Recent content by cra-zchicknlady

I've only had a few types of birds. Looking forward to living outside town limits. Australorps are my all-time fave so far. They do well in the midwest winter, lay like the dickens in the summer, and chase off the neighborhood cats.

Definitely a pullet. What color are the bottoms of her feet? Australorps have pink/white feet. Her eyes don't look right for a Jersey Giant, mine are always bright yellow. I've never had a Black Star, can't say for sure, but either way, you're in for a friendly bird.

We usually keep ours sitting on the counter. Any longer than a week or two, and I float them to see if they're still good. I had to get rid of the hen who pooped on her egg. Every. Time. Last straw, she started trying to bully my toddler. Dry rubbing with a terry cloth dish towel usually...

Ech, one of those. My advice is to let her rant, nod and smile. Keep an eye on her when the birds are out. Since she can't do anything else, she might try something underhanded. We had a neighbor give rat poison to one of our dogs when I was a kid. We could never prove who it was, but we had...

It sounds like she's bored. Too little to do. Just be nice, offer her eggs, invite her over for tea or something. Make friends and get her involved. If she still complains, all you can do is ignore her.

This method is a lifesaver during the winter months! I don't do it during the summer because of the heat it puts off. We do a thick layer of alfalfa hay, then pine shavings on top, and add more pine shavings as it becomes necessary. Then in the spring, onto the compost heap!

If the town doesn't have any ordinance on farm animals, there really isn't much your neighbor can do. Does she live on a hill to see over the fence? That isn't your problem if so. Make sure you keep the poop cleaned up and properly dispose of any old eggs or carcasses. She might try to take...

We had good results dipping their legs in vegetable oil. We put it in a wide mouth bell jar so we could just dunk their legs in.

I would love to free range, but can't, I live inside town limits. The town council is barely tolerant of backyard chickens as it is. They get fresh cut grass and herbs daily. 18 isn't a permanent number. We got a mixed batch of chicks from the feed store. In a few weeks, we'll select about...

The coop is 9' by 5', the run is enclosed, 9' by 20'. The coop is raised off the ground about a foot, so they have that shaded area in addition to the run. The chicks were 12 weeks old when they were introduced, and kept in a pen set side by side for a few days before they were added to the...

My grown flock numbers five, one australorp, one idaknow, and three ISA browns. I added thirteen chicks about a week ago, they're fully feathered and nearly grown. All went normally (some status play, minor pecking) until about three days in. The three ISA's isolated one of the new roo's...

They use soil for the most part. I watch to see which patch they are currently using, and I'll sprinkle some DE in that section once a month or so.

A friend had a few pygmy goats, they would just about climb a person for apple slices.

I usually scramble it.