Recent content by msbee

  1. msbee

    Can you put your coop and run in full shade?

    Our coop and run are in full shade, which is great for summer. However, think ahead to winter to make sure the summer spot is also a suitable winter spot. Don't know where you are located but if you are in a wintery location, consider the trees without leaves, protection from predators, wind...
  2. msbee

    My chicks are jerks - help with PVC feeders

    ^^^^^ That's what I did. I started out with the wrong pieces, and they made a mess. Then I discovered the Y shape. I also added a one-third moon shape cut out of a cottage cheese/sour cream lid with duct tape, and I no longer have them hunting for the best pieces. I might also add that the...
  3. msbee

    FF smells like beer - still ok to use?

    That was helpful. Thank you.
  4. msbee

    FF smells like beer - still ok to use?

    Please forgive me if this has been addressed before. I did a search, but I couldn't find an answer specifically. I've been fermenting the chickies' feed, and they love it, but I'm still getting the hang of how much to make each week. At this point I have too much, and I forgot about it for a...
  5. msbee

    Greetings from MN

    Hello there! :frow (1) Are you new to chickens / when did you first get chickens? We live in a Minneapolis suburb, and we had a flock of 6 chickens about eight years ago. We had them for two years before a neighbor complained (aka: LIED because she had nothing better to do that day, I guess -...
  6. msbee

    Fly population EXPLODED today!

    Thanks everyone. I bought one of those fly traps today... my dilemma is the stink though... I can't have council members opposed to chickens coming over and seeing/smelling a big bag of rotting flies... We can avoid the mulberry tree though, and if the flies stay over there until the visits are...
  7. msbee

    Fly population EXPLODED today!

    I FOUND THEM! They're not surviving in the coop/run area as there's enough DE, sand, and Stall Dry to suck the moisture out of rock. As I was surveying the garden, I walked under a mulberry tree that's been there for ever. The buzz hum was ominous! Every single berry was covered with 4-5 flies...
  8. msbee

    I don't know what kind of chicken to get.

    Here's a great resource for the type of birds to consider http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/standard_breed_chicks.html?cl=crumbtrail
  9. msbee

    How would you respond to this mayor?

    See here for the mayor's response to a citizen's request that the city council address the issue of byc's in our community. http://crystalurbanhens.webs.com/apps/blog/entries/show/5297483-local-buisness-owner-takes-up-the-cause This is what we're up against - a kind of "I don't care about...
  10. msbee

    Dehydration

    It sounds like dehydration or the onset of heat stroke. If you can get her somewhere cool, do so - in the house is what we did in a dog crate or bathtub. From what I've read here is that it takes time for them to regain their strength, but they can recover. Keep pumping the fluids - unflavored...
  11. msbee

    Getting started

    We have a beagle that we trained with the baby chicks. We kept them in the bathtub because it was too cold to be outside yet and invited him to see them with us. We would hold them firmly and let them smell them. He would lay down and roll over expecting a "treat"! But we kept training him and...
  12. msbee

    The Worst Preditor Is:The HEAT!!!!

    At night, when it was still in the upper 70s and high humidity with no breeze, I took my 4 older girls in the house and kept a couple in a dog crate and 2 in the bathtub when the heat was at it's worst. I gave them unflavored pedialite and yogurt. They didn't eat much through the hot spell and...
  13. msbee

    Fly population EXPLODED today!

    Over the summer, I've noticed a few flies here and there - especially since I have a new, young flock that are still too little to free range in our yard with the 2yr olds, so the flies hang round the run area. So, I ordered some fly predators that finally (took longer than I'd hoped to get...
  14. msbee

    Mealworm farming

    This is a great thread. I love reading so much about mealworms, but omgosh, I must be the laziest mealworm farmer on the planet. I bought 2 containers of 100 mealworms each at the pet store 6 months ago - one large, one extra large. I threw each container into separate large storage tubs (66qt)...
  15. msbee

    Minnesota!

    My 10 week olds seem to be handling it ok, but the big girls - 2 years old - seem exhausted at night and panting more than the little ones - they even head into the coop earlier lately. So we've been bringing them inside at night - 2 in the dog crate and 2 in the bathtub. No eggs today...
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