Recent content by Heathercp

  1. Heathercp

    Woodland free range hens and ducks getting picked off by fox

    You can try a rooster if you're allowed to have one where you live. In my experience, your best bet is one that doesn't want to be your friend.
  2. Coop Construction 3

    Coop Construction 3

    We started our coop in January 2010. The weather was lovely, as you can see from the t-shirt clad work crew (DH&DS). Unfortunately, the weather didn't hold. Despite lots of snow and rain and the resulting muck, we're still on track to get our chickens in February. One of the previous owners of...
  3. Heathercp

    Dealing w/ extereme heat??

    Quote: I'll second this. It's hotter than blazes here in NC and the humidity is about as high as it can get. This morning it was 80F at 6am when I went out to start my chicken chores. Honestly, the chickens seem to be handling the heat better than I am. This is my first year with chickens...
  4. Heathercp

    Poll: What time do you go to the coop to let your chickens out?

    Pop door opens automatically at 6am, and they come out when they're ready. I usually head out there around that time to move their food (or should I say the squirrels' food) outside. They never seem to eat in the coop. Just go there to sleep and lay. I made the mistake of feeding them scratch in...
  5. Heathercp

    New chickens and no eggs :(

    We "adopted" older BA pullets and went through something similar. We got a couple of eggs the first day and then nothing. After a week or so they started laying again, but it took them a couple of weeks until they were back to their old "egg laying machine" form. Moves are stressful. I guess...
  6. Heathercp

    Deep litter: friend or foe?

    We've got a bare plywood floor in our coop and do deep litter. I know lots of people say you have to paint or put down linoleum, but we didn't and after 6 months I don't regret leaving well enough alone. My chickens are out free ranging all day and our winters are mild, so I can't imagine them...
  7. Heathercp

    Quick Advice Needed: Chickens Freaking Out in Coop!

    Is your run completely enclosed? Is there any way they could escape - like flying over the fence? If so, I'm all for leaving them in their coop for a couple of days. But...if your run is like ours, covered and with no way for the hens to escape unless I open the door, I think you've got another...
  8. Heathercp

    Merging the chickens

    I usually throw the chickens some scratch first thing in the morning, and for us it works like this: throw some scratch and watch the older hens go for it. Once they're happily pecking away, toss some towards the younger pullets. They might get some, but they might not. If not, I just wait a few...
  9. Heathercp

    Merging the chickens

    Quote: Is your situation "more unique than others" because you kicked your chicken hard enough "to give it a limp"? It sounds to me like the chickens are just doing what comes naturally to them when they establish their pecking order. If the "chicks" have the space to get away from the...
  10. Heathercp

    Physically challenged chick - venting and need adavice

    It may seem horrible, but others have culled their birds by lopping the heads off with large garden shears or one of those branch lopper things. I can't come up with the right word for it at the moment. It's quick and certain to work the first time. Many, many years ago, and long before I ever...
  11. Heathercp

    Is it morally right to breed more chickens????

    PineappleMama, as my son is these days wont to say, Word! (iow, I couldn't agree more.)
  12. Heathercp

    Preparing ground for chickens & other ?s

    I've got two pictures of my roost in my uploads, but the angles are a bit strange. I hope you can get the idea anyway. The 2"x4"s are set into u-shaped brackets made from scrap wood and held in place with wooden wedges. They're easily removable when needed - although I don't need to remove...
  13. Heathercp

    free ranging in back yard Q?

    We let ours free range in our back yard. Like the others have said, if you've got a small flock and a big yard, it won't smell. Okay, if you're standing over a big fresh pile of poo, you might smell it, but the yard won't smell. And flies aren't an issue for us either. It's hot and steamy here...
  14. Heathercp

    Are my chickens thin???

    I agree. They look healthy and energetic to me.
  15. Heathercp

    new chicks - question about pasting up

    I was told by someone who's raised chickens for 15 years that the best way to avoid pasty butt in chicks is to keep them moving. Give them enough space to move around and encourage them to do so. He'll sprinkle a little bit of instant oatmeal on their food for the first couple of days for a bit...
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