Recent content by critterkeeper83

  1. critterkeeper83

    Help me figure out my strange duck!

    I've always identified male duck by the curly tail feather (I'm assuming that's what your calling the drake feather). But where the voice is concerned it may be physical defect. As you said some see it as a blessing. I have a roo that sounds like somebody is strangling him when he crows...
  2. critterkeeper83

    intruders

    I love our chicken tractor! So long as you have a small flock then a tractor is the way to go! I have only had one predator manage to infiltrate one of our tractors and that possum did not leave the tractor alive. Still not sure how it got in since it couldn't get back out. BUt we've since built...
  3. critterkeeper83

    New to Raising Chickens!

    That's something my daughter had to work through with our roo too. (and I'm sure I had to work through it when I was young too. Except I learned dealing with cows. Much harder being confident and assertive when your opponent out weighs you by 1000lbs!) On a funny note one roo that failed failed...
  4. critterkeeper83

    Will a hen recognise her chicks?

    I was able to get my hen to adopt three chicks that I hatched in an incubator the same time hers hatched. So I'd say no they do not recognize their own chicks. But they can count! We took her and the babies out of the tractor (because the babies would fall out of the bottom if we tried to move...
  5. critterkeeper83

    Piper died suddenly with no explanation

    Sorry for your loss:( We lost one of our easter eggers last week too. She was about 3 years old and perfectly healthy. Acting completely normal the day before. But when my daughter went out to feed them the next morning she was dead in the coop. :hit No damage or obvious stress. She looked like...
  6. critterkeeper83

    I fought a coyote over my dead rooster and lost, now it's returning every day.

    Sadly trapping and/or killing it is your only real option. We have a large sounding (I've never seen the whole pack but you can hear them late at night) pack that runs the woods near my house. They stay away from our houses because my neighbor has taught them that any coyote who trespasses gets...
  7. critterkeeper83

    New to Raising Chickens!

    If he's a roo you want to keep try this before dropping the hatchet: I've had success with this twice but I've also failed in a couple who would not be deterred. It sounds silly but when he charges or attacks pick him up and cuddle him and baby talk him for a few minutes. A little banny roo I...
  8. critterkeeper83

    How to deal with my mean hen?

    IMG_7196 by critterkeeper83 posted Aug 3, 2017 at 11:15 AMSounds like your Leghorn has deemed herself head hen. No real way to fix it unless you can get another chicken to usurp her throne. Easter eggers are docile by nature so your only real hope is in the red. But I could be wrong in assuming...
  9. critterkeeper83

    Why is my silkie not silky?

    It's likely a cross. Happened to my sister when she got silkies from a co-op. Somehow a maran cross (I don't know for sure that's what she is. She's small with flat black feathers that continue all the way down to her toes!) got mixed in with the silkies. "Houseshoes" looked just like the other...
  10. critterkeeper83

    Incubating in the south and humidity

    Sadly I have to rely on the gauge that came on it. Since I don't have another hydrometer and can't really get one right now. But it's been accurate to the outside humidity (at least according to my weather app). Though I do allow for a 5% difference. One problem I have with mine is there are...
  11. critterkeeper83

    Incubating in the south and humidity

    We just bought an incubator and are trying our hand at incubating eggs. We tried to follow the instructions on incubation on the instructions provided and the instructions we found here. But the humidity levels listed are downright impossible for us to maintain. I can't get the humidity below...
  12. critterkeeper83

    Homemade chicken feeder and waterer pics please!

    This is the final design of a feeder I made. (The original build is below.) I literally went to Lowes and started putting different pvc parts together until I liked it. Took it home and tried it out then had to add the threaded end pieces. The pvc openings was too short and smooth so feed...
  13. critterkeeper83

    Show us your nest boxes! Ingenous design post it here!

    Just added these to my new chicken tractor build. Hope they like them after I add bedding. My "test chicken" (sitting on the perch in the pic) got in one but didn't like the slippery bottom. The silkie at the bottom was not interested in being my test chicken. She doesn't consider herself a...
  14. critterkeeper83

    Hatching more pullets than cockerels - WHAT'S YOUR SECRET?

    Has anyone tried the temp control method? I know temperature doesn't alter the sex. It only makes certain eggs viable while others freeze/bake. I would love to try this when I get an incubator but I can't seem to nail down any actual temps or times. I did see one thread that said temporarily...
  15. critterkeeper83

    Ameracuna pullets in or near north AL? Only need a few birds (4-6) NOT 10-25!

    I have been on a quest to find Ameracuna pullets for my smalll backyard coop. I can not have another roo ( didn't want the one I do have but was lucky his crow is not loud and he is friendly). So does anyone know of a breeder or hatchery that would sell me 4-6 Ameracuna pullets? Local would be...
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