Recent content by foxcrossing26

I will need to dust my girls for lice as I just lost one to a very bad infestation (on top of other issues). I wont use sevin -- much too toxic -- so I guess I'll be using pyrethrin dust. Do I have to stop eating their eggs for a period of time after I dust them? When the vet told me to use...

That's pretty funny. Once I caught two of my hens chest-butting each other, I think it was just for fun, as they had already established which one was top chicken, and they get along very well. My hen who has gone broody puffs herself up, fans her tail out, and chases the other hens around...

I think I see ragweed (the hand-size, deeply serrated leaves) and maybe dock. Both are undesirable because they reseed everywhere. I would knock this stuff back to 2 feet tall with a weedwhacker and then let the chickens have at it for the bugs and to scratch the weeds into oblivion. Mine will...

Peaceful Valley Garden Supply sells a field mix that's supposed to be specifically formulated as chicken forage. It has a mix of grasses and legumes. Chickens need protein in order to lay eggs. I assume that meat birds need to eat protein as well, altho I have only layers so I dont know for...

I have read that it's the relative inability to absorb calcium that contributes to being egg-bound. Calcium is necessary for the large muscles to be able to move an egg down the tract and be expelled. Sorry I'm not explaining this very well, but this is not my field of expertise! anyway, with...

This is my first winter with chickens (three standard hens in their first year). Over the past 4 weeks, all of them have slowed down and then stopped laying. They are all losing some feathers, but one in particular is looking incredibly ratty -- no tail feathers left at all, and half her...

This is a fascinating thread. I am a vegetarian (not a vegan) and have spent some time thinking about plant-based nutrition, both human and chicken. However, I have no formal education in this field, so these are just my thoughts. 1. Eggs are protein. In order to lay eggs, which is hard work...

We had a load of gravel fines (also called screenings) delivered when the front walkway was put in. I still have a pile on the driveway, and that's what I give my girls in a small bowl in their run. They free-range for about an hour a day, and I give them sunflower, squash, and melon seeds as...

I have heard that potato peels are a particular no-no to feed to chickens, because potatos are in the nightshade family. I've also read that feeding apple peels could cause a laying hen to stop laying! I'm new to chickens, so I dont know why that would be true, except that if the hens eat a...

Someone wrote: "my solution was to use 3 inch pvc pipe. two straight sections joined together to form an L by a third piece that can slip off. it has a cap on top. 4 holes were drilled in the bottom straight section about golf ball sized so the chickens could stick their heads in it. " I like...

As for feeding eggs to chickens, eggs are a great source of protein, but IMHO should be fed only when cooked and mashed up, so the girls dont get the idea that eggs = food. Chickens are very suggestible, and if they think eggs are good to eat, they wont wait for you to cook them! When I get...

Well, here is my idea for a non-electric way to heat my chickens' water this winter. At a flea market this weekend, I bought a flat-bottomed metal bowl with bakelite handles. It's about 6" across the bottom. My plan is to keep it inside at night (because chickens dont drink when they're...

For my nest box, I use what my paper shredder gives me. There's a constant supply, and when I clean out the box, I just put the whole mess in the compost bin, where the paper shreddings would have ended up anyway. The carbon from the paper helps offset the heavy nitrogen content of the kitchen...

I dont sell eggs, but I would suggest using a vinegar & water solution, same as for cleaning around the house, because vinegar kills a lot of stuff due to its acidic nature. I have heard that eggs should be wiped with a cleaning solution rather than immersed in anything, because the latter...

I am coming to believe that calcium absorption (as opposed to intake) is a big part of whether a hen can lay. I had one who laid fine and one who got egg-bound (a calcium uptake deficiency, I've learned) on the same feed. Different breeds, so different abilities to absorb calcium. If your...