Recent content by mancina

  1. mancina

    Possum

    I lost a hen to a possum. My coop is a cheap Ware coop, but we modified it to be predator-proof. We put spring latches on all the openings and covered the bottom of the run with 2" x 4" wire mesh to thwart digging animals. All this is fine unless you forget to close the coop, which is exactly...
  2. mancina

    Fat Free Range Hens

    I lost a beautiful hen from a liver hemorrhage due to obesity. I had no idea she was fat. She was big and beautiful, but she actually weighed only 2.44 kilos (5.38 lbs.) She free-ranged along with her three companions, one of whom is equally big. They eat layer pellets and lots of clover and...
  3. mancina

    scratch?

    I feed layer ration and only scatter a small handful of scratch once a day, for four hens. One of my hens died of liver hemorrhage because of obesity--and I didn't know she was obese. Don't feed much scratch. It makes them fat. Layer ration is food, scratch is only for an occasional treat...
  4. mancina

    Cannibalism ?

    I feed them back their crushed up shells mixed into yogurt with a little flax seed meal. I also wouldn't mind feeding them cooked eggs. I heard you don't want them to eat raw eggs, for fear they might like them too much and peck into their own.
  5. mancina

    Hens ate small amount of medicated feed/ toss the eggs?

    Jeez, why would you toss them? My hens keep stealing the wee ones' feed, which they love, and it never once occurred to me to worry about their eggs! In fact, I was advised to give chick feed to a limping hen, since it apparently has more protein. All the eggs are perfectly delicious!
  6. mancina

    What is your Chicken's Favourite Food? (List 3 only)

    Mealworms (I bought them freeze-dried) Sprouted, unsalted sunflower seeds Clover Least: Pumpkin seeds. Weird, but they liked them at first, then turned their beaks up at them.
  7. mancina

    Confused

    P.S. You should keep them on chick starter until they start laying, then switch to layer ration.
  8. mancina

    Confused

    Chicks should have free access to their food and water at all times. When they are babies and have a heat lamp, they may not sleep during the night the way they eventually will, and their job is to eat and grow big, so don't withhold. Sounds like they may be a week old or less. I kept my...
  9. mancina

    Obese chicken

    I just got the autopsy report back on my Rhode Island Red who died about a month ago. She died of a liver hemorrhage caused by obesity. She was only 2.44 kilos (about 5 1/3 lbs.) I had no idea she was obese. I had been giving her layer feed and occasional treats (scratch, yogurt, mealworms)...
  10. mancina

    UGH.. What to do...

    Someone loves the cat as much as you love your chickens. Cats are hunters and it's not reasonable to expect them to leave your chickens in peace. My cats are afraid of my chickens, but they wouldn't be afraid of tiny chicks, so just keep the little ones inside the coop. And for heavens' sake...
  11. mancina

    Brooder light question

    I'm keeping my brooder in the upstairs shower (enclosed to confine all the dust), and have noticed that my chicks prefer slightly cooler temps than I had expected--they run for shade if the light is direct, so I've started aiming it at the shower wall instead of directly into the brooder. The...
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