Recent content by azjustin

As others said, make sure what you are doing is legal. Cats are actually fairly easy to trap! Very large cage, 3'x3' or larger. The best bait is a live chicken using a "double cage" (the cat can't actually get to the bait) or freshly killed poultry in a "cave" scenario where the front...

I'd like to add a few things I didn't see in this thread so far. - When should it be done? When you get the twinge of "maybe we should end it's life". Not two weeks later, also not at the earliest onset of a problem. It seems like people always want to either let things fester till almost...

Find your local egg sellers, I've had the best luck with the "side of the road" vendors since they typically have roosters and don't refrigerate their eggs. You're probably going to get mutts of some sort but they will more than likely hatch a chick and are the same price as eating eggs. I...

I don't have any experience with chicken feed going stale (personally, I prefer regular human food), but I do know bugs (weevils) and such will start multiplying after a while depending on how many eggs were in there to begin with. Not really a big deal if the feed is eaten quick enough, but...

You should be able to find removable top 55 gallon poly drums just about anywhere in FL for extremely cheap. 30 gallon are great for feed, but you'll pay a premium since 55s are a dime a dozen in any area that has a lot of shipping. Go to your most local Craigslist and search "55 gallon".

I can't speak for all cases, only what we've experienced here. Quail are the only birds I've released into a brooder without showing them food and water and haven't had to worry about it. I hatch out button quail for a guy here and after trying (unsuccessfully) to dip their beaks in water and...

Depends which type (how poisonous) the scorpion is. We are inundated with highly venomous bark scorpions here and the chickens will gladly eat them like candy. As long as they can get them without being stung first, which usually results in a dead or very sick chicken. 99% of the time the...

Not all situations end up the same, we've tried many with all different types of poultry. No, she quacks like a duck. Sounds like an old man yelling "WHAT?". She did peep, I waited for the intro until she quacked (and was certain she was a she). Chickens peck and harass, this...

All of the above. I don't typically dim the room unless it's night time (automatically dimmed) and use a high power LED flashlight that doesn't seal against the egg. Top, and sides of top will show the air sack. Side of the egg will usually stimulate movement of the embryo and/or show...

Hmmm... So: I set the duck down in the 30'x40' area and she immediately runs into the small mass of ducks in the corner (as expected). However, the first two females encountered rip out large sections of fur, exposing skin, the second set bite deep enough to draw blood and remove skin. This...

We have a singular duck (What The Duck) who has been raised since day one with chickens. The only real problem started at about two weeks old when she wanted to start using the open waterer for bathing which of course fouled the brooder and caused many bedding changes before we were able to...

Good job! Make sure you post this info in the Arizona Chickens thread, you'll reach many more people that way. Good luck!

I vote for the poop conveyor! A morning "cleansing" after everyone is up would probably be easier (and significantly cheaper) than something slow moving, think hand crank or simple switched motor. Also, after hearing that motor/servo noise every half hour, I see in my mind 4 chickens either...

Just my 2c, but I'd let them all "run" together and let the chips fall where they may. At 25-6, there's going to be absolute pandemonium for a while, which is good since the usual cliches will be broken up as they acclimate to the new digs and coop mates. The sooner everyone acclimates, the...

Enough space would be my first thought. Chicks will gladly trample each other to death to escape the large hands that deliver the feed and water that keeps them alive. Past that, they are also experts at dying. If all conditions are good (food, water, bedding, temps) it's probably not your...