Recent content by OtneyPrice

I agree that if you've seen one rat, there are multiple rats on your property. I've never had them bother a full grown hen, but the deal breaker for me was when the chicken feeder started emptying faster. I refuse to pay money to feed rats that create more rats that eat more food! Just One Bite...

Anytime you introduce a predictable available food source into your yard you can attract rats. We've been so over-urbanized in recent years that our society has forgotton that yes, rats exist, and always have. My father-in-law grew up rural and talked about how there were bugs and snakes and...

I have watched rats run right through standard chicken wire on my chicken run. The general guide is that a rat can get through a quarter-sized hole. We did have a pet rat when I was a kid - we kept it successfully in a large wired bird cage.

Yes - Just One Bite II Bars is the poison to get. The poison ingredient is the same as some grocery brands, but the Bite bars are made of stuff rats actually want to eat. The bars look like yellowish bird suet cakes - you can see the seeds etc in them. Use a locking bait box if you have small...

I second that the rats are after the chicken feed. If getting a cat isn't a good option for you, here are some ideas: Regular old Victor rat traps $2-$3 work alright with cheese or peanut butter, but you'll never catch all the rats (on a good night I've caught two in 1 trap at the same time -...

My 2 Amerucaunas are producing eggs with circular bumps of shell material on the surface. Some are tiny and granular and come off if you lightly scrub them, others are fused into the shell. They have been laying for the last 3 months, and the eggs had a smooth surface for the first two months...

If you do want to give up on the broody business try giving her a clutch of ice cubes to sit on. Sometimes it takes two clutches...

I'm posting this because I now have an answer: I moved three 1 yr old chickens that were laying. Their new home was a big improvement over the old. The first resumed laying 1 1/2 weeks after arrival. The second took a month. The third took 6 weeks. So the answer is, it depends on the chicken...

I use all purpose feed because I have many ages of chickens, and leave oyster shell out next to the grit. Layer feed (extra calcium in it) can affect bone development in chicks, but if your rooster's full grown it may not be detrimental. Put a nest box in today - it will help keep eggs clean as...

The first egg or two they might not realize something's going to come out (hence you often find the first few eggs on the floor of the chicken run, under the roost etc). But pretty soon they get the idea and you'll see them trying out the nest when they feel the urge. If I'm cleaning the coop...

When I added a few new faces to our flock I was ready to kill the top chicken because she gave our newbies such a hard time. They wouldn't even let one in the coop the first night! They got over it - one new chicken took a month for all the pecking to disappear, and two banties got through the...

I have all different ages of chickens. I use an all purpose feed, let them free range in the yard, and supply oyster shell next to the grit for the layers to use. Everyone seems to do fine.

Perfectly normal - I've gotten many different strange things. I once got half a shell, giant double-yolkers, egg white onlys, thin flexible shells, bumpy warped shells, you name it. Egg laying is a system, and your chicken is just working out the kinks.

So, one of my Brahma girls has had runny poop ever since I brought her home 2 wks ago. She's about a year old and hasn't yet laid me an egg, although her sister has laid four. Her comb is much lighter than her sister's too. Today I noticed her poop had small red "strings" in it. I'm assuming I'm...

When's the last time she molted? That might be it.