Recent content by Tango Charlie

One red sex-link & 2 barred rocks. Not quite 3 years. No additional treatments. No new predators. Coop, inside a run, inside a pen, inside a 6' privacy fence, guarded by our dogs.

Yeah the timeline made sense. I was a little disappointed they didn't immediately start laying, but as it played out it made perfect sense. The First egg we got was tiny. All others have been normal. And, I can buy "deficiency". 👍🏻

This 👆🏻 And I'll add: Winter didn't start in June. And I didn't flip on the sunlight switch, lol. Zero eggs to daily eggs?? Pretty abrupt. (Like changing feed.)

Ok. So what was it? The only variable was the feed.

I'm an educated, middle-class, engineer and family man, and am usually averse to conspiracy theories. HOWEVER… I’d recently come across multiple stories about how backyard chickens weren’t laying anymore, and I could relate. We have 3 girls about 3 years old and they all stopped laying last...

You DO have predators. They will NOT be safe. To your original point, if you're only getting a couple chickens, do whatever is most convenient for you. Reinforce / enclose whatever you do get with wire mesh.

Baby chicks are supposed to stay warm (90's if I recall) slowly reducing temp over the next few weeks. I kept mine inside, in tubs, with heat lamps. My mind was saying "that's too warm" but the little chicks would hang out right under the lamp. I'd think what you have there might work, if you...

...it's a SPACE STATION! (Dropped an egg today, and got this.)

I have one bucket with horizontal nipples, one bucket with cups, and one open bowl I refill daily. I see them at each type numerous times a day. I don't feel the water is being delivered at a good enough pace from the horizontals. But... they keep going back to it.?.

Also explains why she's not yet laying.?.

***frantically researches "New Hampshire Red*** LOL The Mystery Deepens!

Thanks to all for confirming! (And I think they're pretty, too.) :)

I've bought mislabeled birds from TSC, but all ended up healthy. And hens. (Thank goodness.)

Congrats! The first eggs are so cool. I'm fairly new at this as well, but I can confirm I get the occasional smaller-than-normal or rounder-than-normal egg.

So, I bought what were labeled as 4 "Black Sex Links" and 4 "Buff Orpingtons" back in March. Since July they've been really consistent layers (7 of them, anyway) as we routinely get 7 brown eggs a day. They nearly all started laying at about 14/15 weeks. I was afraid my little "Black Sex...