Show me some side-by-side pictures of your birds and how they looked when they were babies! I was looking at old pictures of the first three chickens I have ever raised and was struck by just how quickly they grow- mine hit 11 weeks on Sunday and I looked back for the first pictures of them and...
I don't have a lot of experience with different breeds- I have three brown ISA hens (very similar to the production red hens you can pick up at the tractor supply over there) and three sussex mixes, including a very handsome cockerel who was my lapchicken when he was a baby. He's in my avatar...
Single hen? She herself won't smell at all! The poop- it does smell, anyone who says otherwise is lying There are two main kinds of poop, one that isn't so bad, and one that is stinky enough that you won't want to be around it- though honestly, it is definitely no worse than any other kind of...
Thank you all for your help! I've been supplying my ladies with extra protein in the form of fish/meat scraps, yoghurt and the odd bit of tuna, and having removed the long grass I can let them forage again, albeit under supervision. I'll keep an eye on their weight going forward but I think...
Haha, my girls are pretty good at jumping for treats, I just wish they'd catch some of the nasty flying critters the same way! Eggs AND mosquito control, that would be perfection :D
Well it's definitely a relief to know I haven't been inadvertently poisoning them!
So a can of tuna or some crushed up dry dog food? How much do you think they would need to bring that protein ratio back up? I'm not sure what I should be aiming for.
Thank you so much all, you've been so kind, understanding and knowledgeable!
It's true, my girls have completely won me over. I love their silly little faces, their soft warbly voices and their individuality, I could watch them all day. Forget the soup, there's nothing better for the soul than...
Thanks for your help! My girls are all underweight according to the breed average - I'm comparing to ISA's product leaflet about their breed: http://www.integrazabcice.cz/en/products/isa-brown/
which says they should be 1,460g by 17wks and 2,015g by 90wks. My girls are about 35wks old and weigh...
Oh, I love Nerja! What a beautiful little town. Property there is so expensive, or I'd have my own little place in the campo in that area.
Thanks for the encouragement. It's a bit embarrassing to find out all the things I've been doing wrong, but I'd rather be embarrassed than have sick or...
Haha my stepdad thinks I'm insane. Every day I have something new I need to do for my girls and he rolls his eyes... he took the fan out the other day because he thought it was overkill and I honestly would have exploded at him if we hadn't had houseguests. I had to get mum to explain to him...
Yeah, the size of hole I have a drill bit for is probably too small for most predators- I don't think I have anything bigger than 3/4inch. I did find a gecko IN the coop today, but I think he probably got in while the door was open rather than anything else....
Oh, don't worry, I'm very good at scolding myself without needing to feel like anyone else is doing it at me! I didn't think you were, no problem.
Yeah I hope so too. My theory is he mistook one kind of feed for another...