Recent content by townhen

  1. townhen

    chickens' first snow

    The chickens awoke to their first snow this morning. They don't want to come out of their coop to eat and drink in their run, however. Only a little snow made it into the run (it is mostly wrapped in plastic). Are they likely to get over their fear and come out to eat and drink soon?
  2. townhen

    Do Chickens ever molt in the first year?

    My hens are about months old now and they are molting like crazy. Every day I clean the feathers out of the coop, and the next day the floor of the coop is lined with new feathers. They're looking really scraggly, too, and have stopped laying several weeks back. Is a product like "feather...
  3. townhen

    post your chicken coop pictures here!

    Did you see the crows take your chicken? Often the first sign of an aerial predator in my neighborhood is a flock of crows ganging up on the hawk, making a racket and trying to chase it off. Whenever I hear the crows start making noise, I know to get my chickens in their coop asap.
  4. townhen

    mulched leaves for winter run?

    It sounds like the key might be to mix the leaves with other materials, too. Also, the chickens probably do the "leaf mulching" all by themselves with all their scratching, which makes perfect sense once I stop and think about it!
  5. townhen

    mulched leaves for winter run?

    I like the idea of using pine shavings mixed in with the leaves to increase absorbency. Any thoughts on letting the leaves become leaf mould for several weeks and then using that? Is there any reason that leaf mould would be harmful for chickens?
  6. townhen

    mulched leaves for winter run?

    So I should compost the leaves first? Would storing them in black plastic garbage bags after they have been mulched do the trick?
  7. townhen

    mulched leaves for winter run?

    We have an enclosed 5x10' run with a roof for our three chickens. Since we got them in the spring, we have used a combination of pine shavings and sand in the run. I scoop out droppings every day or two, and so far maintaining the clean run has been super easy. For the winter (snowy) months...
  8. townhen

    Barnevelders

    I'm glad you asked, because my Barnevelder (from Meyer Hatchery) is also beautiful and surprisingly true to type - and we adore her iridescent feathers. I am very pleased with the dark brown eggs we have been getting from her for the past month - about 3 or 4 a week so far. She was quite jumpy...
  9. townhen

    The Welsummer Thread!!!!

    Quote: My welsummer, Hedwig, is nearly 29 weeks and is still not laying, either. Curiously, though, she has had a large, bright red comb and wattles for the last 10 weeks or so... we thought for sure she'd be the first to lay, but she's the only one not laying yet in our small flock!
  10. townhen

    Who else is waiting for that first egg?

    Our Barnevelder laid her first egg yesterday at 26 weeks of age. It is the dark, shiny egg surrounded by all the Cream Legbar eggs. Hopefully our Welsummer will get the hint and lay soon, too!
  11. townhen

    Who else is waiting for that first egg?

    This was the first egg. The subsequent eggs have been about the same color of blue - which may not be the most visible in this picture. They are definitely more blue than green.
  12. townhen

    Who else is waiting for that first egg?

    That is so lucky! Our CCL came from Meyer Hatchery, and she is the first of our hens to lay - the prettiest little blue eggs I've ever seen. Good luck on your wait! I'm sure you're close!
  13. townhen

    Who else is waiting for that first egg?

    We got our first egg this weekend from our Cream Legbar at exactly 24 weeks, hatched the first week of April. She had been squatting for one and a half weeks, and just a couple of days before she laid, her comb got really red. She has laid an egg a day now since that first egg! So, I would...
  14. townhen

    Who else is waiting for that first egg?

    Not an egg, but... my almost 22 wk old Welsummer dropped what appears to be an egg yolk under her roost last night. Hopefully, this is a normal part of her body starting to amp up to lay an ACTUAL egg??? Anyone have any experience with this? She looks totally ready to lay, which is why assume...
  15. townhen

    IA here

    Edit: Looks like I've found a home for these two! We are located in a small town near Cedar Rapids, IA and have five chickens, but because of space constraints in the coop and run, we are looking to reduce our flock to 3 hens. We are looking for a good home for our Golden Buff and Delaware...
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