It's a young woodchuck, and cute as they are, move it on. They burrow under buildings, not good, and will eat a lot of chicken feed.
Right now the youngsters are moving out and will be finding places to inhabit, and you don't wan this one staying around!
Mary
Agree, shade and cool water, watermelon is nice too. Our birds head right for the tree and shrub boarder next to their coop as soon as they get out, and it's much cooler there for them.
Half of our coop/ roofed run has insulation in the roof, and it keeps the coop a bit cooler in summer, also...
He's become a dangerous liability for you, and can seriously injure your children! Get him gone, ASAP, preferably as dinner for either your family or some other family.
If you do try to rehome him, full disclosure is necessary, and having him injure another child? Terrible thought!
Even if you...
Totally true, all of it. And two friends who had koi in their backyard ponds lost them to herons, very expensive losses, and learned that goldfish and heavy plantings are best! And don't forget about weasels, any variety, are happy to help with fish in small ponds too.
Mary
NO! I buy the little guys out of the 'kill tank' at the pet store, when they look healthy enough. They start maybe 1.5" long, and not all survive in the water tank, but some do make it, and when they get a few inches long, they move to a friend's backyard pond, and I get a few little ones...
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...