Recent content by elcarchick

  1. elcarchick

    North Carolina

    I used a wire cage last year, made it myself from hardware cloth. The ones I broke this year were accidental. I made a small hoop house for them in an isolated area with separate nests, since they went broody at the same time, and a fence around. I moved them there at night, and I guess I made a...
  2. elcarchick

    North Carolina

    I think something must definitely be in the air lol. I only had 1 broody hen last year, and one more who was easily broken. I have one hen with chicks already this year. Two more are sitting, I managed to break 2 others, and I have 1 more that is trying to go broody and I am trying to break her...
  3. elcarchick

    Turkey hens fighting. How can I stop them?

    You are right beesanddeesfarm, that you mostly see info on raising and butchering meat turkeys out there, so for the newbies like us who want to raise turkeys sustainably, so many things are a complete surprise. When I first bought my BBB's I expected that they would be just bigger chickens. In...
  4. elcarchick

    Turkey hens fighting. How can I stop them?

    My turkeys quit fighting after a couple of pretty aggressive days after they figured out who was the top bird. However, it cost one of my favorite turkeys her life. The stress and exertion of the fights coupled with her jumping on and off a perch at night (even fairly low perches seem to be a...
  5. elcarchick

    WHEN DO BROAD BREASTED WHITES LAY EGGS

    I purchased a few broad-breasted bronze turkeys last April. My first one started laying some time in September-October. I had one tom and he did try to mate at first, but got too heavy later and didn't even attempt anymore, so I do not have any plans to hatch any chicks. In fact, I've already...
  6. elcarchick

    Turkey hens fighting. How can I stop them?

    Thanks for your responses! I am keeping an eye on mine to make sure that they don't really injure each other, since both chickens and turkeys tend to always want to finish up a weak and bleeding bird. Fortunately, they have enough space to get away from each other, so I have not had any real...
  7. elcarchick

    Turkey hens fighting. How can I stop them?

    Thanks! It helps! I am trying to understand turkeys behavior since it's so new to me. I've found plenty of info everywhere on how to feed and raise them to butcher, but almost no one discusses their behavior. I wish I could find a book on this subject. I'd love to have a tom, and I figured that...
  8. elcarchick

    Turkey hens fighting. How can I stop them?

    I have 4 bbb hen-turkeys that are almost a year old. They were peacefully coexisting until this morning. They have a shelter that they share every night, and they free range during the day. This morning 3 of them started fighting each other. Trying to pull them apart and separate them...
  9. elcarchick

    North Carolina

    I've been considering ordering some wild turkey poults from a hatchery. I find that some hatcheries won't ship them to NC. I've been trying to find any information regarding wild turkey regulations in NC, and can't find anything online. I've seen some comments from people that you will get fined...
  10. elcarchick

    Chicken with swollen red abdomen

    I may need to go shopping, I don't have any of those things. I gave her some olive oil this morning, and used Preparation H to lubricate her vent. It doesn't look like she had any droppings overnight, yet, when I got my finger in there, some poop did come out, and it looked a bit closer to...
  11. elcarchick

    Chicken with swollen red abdomen

    Thanks Eggcessive! Would this prevent her from pooping? Her belly feels soft and squishy, not hard and tight. If it is internal egg laying, and she is all stopped up, is there a way to help her? I was hoping that her body would be expelling poop/egg yolk, whatever she has there. When I get my...
  12. elcarchick

    Chicken with swollen red abdomen

    Here are some pics if you can make any sense of them. You can barely see the vent, it's almost stretched to being invisible because of her swollen belly. I took one picture upright and 2 with her lying on her side. Where she is lying on the side you can see the stretched line of her vent. I see...
  13. elcarchick

    Chicken with swollen red abdomen

    One of my chickens (cuckoo maran) has a swollen red abdomen, and I am trying to figure out possible causes/cures. I can always cull her as my last resort, but I am hoping I could save her. She is a little less than a year old. She's always been quiet, and I've been worried about her for a...
  14. elcarchick

    North Carolina

    It was 13 last night in the mountains where we are. I believe it will drop even lower tonight. I have a completely enclosed coop for my chickens. However, it's not insulated. I am pretty sure they can tolerate even colder temperatures, but I like to make them as comfortable as possible. Last...
  15. elcarchick

    Do turkeys lay year round?

    Another thing that surprised me about my turkeys is that they are laying now in the middle of winter without any supplemental light on fairly simple feed. I feed them a mix of cracked corn, oats, barley, black oil sunflower seeds, and some oyster shell. We still have enough grass, so their feed...
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