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  1. RubelliteRose

    How often do you freshen nest boxes?

    When we treat with Elector PSP, we treat both the birds and the coop. I remove all shaving from the coop, sweep it out and then spray everything including the tools that I used. I also make sure to spray the roosts in the covered part of the run, but not the run itself. My understanding is...
  2. RubelliteRose

    How often do you freshen nest boxes?

    We also only change nest boxes for poop, broken eggs, and mite outbreaks. Have you tried using Elector PSP? I know it is expensive, but it lasts forever and for us was totally worth it. While we haven't had leg mites, we have had a couple of northern fowl mite outbreaks. Each time I believe...
  3. RubelliteRose

    How many hens for a 4 person household?/Potential oversupply??

    Once you have your initial set up, costs aren't too bad. For our 19, we go through 50 lbs of food a month - maybe a little more in the winter when there is less forage while free ranging and maybe a little less in the summer. A 50 lb bag of oyster shell lasts us several years. Bottles of...
  4. RubelliteRose

    How many hens for a 4 person household?/Potential oversupply??

    That is a somewhat difficult question to answer, because after 5 years, at any given time the number of laying hens changes 😂 . Currently, we have 19 chickens - 3 roosters, 11 hens, and 5 pullets. Of the hens, I think only 2 are currently laying as the rest are in molt (one girl also...
  5. RubelliteRose

    Help please

    @Eggcessive is one of our BYC experts! I would follow her advice and give your hen a calcium tablet to help in case she is egg bound. It won't hurt her, but it will help her expel any egg material that may be stuck. You are right, bumblefoot wouldn't normally affect eating and pooping. I did...
  6. RubelliteRose

    Help please

    Sorry your girl isn't feeling well. It is good that she ate the egg and drank water. Did you check for mites, lice and bumblefoot? When she does walk, is she limping at all? When I had a hen who was eggbound, I noticed that her vent was unusually active for lack of a better term. Like she...
  7. RubelliteRose

    Holding back eggs in anticipation of molt

    We also tell everyone that we won't be giving away as many whole eggs starting in the fall. I need eggs for holiday baking and eggnog! Friends and family will just be getting their eggs in an alternate form;)
  8. RubelliteRose

    Correct Way to Feed Chickens

    Welcome to BYC!:frow This is the answer. In addition, you may have to try a few different setups until you find what works best for you and your flock. We finally settled on using several smaller gravity feeders(because food bullies can only guard one at a time) that are placed into rubber...
  9. RubelliteRose

    Hen Squawking Loudly

    I have a couple hens who do this when someone is in "their" nest spot. I also have a girl who, before we got a rooster, would make this same yell at our back door until someone either came outside to escort her to the nest box or she couldn't wait any longer 🤣
  10. RubelliteRose

    First Year Molt?

    First year molt is uncommon, but can happen. I had 2 of my first 8 girls molt before their first winter. I was also very confused when I opened the coop to find it covered in feathers one morning! They are both now 5 years old and still healthy, so it is just a thing that a few chickens do🤷‍♀️
  11. RubelliteRose

    Broken toenail or foreign object?

    Glad you are able to get a vet to look at her 😊 Let us know what the vet says about her foot!
  12. RubelliteRose

    Broken toenail or foreign object?

    To me it looks like a bumblefoot plug that is starting to be pushed out, but under the toenail. It is a little hard to tell from the picture. If it is bumblefoot, then soaking in Epsom and using antibiotic is perfect! Does it soften after you soak her foot? If it is still very hard, it could...
  13. RubelliteRose

    4 soft shell eggs today ☹️

    They are beautiful😊 Since you are getting some hard shelled eggs, the soft shell eggs are probably just the other girls working the kinks out of their system. I would wait a week or so before giving them tums. It won't hurt them, but if they aren't calcium deficient, it won't help either...
  14. RubelliteRose

    Who was your best mama this year?

    This is good to know. I may need to add some bantam's to my flock! Our broody is a BCM. She is a wonderful mom, but a terrible incubator🤦‍♀️ The first year, she raised 2 chicks. Last year, none of her eggs hatched with most breaking, so we bought a few day old chicks. We thought the other...
  15. RubelliteRose

    4 soft shell eggs today ☹️

    New pullets often take a couple of weeks before laying normal shelled eggs consistently. It sounds like they have more than enough access to calcium, so if I had to guess, your 4 soft shell eggs are from girls who were not laying before. Are you getting any normal eggs or are they all soft...
  16. RubelliteRose

    Chicken laid soft egg and fragments. Won't leave the nest.

    Glad the calcium worked so quickly! The squishy crop and diarrhea could just be from not eating and having her system blocked by egg. Sour crop is supposed to be accompanied by a sour odor as well. If she isn't eating by tomorrow and you still think she has sour crop, here are two good...
  17. RubelliteRose

    Chicken laid soft egg and fragments. Won't leave the nest.

    Welcome to BYC. Sorry this is the reason for being here though. It does sound like she trying to pass more egg material. Have you tried giving her any calcium? It is often recommended for egg binding and soft shells. Here is a post about it from @Eggcessive. I've only had one egg bound...
  18. RubelliteRose

    Why are my hens migrating across the coop?

    🤣 because there will be that one hen who decides her personal bubble takes up 5-6 feet of roost space. Looks over at my head hen Holly😒 Fortunately, she has chilled a tiny bit in her old age - she only wants 2-3 feet now sigh.
  19. RubelliteRose

    The DIY Kit Company Chicken Coop Bracket Kit

    Welcome to BYC😊 I haven't heard of the DIY kit company, but I have seen those type of brackets used for sheds. You might be able to search for a video of a shed build. I remember seeing on from Gold Shaw Farms on youtube a few years ago. Or I could look it up and post the link for you😂 FWIW...
  20. RubelliteRose

    What happened to Elector PSP?

    I love the one and done of Elector PSP! For some reason, we only seem to get mites as my hen who goes broody decides to sit on eggs. Maybe they are her trigger🙄 I bought it from Valley Vet(same place as above). If you sign up for their emails, they will regularly send out coupons. I think...
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