Recent content by MizzHen

Thank you so much! This has all been very helpful and good information. I’ve been raising hens for four years. This is my first go with the boys.

I have 6 hens and two young roosters. I am thinking at least one rooster will need to go to even out the flock.

No, I’ve never had roosters before. The roosters were introduced to the hens as chicks so I thought they’d all grow up and be used to each other. It seems the two guys stick together like buddies and the hens keep their distance now. If they interact, there’s tension. The two Roos against...

I’ve never had roosters before, so I don’t really know if there is a benefit to having one. So far, it’s been a slightly negative experience. So perhaps getting rid of both is the way to go.

Hello, when one of my hens became broody, my kids convinced me to get three chicks to make her happy. I ended up with a straight run and two grew up to be roosters. They’re about seven months old now and crow back and forth nonstop. They get along with each other as brothers and rarely...

Sorry for your terrible loss! And thank you so much for the information and suggestions. Sorry

Thanks everyone who responded to my question. This is my first winter with chickens. I still want to treat them like babies, but need to realize how strong they’ve become since spring. My concern on heat occurred because one of my girls was sleeping in her nest box, which is not typical. She...

Hi, I live in Wisconsin. The temps just started getting down to the teens at nighttime. I have not been heating my coop until last night, when the temps dropped. I have a thermostat set so the heat emitter goes on at 28 degrees and off at 32 degrees. The chickens seemed pretty cozy through...

Hi Jean, I'm kind of in the same boat. I am planning to use sand inside my coop and pine shavings inside the nesting boxes. I have a run inside my garage right now until my coop is set in place in my backyard. The run is on concrete. I put a tarp down and just started adding sand to the run...

Thank you Jim! That reassurance is greatly appreciated! Just one more question about medications- should I be deworming my chickens at all or do you only do this if they show signs of illness? Thanks in advance!

Hi, I am new to raising chickens. Over the past ten weeks, I have been raising three Rhode Island Reds and three Plymouth Rocks from pullets. They were med free at purchase so I immediately started them on medicated chick starter to get them going. They've gone through two bags and I just...

This is super helpful! Thank you very much! I feel like I read so much about the scary things that could happen, but I'm not taking enough time to actually prepare in case something does happen. The first aid kit links are excellent resources and super helpful. Thanks for sharing and responding!

Hi, I am new to raising chickens. Over the past ten weeks, I have been raising three Rhode Island Reds and three Plymouth Rocks from pullets. They were med free at purchase so I immediately started them on medicated chick starter to get them going. They've gone through two bags and I just...

I'm in the process of constructing my first chicken coop. It's for 6 chickens and is 5 ft x 5.5 ft. This is what I have so far. I plan to cut a window in on the south side for year round sunlight. I havent decided if I will make it an open/close window or just a pane of plexy-glass. I'm thinking...

I'm in the process of constructing my first chicken coop. It's for 6 chickens and is 5 ft x 5.5 ft. This is what I have so far. I plan to cut a window in on the south side for year round sunlight. I havent decided if I will make it an open/close window or just a pane of plexy-glass. I'm thinking...