One of my 7 month old hens has a dirty butt. All other 5 hens look good and are acting well. They are in a large run, and I clean their poop board daily and the poop all looks normal. No signs of worms or parasites. Any advice?
I'm not sure how far is "too far". I am in your area (just north of Atlanta), and JJs Chickens and Rabbits have Swedish Flower Hens. I have never purchased from them, but they are very responsive and close enough that you would not need to ship. It's worth looking into.
I do still have the heat lamp. I feel better since I laid the thermometer on there and saw that it's warmer than I thought.
Thanks for the advice! I'm feeling a bit braver again. Just want to do what's best for my chicks.
My "highly reliable" candy thermometer is hanging a little over 110 resting on the pad (actually got up yo 111.7. Clearly I'm from the south since that barely feels warm to me. :lau
Their 1st month:
Hi: mid/high 60s-70s
Low:40s-50s
I planned to have them in the garage for the 1st wk and then move them out to the brooder area in the coop.
I'm comfortable watching their behavior for comfort. That's what I've done with the heat lamp. I'm nervous because the MHP concept is...
So, I've read and re-read hundreds (probably for real) of posts on raising my new babies with a mama heating pad instead of a heat lamp. I bravely ordered my Sunbeam Xpress Heat king sized heating pad, and it barely feels warm on the highest setting; less warm than my other heating pads that I...
Just want to say hey to all the fellow believers. I'm also a RN, have 5 kids, 1 grandchild, a cat, and a dog. I've wanted chickens for a while, did lots of research and finally took the plunge pre-covid last year. I am so pleased get I did. I think this is honestly my first adult hobby, and I am...
Made some progress this weekend. Decided to raise the coop high enough to let the ladies under it to provide additional shade. Two big windows (donated from a neighbor) in the front and one on the side; 1 is actually on the shed/grow out brooder/isolation side, but I'm pretty confident that I...