Recent content by raro

  1. raro

    Creating a gate?!

    I didn't know what to call this thread, but I'm hoping to make sense anyway...I've had chickens for a half-dozen years now, and this was the first summer I had a veggie garden, too. I put hardware cloth all around a 10 foot by 10 foot square raised bed and was pretty successful at growing...
  2. raro

    Flighty bird!

    My daughter suggested maybe using zip ties with a couple of regular little bolts on the legs. I don't want her not to be able to fly at all, because it seems to be part of her personality and I don't want her hobbled. But maybe if we played around with it enough that she can hop and jump but not...
  3. raro

    Flighty bird!

    I have had chickens for about 5 years now and never had this problem before. I got a gorgeous sebright who is a bantam (not sure if all of them are, but mine is). I knew sebrights can fly more than other hens, but this is getting ridiculous! She flies right over our 6-foot fence as if it's not...
  4. raro

    Testing a theory: are feather pecked chickens raised confined?

    For what it's worth, my chickens free range in a large backyard all day and I've never had problems with feather pecking each other. :-)
  5. raro

    Molting and broody question

    Really?! I have never heard of that! Thanks, that makes me feel better. I was just letting her be broody, figuring she'd get out of it sooner or later. It's good to know it's normal. :-)
  6. raro

    Molting and broody question

    I've had chickens for about five years, and never have had a chicken do a "full" molt, just a thinning of feathers. And rarely does a chicken go broody for me. Well, now I have a beautiful, glossy black Sumatra who has been broody for about 3 weeks. Is this normal? I go out there several times...
  7. raro

    Girls on Strike?

    I don't know about your case, but for me, I've had chickens change what times they lay. Maybe the brooding changed their daily pattern. If so, I'd look around and see if you can find any hidden stash...I once found TWELVE eggs in a corner of the house where my chickens had been free-ranging...
  8. raro

    How to tell chickens apart??

    When I had my two Dominiques, they looked so identical we called them Freddie and Georgie (Can you tell my daughter is a Harry Potter fan?!). Usually we put zip ties on them if they are really identical, but we never bothered with those two. We just called them whatever name we remembered at the...
  9. raro

    Orpington question

    Well, in looking at pictures, I actually wonder if I could have a Sumatra. The internet sources say they are the right color, they do lay white eggs, and they tend to fly a bit more than other birds. She has no long tail feathers like the males do, of course. I've never had a Sumatra before so...
  10. raro

    Orpington question

    Huh. Well, the pictures on line look very similar, except for 2 things: they look a lot bigger than mine, and they lay brown eggs. Mine lays small white eggs. Which, come to think of it, is weird, since she is a black hen...but she definitely looks more Austrolorp than Orpington, so we may be...
  11. raro

    Orpington question

    So I got a hen a few months ago and was told she was a black Orpington. I'm so used to hearing buff Orpington that I hadn't even realized they came in other colors, so I was intrigued and got her. But now I'm wondering if, in fact, she is any kind of Orpington. Unfortunately, I don't have access...
  12. raro

    Plants NOT for chickens?

    Thank you!!!
  13. raro

    Plants NOT for chickens?

    Hi all, I've searched for information about plants, but usually it's about planting things that chickens would like to eat. I've just installed a large,brand new, 6 foot privacy fence around my entire backyard, so my dog and my chickens are delighted to have so much more room. The only problem...
  14. raro

    Help! Noisy hen!?

    Well, I guess you were right...got up this morning and there were FOUR eggs! I guess she was letting me know that she is ready to lay again. And lo and behold, she has been quiet today! Thanks for your observations, you were spot on!
  15. raro

    Help! Noisy hen!?

    Well, after the coon attack, I ended up getting the two RIR and an orpington. The orp is too young to lay, but the RIRs are certainly old enough. But they didn't start laying for about 2 months. The dominique and my Americana both just stopped laying, so I figured it was a stress related thing...
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