Recent content by CurlyLindsay

My first time with Cornish X's so forgive all the questions! We are having a big cold front following the tornadoes that passed through Missouri a few nights ago - it's expected to get down to 39 tonight with misty, icky rain. Yuck! I have 30 5-week old chicks out in a tractor, and I'm a...

So this morning when I checked on my 30+ meaties one was sitting weird and when I dragged the tractor it became obvious that walking was very hard for him, involving a lot of flapping to move a foot or two. He sits with legs splayed out in front of him. I pulled him out, thinking I'd have to...

So I thought I was pretty clever when I constructed a chicken tractor that assembles and disassembles in a few minutes by being made in panels that snap together. - letting me brood chicks in it inside the barn and then reassemble it outdoors and use as a regular chicken tractor to finish my...

I've been keeping chickens for about 5 years now, but I think this is the craziest egg I've ever collected! Any guesses how it turned out with this pattern? I *think* it's from my welsummer hen who typically lays beautiful fully speckled eggs.

I've done a lot of work on my coop this spring, and thought I'd post mostly to brag, LOL, cause I'm a lady and I did all the work myself! (actually built the whole run by myself, in 2011!) But also thought modern backyard chickeners might be interested to see an older coop design. The enclosed...

Does anyone have instructions or ideas for building coop doors that can convert from solid and insulating in the winter to breezy mostly-wire doors in the summer?

Why do nesting boxes that protrude from the side of the coop seem to be so popular in modern coop designs? Is there an advantage other than just preserving floor space in a compact coop? I got lucky and my house came with an old coop that was actually built pre-WWII but is sturdy and spacious...

I have a Welsummer laying hen who seems to have a strange (to me) combination of symptoms. She is in good/normal condition. I'm unsure of age, she was a poultry swap buy, but only lays about 3 eggs a week at best, so maybe older. Symptoms: 1. Limping/walking gingerly 2. Sitting almost...

My first chicken coop- built by myself when I was 26, was built without a nail or screw! I had an existing open shed, so that helped, but my plan could be used without an existing structure. You'd just need to screw 4 2x4's to each other to frame a base. My coop was just horse panels...

Young? *sigh* I was hoping she was just small. Oh well, too young is better than too old! It's still a good jump start vs buying chicks. How old would you guess she is??

I bought chickens at a poultry swap for the first time today. What an interesting adventure! I wanted laying hens and I don't know enough about chickens to be sure what someone is selling me as a layer is really a layer, so I bought one "laying hen" from 6 different sellers. ;-) This one is my...

Will there be a September swap meet? Next Saturday? I'd like to buy 4-5 laying hens. I'm always wary of buying laying hens at a swap meet, but would from someone who had a decent reputation on Backyard Chicken. If no layers available, I'd settle for older pullets 3 mo old+. No breed preference...

They almost certainly will fly away if you let them loose now. They need at least a month in a pen/cage.

Quote: by 'outside' do you mean from an inside brooder to an outside coop, or to outside as in freeranging? I think this time of year, as long as you keep them dry they could go out into a safe coop within about a week of hatching. To freerange, I'd wait till they're 8 weeks or so- or...

http://www.doversaddlery.com/product.asp?pn=KC-2376&tid=froogleSALE&CATALOG_CODE=1X814&EID=X1814001&zmam=1460880&zmas=1&zmac=49&zmap=KC-2376&bhcd2=1245817209 I also had an exploding fly population starting about a week ago. I put two of these up, they were FILLED with flies within 4 days, and...