My cat, Cobo, thinks he's a chicken. Yes, since he came home as a kitten, he's been hanging out with the girls. He "pecks" the ground and eats grass with them, takes dust baths with them, and plays hide and seek with them. One day when I was working in the garden, I turned around to see Cobo...
My girls have a nice big run (12 x 18 or so) with a "patio cover" so they can be out in all weather. If it's not raining or otherwise bad weather, we open the gate to the run and let them range the rest of the property. They love it. They put themselves back in the run at dusk and we secure...
There's a lot of great info on this subject. Like many of you mention here, after wondering the same thing, I started searching up info. I don't wash my eggs. They are usually clean from the laying box, but sometimes they might have a bit of dirt. In this case, I wipe it away with a dry...
Thanks for the tip on corn. I've also read on this site to hold off on ACV during the high heat. My girls are also in shade with a tarp over the run. I added a pool of sorts to the run; I had an unused lid to a trash can that I put in the run with some water. Thanks for the pool idea...
I use my girls' layer feed for their primary scratch. Like many of you, I add a little sunflower seeds or a few raisins to give them something different, but the scratch is layer feed. My girls get free range time when I'm outside, so the get good excercise that way. I just like to keep them...
You are TOTALLY the Erma Bombeck of our much loved Backyard Chickens group. I've had similar experiences, and I laughed out loud as I read along, because it's all so true! Thank you for your honesty and wisdom, and I know your flock must feel the same :-)
I'm in Oregon--weather is gorgeous right now. My babies are just at 8 weeks. I started putting them outside during the day for a couple of days. This past weekend, I set up their mini-coop/run inside the big run so they could get to know the big girls. The mini-coop is an upside down...
I have three layers and two new chicks that will be joining them in the next few weeks. My run is about 10 x 20 (pretty big). We have cats as well, and other creatures in our rural area. With that in mind, we wanted them to have secure ranging room. I also wanted my access to be from within...
I'm glad the bath is helping. I couldn't believe it either when Red settled down into the warm water. She let me bathe her vent area with it, too. She really relaxed in it. I was also able to get her to drink drops of water from a kids medicine syringe; we got a good 5-6 mls into her. We...
I've been dealing with the same issue with one of my girls. I was going through the posts on egg bound hens last night. My girl had the same symptoms that you and the others have discussed (it came on quick, too). I'm sad to report that she passed away last night. But, I did everthing you...
Spring is here, and it's Easter just around the orner. The girls did great through our first winter together. It fun watching them and caring for them. I was putting together some items to take out to them, and I remembered I had some whiffle golf balls (practice golf balls with little holes...
I've been reading this thread for a day or so, and the info is terrific. I started with chicks last year for the first time in my life (trip to the feed store with my then 18-year old daughter--"I'll take care of them, Mom"...HAH!). I got two to start, and put them in a brooder made from a...