A broody hen is by far better IMHO. But you don't always have that option, and when you don't, an incubator served that purpose well. IMO, broody hens know what temp to keep their nests/eggs, know when and how often to roll them, know when to stop rolling them, and then take care of and raise...
I've been trying container gardening the last couple of years as I have trouble with my soils in my actual garden. The container plants seem to really take off, growing like wild, and then it's like someone hits a switch and they stop. My tomatos have done awesome, covered with little green...
My 14yo son was helping his grandfather cut hay and came across a nest of wild turkey eggs. Grandpa is not a warm, fuzzy soul, and was going to wind up destroying the nest, so my son gathered them up and brought them home to our incubator. The wife candled them (that was this past Saturday)...
Glad to hear it is NOT the dog. I hope you get that sucker. If you get really good at dispatching them, could you come to my house, cuz the one getting my birds is sneaky like a...well, fox.
If the dog was outside with the birds when it happened, then it was the dog. Any other predator would have been deterred by the doodle. I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but my money is on your mom's dog!
It is illegal to kill any animal indiscriminately, even snakes, here in Missouri. But killing in defense of your livestock, your own safety or to prevent property damage is allowed. There have been a number of mountain lions (which are extremely rare here) killed because a person thought they...
Yesterday morning I got up to let my chickens out at daylight just as I always do. Went back in and had my coffee. 2 hours later I go out and find a line of feathers across the front yard, but no chicken and no blood. I am definitely missing 2 birds. They free range during the day and get...
OK, gonna start raising mealworms, but have a lot of questions. First, why do you want your mealworms to pupate if you're feeding them to the chickens as mealworms instead of as beetles? Are you doing it to replenish your adult beetle/breeder stock? And how many adults do you keep at a time...
I'm looking at starting a compost pile. I've always fed my birds the leftover/scraps, and just tossed the coop cleanings into the garden, but I think I want to start a compost pile to supplement feeding the chickens. Plus I can imagine they do a really good job of keeping it turned. So, from...
I'm sure this has been discussed, but I can't find anything. Every search of 'Winter Chicken Food Crops' just gives me cover crops. I live in Planting Zone 6 or 7 and the only crops I hear of people planting this time of year is turnips. Being the first of October, is there anything I can...
...the middle of the coop.
What do I do? I have had all sorts of traps set (after the babies are put up obviously) including steel jaw traps and snares, but no luck. I caught him on my game camera if you're wondering how I know its a fox.
Any suggestions on getting the wily old ^&(#^%)#$*?
You could see from the picture that I have more eggs awaiting hatching, 9 more to be exact. I've noticed in cooking/eating the other eggs that the inside membrane of the eggs is really tough to tear. Is this something I should worry about with my babies not being able to get through? How long...
Well, we're blessed/cursed with a new resident. I was sitting on the porch the other day with wifey watching the chickens and all of a sudden all the grownups run under the porch. I get up to look as a shadow streaks across the yard and what do I see, but a beautiful bald eagle soaring across...
All of those signs are present with the new pup. We have a large duck that she chases (the kids told me this yesterday) until the duck gets mad, then it turns squawks and flaps his wings and the pup goes running. My chickens are free range. Does this mean I'm going to have to pen the dog up...
I have a bush out where my chickens free range. I think its under a grub worm attack. I have an insecticide to use on it but am concerned for the safety of my chickens. Is there any reason for me to be?
I've been looking for a dog to protect the 'free range' flock, but keep getting murderers instead. I've been to the pound twice now, trying to kill two birds with one stone...no pun intended. When I get them at the pound, I usually get young pups. I raise them with the chickens, feed them...
I have hatched through my incubator, after a broody hen decided she wasn't interested any more. If she does decide to abandon the nest, I can always heat the incubator back up.
I'm curious...when you put a duck or turkey egg under a broody hen and they successfully hatch, does the hen stay...