Recent content by arkwelded

  1. arkwelded

    Comment by 'arkwelded' in article 'Chicken Treats'

    As for Styrofoam I know it is not safe to have around ducks or chickens. While eating 4 half sides of grapevine and rose bush winter protection covers, does not hurt them, it results in killing the poor plants that were not covered in the snow months.
  2. arkwelded

    Help! Nearly 5wk old Pekin Ducklings pecking at little wings!

    they grow really fast, you can butcher pekins at 8-10 weeks. as for the feather thing... they may do that when they start getting new feathers, as miss lydia stated "boredom". as for letting them free range, i get mine introduced to the other ducks and chickens at 5-6 weeks, we do this with or...
  3. arkwelded

    Sexing eggs!

    we hatch all the time. in the last batch we did this summer we did 40 in our incubator and let a freinds hen brood 6 more. we have always had tremendous success with over a 90-95% hatch rate every time. i think this is due to keeping our hen/roo ratio of 10:1, setting the eggs within a few days...
  4. arkwelded

    Hens keep pooping in nest boxes

    whenever i introduce young ones to the big roost we have this issue a few days until the pecking order gets establised. go out and see what the roosting situation is at night. see who is squating in the nest boxes. adding more roosts, up higher is probably going to solve the problin. another...
  5. arkwelded

    Processing Day Support Group ~ HELP us through the Emotions PLEASE!

    we call our meat birds "nuggets". I grew up raising and showing livestock that sometimes ended up on our table. processing the animals was a part of that. the best advice I can give to someone that did not grow up on a farm is to gain some understanding about this whole process. my wife is...
  6. arkwelded

    Sexing eggs!

    i do not think egg sexing is possible. we can tell what chickens lay what eggs in our flock. the size, color, shape, and even dimples on the eggs are the same day after day. we have also had some of these traits of our hens eggs passed to their offspring, which debunks this whole theory as the...
  7. arkwelded

    Chicken Fight

    we let our chicks out in the yard with the big girls at like 3 weeks, during the day. at night they go into our grow out coop for another 2 weeks or so. then i put them into the big roost at night, sometimes it has to be done 3 or 4 times as they camp outside the grow out coop. lol. they always...
  8. arkwelded

    How often do you spray for mites/lice?

    for lice we do checks weekly and treat as needed. for mites i use vasiline on the combs/waddles and legs once a month or as needed. it suffocates the mites. this prevention seems to take care of any issues, and has a secondary effect of keeping their combs soft and healthy.
  9. arkwelded

    my duck is burying her eggs

    she is trying to hide a clutch so she can start brooding them. they build up eggs before they sit on them. mine have a spot in the coop they all lay eggs in. they bury them to hide them. we tried letting one sit on a batch, but she didnt have success. we have better success in our incubator. if...
  10. arkwelded

    I chickened out!?

    If you did not feel anything from the thought of ending a life, I would say you should get some indepth counseling. Having an experienced person to be with you your first few times may be very helpful. My wife still has a hard time with the actual dispatch, and has yet to be able to do it. I...
  11. arkwelded

    Run Floor

    If you have any skill with tools stay away from those overpriced prefabs. I built our 10th predator proof run roost for $500.00. We have had 20+chickens with no problem.
  12. arkwelded

    Broken slabs in run. What are they for?

    Looks more like a prison then a rec area. I would remove the tile and fill it in with good soil some ash and some sand
  13. arkwelded

    water in coop

    Landscaping the area so the water runs away from the coop is the best plan. You may need to put in somesondage tile also. Sand and wood chips are going to be a disaster.
  14. arkwelded

    Run/Pen Advice? Need advice on predator-proofing!

    I use 1/4 " Hardware cloth on my coop and run. The hardware screen is buried around the run/roost 10-12" deep. We made Brick planter boxes around it also. The run is predator proof and we lock them in at night. We have a 5' welded wire paddock they use in the day. They also free range when we...
  15. arkwelded

    Advice on "cleaning up" messy lookin roof

    was the original roof dipped that bad? did you run new boards aside the existing trusses for the metal roofing you put on? as long as the structual integrity is sound it will be fine. it looks like the walls of the run are set in the ground good. was it added on, did the foundation sink, or did...
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