Recent content by Hudson

I have 10 Rhode Island Red hens which I have had going on 2 years. Up to now they have all gotten along well. The past 2-3 months i have noticed that the smallest hen is being picked on by at least a couple of the others. They started pecking and pulling off her feathers around her wings and...

I have 10 hens and 1 rooster in a 8'x8' coop. Lately I have noticed that one of my hens has a bare spot down to her skin about the area of a tennis ball. I have read on these forums about covering her back with tape. I have also thought about seperating her but have nowhere I can put her...

I live outside Atlanta, GA and winters do not get too cold here. When it drops below 32 degrees I have a 100 watt lightbulb inside my 8 foot by 8 foot by 7 foot tall coop. I will be going out of town on vacation for a week and have concerns about leaving the lightbulb attached to a timer...

I do have one rooster but he seems to get along well with the ladies. He is not as aggresive as I have read that they can be. If anything he tends to be hen pecked by the hens, but he is protective of them and guards them and takes his job seriously.

My hens are 16 months old and one hen sets all day long but goes up and roosts in the rafters at night. Will the eggs still hatch? I live in Georgia and it has been close to 100 degrees during the day and in the mid 80's-high 80's at night. If a hen sets all day long day long does she know if...

I have 11 hens and 1 rooster and I noticed on a couple of my hens there is a bare spot on their backs above their feathers. On one of them I noticed that is bare down to her skin, not bleeding but does not look very good. Is this possibly from the rooster trying to mate or is it from pecking...

Now that it is getting really hot here in Georgia I am seeing alot of flies outside of my coop. I have hung a couple of no pest strips outside of the coop but it does not seem to make any difference. Should I be concerned or will the chickens just take care of the problem themselves? Do...

I use wood shavings on the floor of my coop and want to know how often do you change out the bedding. I thought that I might just add more on top of the existing bedding but want to know if there are problems with doing this. Is it better to just shovel out all the old bedding and replace...

Am feeding my 4.5 week pullets Purina Start And Grow. At what age do I switch them off of this food to another? And what food do you like to feed your chickens. Would like to go to some form of pellets. Any suggestions. Thanks, Jon Atlanta, GA

I see different size feeders and I would like to know what size I should get for 13 hens. I know that many people build their own but my wife has offered to purchase feeders and waterer since I paid for all the coop construction. How many gallon waterer do I need for my chickens? The longest...

I have 12 chicks in my brooder and am a couple of weeks away from putting them into their new coop. I plan on putting the chickens into the coop at night since I live in a heavily wooded area. The question I have is what is the easiest way to get them in at night. It is a walk in 8'x8'...

I am building my first coop which will be 7 feet by 8 feet. Do I need to install vents? And if so do I place them on the north and south sides or the east and west sides? Thanks for any info you may be able to provide. I am not sure of my predator situation, the area around the coop will be...