Recent content by hitgsd

Fire ants where in my coop last year, not the mound but workers. So I removed all shavings and put down sevin dust then replaced the shavings. The ants died, or at least moved on. And if you are unsure of the ant species when you start messing with the mound you will get a fast education...

My hen was acting weird recently too. Lethargic, not really eating and preferring to be alone. Her croup was fine and not egg bound. I had not wormed them before so I went ahead and did it. The next morning she was up and running around, so much so that I had problems catching her. She has...

I went out last summer and found my hens fighting over a dead hummingbird. We had a bad storm the night before and I think that killed the hummer, because I really can not imagine a hen snatching a bird that fast. Anyway they ran under a bush with the body and I assume continued the fight over it.

Since I posted this I had an opportunity to speak to my sister in law. She is a wildlife biologist married to a wildlife biologist who works for the federal government in animal damage control. He puts out rabies vaccine baits, and poison among many other things. Anyway the chance of the...

My husband put out rat poison in a shed without telling me. I discovered it tonight. My chickens have had free access to the area around the shed. I do not know exactly where he put down the poison. So far no dead/sick chickens. But I have no idea if they have ingested any or ingested a...

Raptors, are birds who kill with their feet, i.e. crush the victim with their talons then eat them. Owls, eagles, falcons, kestrels, hawks all raptors. It would be possible to not see any wounds, or just small punctures. A hawk is not really heavy, probably lighter then say my red sex links...

I do not know if this is good for them or not, and please let me know if it is not, but I gave mine a bunch of june bugs last night. For you Yankees a June bug is some kind of mid size beetle that come out at night. The chicks all had one but ran around chirpping trying to get as far away as...

http://www.bedlamfarm.com/page/23/?s=simon This link should be a picture of Simon the donkey after he had put on weight, but gives an idea of how he looked when rescued.

which video?

I hope this is the right place for this, if not then I apologize. Anyway Jon Katz is a author, he is well known for his dog books. He also blogs about his life, and the animals on his farm, including his chickens. Today his chickens where attacked by a fox. His donkey, a rescue who came to...

I tried to give mine leftover green bean casserole, they refused it in a very rude way, wiping their beaks on my pants. But another time I caught them fighting over a dead hummingbird. It is all a matter of taste.

You can also heat water on a gas barbeque pit, then fill the jar or hot water bottle. Or use a camp stove.

Sorry you have a sick chick. I use a baby wipe on their butts. Works pretty good. That or paper towel dipped in warm water.

I have 6 chicks I got from Tractor supply 4 days ago. I also have 6 hens I got from tractor supply as chicks 1 year ago. The chicks are in a brooder in the garage. The hens, well right now they are in the horse pasture (they free range all day). What kind of measures do I need to take to...

Thank You for all the reassurance. I raised chicks before using this set up and they survived. I will not heat the garage, just keep checking the temps.