Recent content by autumn123

  1. autumn123

    Opinions on best egg layers

    I like all the suggestions I saw for breeds, but excuse me if someone has already said this: The conditions in which the hens live (other than weather) can affect their egg production. Make sure they get good nutrition and plenty of veggie scraps; keep their coop clean and dry; provide adequate...
  2. autumn123

    Squirrels

    Three words: Get a dog! Yes, they do like eggs, but are not as likely to get into the coop. They hate squirrels, and it's mutual. We have had MUCH fewer problems with varmits in general with the dog. Predators smell them, and decide to look elsewhere I guess. We don't let our hens free-range...
  3. autumn123

    Comment by 'autumn123' in article 'How To Fix A Muddy Run Chicken Coop'

    You can also toss in some diatomaceous earth (the garden kind Red Lake Earth - not the pool filter kind). It dries things out in a hurry! Even if the ground is wet, when I rake the litter out, I put D.E. in every time. It can get dusty when the weather dries out, but you can always spray with...
  4. autumn123

    Comment by 'autumn123' in article 'Chicken camper'

    That's a great idea! I love repurposed things. We don't have much money, so my chicken coop was bought used (was built from a kit), sits inside a chain link kennel we already had, reinforced with hardware cloth. My hubby used some aluminum poles and hardware we already had to make a peaked roof...
  5. autumn123

    Comment by 'autumn123' in article 'What should I do with that old trampoline?'

    Awesome! We want to repurpose the metal pole frame of the above ground pool 14 ft diameter for a yard rather than the coop. We turned a chain link dog kennel into a small yard and coop/run enclosure for our 2-3 chickens with the addition of some bricks and hardware cloth. They are 100% secure in...
  6. autumn123

    Food Scraps?

    I give our chickens just about anything except highly processed generally unhealthy crap (which we don't eat anyway). The only thing they have refused so far is celery of all things. I chopped it up along with the garlic which they love and some leftover salad. Later, everything in the bowl was...
  7. autumn123

    Food Scraps?

    Aw, don't pick grit for them! A bag of grit you can just throw into their run is cheap and will last a LONG time. If they are somewhat confined, you can even put it in their food.
  8. autumn123

    Texas

    We bought a used chicken coop with a little run with a very secure roost/nest box to lock up while they sleep. It is in a 6x8 chain link kennel which I wrapped in plasticware cloth netting attaching it to the chainlink with cable ties. We made an openable roof for the kennel from aluminum poles...
  9. autumn123

    Comment by 'autumn123' in article 'Guide to Letting Broody Hens Hatch and Raise Chicks'

    Your article talked me into it! I really do not want to deal with brooder equipment and motherless chicks. This seems like a better way to go. I may borrow a rooster this spring! One of my hens (EE mutt) is already one year old and she has been a good layer, but stops for 2-3 months due to...
  10. autumn123

    Rain and chickens??

    I probably wouldn't kill one of my hens myself, but once they are no longer laying, I will give it to a church nearby who knows poor homesteaders who will gladly process it for Sunday dinner. I don't have equipment, it's a lot of yucky work, and the ones (even organic) you can buy already done...
  11. autumn123

    Rain and chickens??

    It's good to know it won't harm them, but I don't know if my girls would like it. The coop, run, and small yard are covered during rain so I can keep the litter dry. For now, they only get out of their area in a temporary pen while I work outside 2-3 times per week. There are too many predators...
  12. autumn123

    Food Scraps?

    Well, I don't give them just anything, but (in addition to their regular feed with grit and calcium) they get any plant based scraps, bread crumbles, oatmeal, BOSS. I give them minced garlic almost every day, and probiotics if I suspect any illness. I will pull up little tufts of tall green...
  13. autumn123

    Lost my first little hen!

    The first thing I did was to bathe her in a warm epsom salt bath to get the area completely clean. I fed her yogurt, minced garlic, warm mash, AND I have some probiotic pills that I take, so I started putting 1/2 a capsule in her food. She seemed to perk up at first, but she wouldn't roost or...
  14. autumn123

    Lost my first little hen!

    Aw! She was the first and most prolific layer of the three, a little peach colored egg every day. One other hen had just finished molting, and she started losing feathers and quit laying, so I thought molting but I was wrong. One morning I saw she wasn't walking or acting normal so I separated...
  15. autumn123

    Hen or roo?

    Thanks all. It did turn out to be a rooster - it because more obvious within a couple weeks. I returned him and got a hen for sure and she has worked out fine with the two hens I already had.
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