Recent content by tballard

  1. tballard

    Why are my hens not laying? I have a theory. ><

    The first year, the chickens do not molt so they will keep laying. If you want to have eggs through the molt, you need to cycle in new chicks every year and cycle the older, non-laying hens into the soup pot so you do not get overwhelmed with nonproductive chickens.
  2. tballard

    Devastated... Lost 7 of 13 chicks last night.

    I hate to sound unduly harsh, but it's based on experience losing a lot of chickens over the years to dogs. Dogs and chickens do not mix. I'm not even sure I would totally trust a well-trained LGD around chickens. As others have pointed out, dogs don't kill the chickens to eat them, it is...
  3. tballard

    A hawk almost kills my chicken

    The hawk will keep coming back. Chickens are basically a hawk’s buffet and they will be back every few days for more. I lost six chickens to a hawk earlier this year until he made the mistake of perching within shotgun range, but that is not always a solution for everyone. Covered runs are the...
  4. tballard

    BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

    The baby chicks will be perching on top of the brooder walls within two weeks - three weeks tops. They are pretty good that way. At this time of year, I'd say you could just skip the brooder and put them in the coop right away, with the appropriate heat source, of course. I did that this year...
  5. tballard

    Baby chick not growing

    Both - 9 dead in the coop and 7 missing. There were feathers and blood outside the coop, so I am assuming whatever it was killed them all and carried off 7 of the dead ones, so it have to have made multiple trips. There is no way the chickens could have gotten out on their own, even in their...
  6. tballard

    Baby chick not growing

    Unfortunately, my situation did not turn out well. I had some sort of critter (or critters) get into the coop at night and all 16 pullets were either dead or missing the next morning. I'm still not sure how the critter got in, but it may have been a raccoon to be able to manipulate the door...
  7. tballard

    Baby chick not growing

    My Pet Chicken has always been fair and responsive to any problems for me, so I pretty much order all my chicks through them.
  8. tballard

    Baby chick not growing

    Here is the response I got from My Pet Chicken: Quote: Thank you for contacting My Pet Chicken! We are sorry for the delay in getting back to you, we had a number of our chicken experts take a look at your pictures. The difference in size is astonishing! Usually, this is "failure to...
  9. tballard

    BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

    The feed stays remarkably poop free. There is some occasionally, but not often.
  10. tballard

    BROODER thread! Post pics of your brooders!

    Here is my set up in a large plastic tub. I have a Brines heater that I adjust as the chicks get older. For feeders, I rigged up 2-inch PVC with a 90 degree elbow and short section of pipe to which I have attached an end cap that I cut at a 90-degree angle to form a little feeding trough. I...
  11. tballard

    Baby chick not growing

    No, not a mystery chick. I always order specific breeds for specific purposes. I'm pretty sure it is a Delaware by its coloring and other characteristics. I did consider that it might be a bantam, but I would think even as bantam it would have lost its down by now and be fully feathered...
  12. tballard

    Baby chick not growing

    All the chicks in this picture are 7 weeks old and were obtained as day-old chicks via mail order. They are Delawares (white) and Buff Orpingtons (tan). The little Delaware chick has essentially not grown in size and she is still the same size she was as a week-old chick, although she does...
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