Our chickens were starting to do the same, so I began sitting in the run with them, playing on my phone, and generally ignoring them. They got over their shyness, because chickens are naturally curious, and after a while just can’t stand not checking things out. I can catch and pick up all three...
I’d keep the roost bars at the same height, as chickens generally prefer to be as high as possible, and you don’t want turf wars over the high bar. They don’t need to be way up there, just enough to get them up and out of the bedding. An exception would be if you have a breed that can’t fly...
Just a question/comment on watering chickens from a rain barrel - I’ve been told (by my agriculture professor) that while runoff from a metal roof is ok, that from an asphalt-type roof is not. Also wild bird droppings on the roof could potentially be a problem if AI flares up in your area. (Wild...
Update: they’re back eating mash. I borrowed @Shadrach ‘s technique of feeding them in the morning before letting them out into the yard for foraging.
Also, the layer food that they rejected was the Kalmbach Organic Henhouse Reserve. I only bought it because it’s corn- and soy-free. But...
More tax: normal egg #2 today, two days after the first, and this time in the nesting box! :wee
I suspect that this is because when she laid, I was in surgery getting my new right knee instead of compulsively peeking every 20 minutes to see what was happening. Lesson learned! Probably! I might...
To your first question: Can the bag be returned/exchanged? If not, does it by any chance say something like “Great for raising mealworms!”? If the latter, it might be worth trying.
There’s no telling which - if ANY - pesticides were used on the wheat. It’s very expensive and takes several...
I love how in the video, you ask, “Can you pay attention?!”, and the one on the retaining wall immediately shakes her head, “No!” 😂
Best wishes for your upcoming surgery, and a speedy and and successful recovery! ❤️
I have one of those oddball Nestera coops, so just pine flakes in the removable poop trays for coop bedding.
For the run itself, I do the deep litter method, essentially re-creating a forest floor. A jumble of bark chips, dead leaves, shredded litter, pine straw (dead pine needles), some grass...
Ahh, inland Cali? We used to live in the Bay Area, looking down on the Bay, continual 20 knot breezes. I had to fight myself not to turn on heat in July. 🥶
What type of climate do you live in? Many BYC members who live in dry, arid climates report great results with sand. But many who lived in more temperate, rainy, humid climates write that it gets smelly and awful. Also, it can freeze in winter.
Sounds wonderful as one of the ingredients for a...
We got our three when they were 7 weeks old. The first evening, I found them on the roof of their coop and put them inside, where they slept on the floor in a cuddle puddle. The next night, they put themselves into the coop and onto the roosts, and they’ve done so every night since then.
Now...