or giving them to a broody hen.

It may have been a good idea to address washing/not washing eggs that you plan to hatch. I think that is something that many may do wrong.

I have never tried to hatch shipped eggs yet, but from what I have heard/read about it, you gave very good, sound advice!

Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

This is an interesting list. What criteria did you use to deem a plant safe for chickens? Where are you looking when you are researching?
I am surprised that you don't have many fruit trees on the list (other than citrus). I am kind of surprised that citrus made the list because I have seen citrus on the not good/safe to feed chickens. (However, in my experience, they don't bother to eat it anyway).

I love that you put the disclaimer on the article that just because the plant is safe for chickens, doesn't mean the plant is safe FROM chickens!!

Thanks for sharing your list with us.

Where/what are you buttoning the buttons to? I didn't see anywhere where you told us to cut button holes.
This is a very interesting idea. I am sure that some people will find this very useful!
Thank you for sharing your pattern. Can you update to show a photo of a chicken that is wearing one of these diapers?

Nice build and great that you are thinking ahead in that you may need it as a hospital, quarantine area, or to integrate new chickens into the flock.
My one suggestion is that you cover the floor with linoleum or something like that to make clean up easier.
Speaking of clean up, how easy is it to change the litter in there? Do you have to empty it through the top?

Nice little outdoor area. I am concerned that you used chicken wire to cover it. Predators can rip through chicken wire pretty easily. I guess as long as you are outside with them the whole time they are in this pen, they should be ok.
It would have been nice to have more details, such as the dimensions, or how you built it.

I like that you stated that this was very temporary, just for a month or so.

Nice article about how you built your own incubator. I like that you gave the cost and company name of where you bought your parts.
I like that you talked about what you would do differently and why.
I like the 2 edits where you talked about what problems you encountered and how you fixed them.

I enjoyed your article regarding key traits to look for to help identify a rooster. I like that you repeatedly pointed out that the gold color would NOT necessarily be present in another persons' chicken ( unless theirs was a partridge also).
I noticed that you did not talk about leg size ( thickness of legs). Is this because you don't believe this to be a rooster trait for all/most chicken breeds?