I don't have access to grass. I was really hoping for other answers to hay & straw. My girls eat it and end up with sour crop and killed one of them. I have been very sad over that for more than a year. I'm still looking for a good substitute for hay cause another one of my girls has come down...
I was really lucky at the store. There was only 1 package left & it showed a leak on the side. I asked the mgr if he would discount it. He opened the package in front of me & only a few drops had leaked through the tamper proof plastic & sold it to me for $6.99 instead of $13.99as marked. To...
A little over 2 weeks ago I sent one of my girls to UC Davis, in CA, for necropsy. Results came in as Mareks. I was not expecting that because the chicks were supposed to have been inoculated for it from the supplier. My girls have morphed into being pets and it has been very hard on me. I have...
I have a Buff Orpington that I thought was going broody for the better part of a week. Last week she stubbed her middle right toe & has been limping around and holding it up.
She did that before she started acting broody. She's about 7 months old & does not have the same weight as the...
I always use a manila rope zig-zaged across the board I'm using for the ramp. It's glued on. My thinking was to provide a no slip material that would be easy on their feet. It has held up very well and I have never seen them stumble or loose their footing.
I also have a very affectionate 7 month old Barred Rock named Roget pronounced:
http://static.sfdict.com/staticrep/dictaudio/R03/R0363700.mp3
I don't know where the name came from. I had never heard the name before, however this very special baby chick came right up to me the first day &...
A 50 pound bag, of wheat seed, for $16, makes 100s of pounds of fodder, which they really like and is 80% nutritious vs 20-25% dry. Did I mention they REALLY like it and it's ridiculously easy.
I've been giving mine cooked pasta for about 2 weeks now, mainly spaghetti, and they jump all over each other to get to it. When people come over to see the chicks, I always say '"watch this" and bring out a hand full & everybody gets a great laugh.
Any kind of melon is great. Even a rind with just a little 'meat' on it is OK. Also a 1/2 ear of corn is gone in about 10 minutes, as well a an apple dangled on a string.
I have 3 out of 8. I love everything about them. They're overall shape, fluffy bottom feathers, color of their legs, cute little chirps, the way they look at you when you come out the door all inquisitive, the way they knock the others around when they're trying to get to the treats while at the...
I have 2 Barred Rocks, 3 Buff Orpingtons & 3 Black Australorps. The BAs are not as friendly as the others. Maybe they'll come around. All part of the chicken experience.
Thanks Chris for getting this started. I think this is a very valuable tool for making this breed really become main stream again. Even though I was unable to get any Dels, this first time around, I'm learning & preparing for what it will take to do a good job with breeding chickens. Dels were...
Update! They work awesome. I got them on Sat afternoon, sterilized them & installed them. While I had them wrapped up in the towel I went ahead & trimmed their toenails, cause I've been getting perforated arms. Talk about being different birds. Nothing short of amazing. They were as easy to put...