Recent content by breege

  1. breege

    Official BYC Poll: How often do you change your chickens' water in hot weather?

    Usually once a day, depending on whether they've dumped stuff in it, then as often as necessary I keep it cold by putting frozen water bottles in the waterers & change those out 2-3 times
  2. breege

    Official BYC Poll: How often do you change your chickens' water in hot weather?

    I put a frozen water bottle in the waterer & check it regularly. If the water is looking dirty/low/etc, it gets chaged as well
  3. breege

    Checking-In On Peeps - Post Here To Say Hello!

    Good morning; It has been a while since I've posted anything, but I have been reading those items that have shown up in my in box. The chickens seem to be outliving the computers and phones over the last 8 years: I'm currently on machine number 4 & phone number 2, but still have 3 of the...
  4. breege

    Trees next to run? I want to tell my husband he is wrong

    If it's any help, there's lots of fruiting shrubs that chickens will eat the fallen/lower fruit. I've planted a shrubbing raspberry & black currants to give them shade.
  5. breege

    Official BYC Poll: What Heat Lamp Setup Do You Use?

    I do as well - Love them! I keep the little ones inside the house for the 1st 2 weeks & they sleep at night w/the plates
  6. breege

    cooling off your chickens

    How old are the chicks? If they're big enough, I put out aluminium roaster pans from the $ store, put a decent sized rock in the middle and fill them w/cold water. They both drink from them and wade through them I also put frozen water bottles in their waterers. Mine free-range, so there are...
  7. breege

    Wood vs. plastic for nest boxes?

    We did the same as you: plastic dollar store dish pans inside a wooden box. We painted the interior of the coop to make it easier to clean out. What I've found is that as the weather gets colder, the hens "insulate" the nest box by scratching the wood shaving fill to fill the crevasses between...
  8. breege

    Eggs are mostly yolk

    I've had a small flock of Ameraucana since 2016 & it seems to be a breed thing. When we collected the 1st eggs, I'd thought it was because they're just starting to lay, but we've had Barred Rocks, Partridge Chanteclers & have traded eggs with neighbours, & the Ameraucana eggs have HUGE yolks in...
  9. breege

    Nesting boxes made from removable dish bins?

    We put in the plastic bins & I really like them! We don't have them on rails, just nestled inside an individual, oversized "nest box". It gets really cold (-20+C) here in winter, so the ladies push a bunch of the nesting material between the bin and the opening as extra insulation. I'd suggest...
  10. breege

    Are any of these breeds incompatible in a mixed flock?

    Hi; I'm trying to figure out how we actually train the dogs. Most of our dogs for the last 30 yrs have been rescues of varying ages. Our current dog, Charlie has been through 4 owners before moving in with us and was somewhere over 4 yrs old. In all cases, we've found that they were eager to...
  11. breege

    What would you have done differently?

    We did paint the interior white & left the roosts & ramps natural for contrast. If I could afford it, I would line the walls with dairy panelling (also white) so we could walk in the coop & just pressure wash everything !
  12. breege

    Are any of these breeds incompatible in a mixed flock?

    Our BRs were 1-1/2 yrs younger than the original Ameraucanas. They did try to dominate, but "Queen" Mattie, our dominant BW would have none of it & put them in their place while they were still somewhat smaller than her. They were the 1st of last year' hatches to move into the coop, so they...
  13. breege

    Are any of these breeds incompatible in a mixed flock?

    Barred Rocks aren't inherently nastier birds - They can be just a tad more aggressive in safeguarding their position for the 1st 4-6 months. Once settled in, they're really sweet and good layers. I ran some with my Ameraucanas last year and they do peck more & harder, but they do not fly nearly...
  14. breege

    Best rooster breed with small children

    I have Ameraucanas. We've culled for pure nasty & some when they took a dislike to DH. We had one which was a pure sweetheart & perfect for teaching children safety & how to handle birds, he was so laid back/trusting of people. (We've 9 grandchildren). On the plus side he was protective of...
  15. breege

    Ground cover for run

    We're hoping to attach a covered run to one side of our coop this year, so maybe some of our plans/ideas could help you We've already dug out a good chunk of the clay & fashioned a stone French drain toward a lower part of the yard. Previously, if it rained, the flock could use the plank as a...
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