Recent content by DenverBird

  1. DenverBird

    How long do scaley leg mites live without chickens?

    Currently taking a break from the world of backyard chickens. The coop is cleaned out and sanitized, ready for new pullets if / when we decide to resume backyard chickens. We had an infection of scaley leg mites before getting rid of our birds. How long will the scaley leg mites live in the...
  2. DenverBird

    "Warts" on hen's legs and feet - condition and cure?

    Sourland, Thanks for the info. I did a search and got some learnin', washed & dried their feet (I felt a little like the Pope of Poultry! ) and then applied a mixture of olive oil and tea tree oil with a cotton ball up into the leg feathers. This is how I treated both the Speckled Sussex...
  3. DenverBird

    "Warts" on hen's legs and feet - condition and cure?

    Hi Folks, I noticed one of my hens was limping around and saw that she has some kind of warty growths on her feet and legs and some oozing sores. The other hens all seem fine. Does anyone know What this is, whether it would be contagious to the rest of the flock, whether there is a cure for...
  4. DenverBird

    WaPo Article on a suburban farm

    "Time to slaughter the rabbits: Two lawyers and their five kids raise — and kill — animals on a suburban farm" Story from the Washington Post on raising the meat you eat, and doing it in the 'Burbs: Here's the story (video)
  5. DenverBird

    Fake eggs for laying encouragement

    Oh, yeah, this is usually the kind of discussion where I'll turn to the newbie and whisper, "they're not very smart, you know." :)
  6. DenverBird

    Small Eggs for a Month Now

    Quote: I've got a pair of Sussex who have been laying little pullet eggs for a month or so now, and this is now what I wanted to hear... :( But, now I know and will be content to get little eggs from them from here on out. Hopefully they'll grow into laying bigger eggs one day. -DB
  7. DenverBird

    Fake eggs for laying encouragement

    Not sure if anyone's mentioned this but I've heard that the faux eggs are so that the hen doesn't come out and think that all her eggs are gone, and thus conclude the nest is not a safe place to lay. Hennies are not very good at counting (or telling their eggs from golf balls) so it only takes...
  8. DenverBird

    Will they EVER learn? (To go up into their coop)

    Thanks Rani! They get to free range for a lot of the day and at the end, they go back into the run but just bed down in a corner rather than going up into the coop. It also occurs to me that when we get the first really cold spell when they only leave the coop to eat and drink, that may do the...
  9. DenverBird

    Will they EVER learn? (To go up into their coop)

    I'm three weeks into raising a new flock of pullets I got when they were 4-mo old. I have been placing my 3 Golden Comets, 2 Speckled Sussex, and the EE up into their coop every night to teach them where they're supposed to sleep. This has worked in just a week or two with all my other previous...
  10. DenverBird

    McMurry Red Rangers - When do they start crowing?

    there's an ordinance against roosters crowing in my town. Since the hens don't crow, we'll be able to grow them out longer. Hopefully the size difference between the hens and roosters won't be too significant and we'll have big birds to butcher. I consider my time butchering to be worth a lot...
  11. DenverBird

    McMurry Red Rangers - When do they start crowing?

    My experience last year with the Red Rangers and previously with the Freedom Rangers has been that by processing time there were usually a few starting some attempts at crowing, but nothing I'd consider a nuisance, even considering that roosters are against city code where I live. Right now my...
  12. DenverBird

    "Red Ranger" Broiler from McMurray - Feed Conversion Ratio?

    They were great. I just checked my calcs for how much feed we gave them as the next batch just arrived and we're lining up a feed buy. After 12 weeks we butchered the McMurray birds. Birds arrived about August 10, butchered on Nov 3 (I think, the Alabama -LSU game was that night...) Total...
  13. DenverBird

    Litter and coop compost - how soon to add apply to garden?

    I've been piling the litter and coop cleanout, along with kitchen scraps, and other compostables to my 4x4 composting bin for about a year and a half. The last time i added litter to it was about a couple of months ago. It's probably about 50-50 coop cleanout to brown manure. How soon can I...
  14. DenverBird

    When do roo's start crowing?

    I've raised FRs and McMurray's Red Rangers, at about 11 weeks we were getting a little warbling crowing, but not full on crowing. Then we sent them off to freezer camp...
  15. DenverBird

    Ranger Grow-Out Journals

    I'll probably get more when it's time to raise another batch. I was pleased with the McMurray Red Rangers we raised recently, however I'd still like to get females (no crowing allowed where I live), raise them for about 16 weeks instead of 12 and see how big they get. McMurray didn't seem to...
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