I considered that. If I had a smaller coop I'd probably done that, as it is, too much dirt would have to be moved. Instead, I sank four 6"x"x8's, attached the perimeter 2x10's, cutting off the excess 6x6's. The front of the floor is about four feet in the air, requiring the construction of a...
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Not that I agree or Disagree, but just to balance the argument, most human medicines are full of toxins and poisons too.
Some, not most. Yes, I am a health care professional.
Petroleum Jelly is all "that's in there".
Here we are at 4 months +, coop and run are almost finished. They're all living outside now, mostly on my back deck and a few other sheltered places. Never buy chicks without the coop and run being complete and functional is all I have to say on the matter.
A few pics.
Yes, we're on a...
Auto grease is full of heavy metals; moly and several others. If it's not fit to use on a human, it's not fit to use on a living animal. Use petroleum jelly, available at any drug store or Walmart. While I wouldn't eat it, it is safe to use topically on animals.
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I'm an RN and do wash my hands any time I handle the chicks because they're a lot more fecally contaminated than either my cats or dogs and I wash my hands before handling any food after touching them too.
I worked in the Operating Room for my entire career, no need for that level of...
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The reason you should wait until early or mid-spring is so that by the time the ouside temps are relatively warm, your chicks are feathered in enough to not require a heat lamp or source. In your location, you don't want to order them too early in the spring either, they might get too...
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The one on the right in that photo could be a Dominique which has a rather flat rose comb. They're harder to verify gender, the two on the left appear to be pullets.
This is my Dominique cockerel at three weeks.
This photo shows two Partridge Rock cockerels at three weeks, Barred...
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Out of my 26 Partridge Rocks, one is like that. He's otherwise in good health, eats and drinks and isn't intimidated by the others.
Man, is he ever the ugly one though and always has been, small too.
The white one in the top photo appears to be a cockerel, the red one on the left in the bottom photo may be as well. Try to get individuals in each photo from the side to fully view their combs.
Unfortunately, if it weren't your dog, coyotes would have gotten in the run or coop. A coop or chicken run has to have buried fencing around it and at least one foot of hardware cloth over that at the bottom to prevent bite throughs.
In the last three months I've had friends lose entire flocks...
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I don't have Polish crested breeds, but do not feed medicated feed at all. I had all of my chicks vaccinated by the hatchery before shipment and have no problems at all.
I'm an RN and have a problem giving antibiotics or fungicides to an healthy animal that is asymptomatic.
The next...
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Agreed. I fed my chicks some plain yogurt on the end of my finger, just one time. It's painful. Then for a few days, they actively pecked at my hand thinking that that was the "goody delivery" method. Placing their food or treats on a plate or object is the way to go, don't hand...
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My chicks, as shown in my sig file, are 26 Partridge Rocks and one Dominique. The darker color I mentioned was for my PR's only, all breeds are different in that regard.
The surest sign of a cockerel is the comb development, which begins to differentiate at about two weeks.