Just dump it, rinse, and fresh water. In summer insect larva happen, refreshing waterers every other day matters.
We have a few small goldfish in our 100 gallon horse water tank, because dumping that tank ain't gonna happen often!
Mary
It's the nutritional profile that matters, which is not the same as an ingredient list. Reasonable ingredients, but the actual nutritional panel, and of course the mill date, matters.
Mary
Here we feed Purina Flock Raiser, as it's usually fresh where we shop, by the mill date on each bag. Kalmbach, at a different store, is kept in a run-in shed there, out in the weather, and we won't buy it (buggy and old!).
Also it's difficult to get every bird to eat a complete balanced ration...
Over time, and bad experiences, many of us learn to build Ft. Knox coops and at least a smaller run, so the birds can be safe inside when they can't free range.
A concrete floor is terrific, but everything else needs to be up to that standard. No openings larger than 1/2", no chicken wire...
Hi again, @Prunellopy, glad you found a good place, it's beautiful up there!
About ticks; if you still have that one, there are labs that will test for some of the many diseases one may carry, do look into it. And talk to your doctor about having your son tested for a few of them, and when...
Amazing little egg, for sure. Cute!
Venting a bit here, not chicken related. We have several redbud trees, love them, and every year many many seeds. Once in a while I find a two or three year (best guess) seedling, and love every one. Never understood why so few seedlings compared to the...
Welcome!
Your pullets and this new cockerel all all pretty young, and so adult behaviors aren't developed yet.
Is this cockerel crowing? Was he crowing and trying to mate birds at his previous home? If not, he's not remotely mature enough to 'take over', and happily he's not harassing your...
Transporting them in dog crates with old towels works very well, they will be fine for a couple of hours. Take dishes and a bag of feed along, for emergency delays, but maybe a bit of scratch on the towels while traveling. And don't let them overheat in there! If you have to stop in hot...
This May the store didn't have chick grit, so our week old standard sized chicks got the adult grit and they did fine on it. I think that the 'adult grit' was very small for actual adult standard sized chickens, birds here will eat stones 1/4" to 1/2" diameter out of our gravel driveway...
At another farm store, years ago, five 'pullets' developed into four cockerels and one pullet. Our worst episode ever, by far. From a different hatchery, no doubt offering stores the best price per chick.
And often I do see poults and/ or keets mixed with chicks, possibly confusing some...
Add your approximate location to your profile, it helps when asking for advice, at least. And pictures of your coop and yard fencing would be good too.
Your dogs are a big help, glad they are fine with your birds, that's wonderful. At least one of them should be out there any time the chicks...
Our ten pullets from TSC this May have only developed into two cockerels, a success from a farm store in my experience.
And we might keep one of them, depending.
Cute as the OEGBs are, they don't work out here either.
Mary
Love your reports here!
I too have had bad incubator experiences, two different inexpensive incubators, neither the one you had. Maybe Brinsea if I try again, let us know how yours does.
Mary
I think that making excuses for rooster behavior isn't a good idea. Yes, birds recognize fear, human sizes and individuals, and see colors, but most often human aggression increases over time, from the smallest busiest humans up the scale to the largest. Convincing a bird who's inclined...
@Beekissed has a good article on this site about trying to reform difficult roosters, look it up. There are lots of methods from different people about reforming roosters, do some reading soonest.
Never have any of the techniques described turned an attack bird into a good boy here! If small...