Photos to tempt you... If they're too fuzzy from the resizing, I can e-mail you full-sized.
His back and shoulders are a nice dark red, his flank is orange, nice full green tail, matte black chest, green bar on his wings, and his neck feathers go from orange, to gold, back to orange again...
Are you interested in a Welsummer? (At least then you can get some olive-eggers out of him if you have EE hens.) Ajax is 21 weeks old and has a good personality; he's been through "rooster obedience training" ala Rooster Red and he knows better than to mess with people (he's only bit me once...
Has anyone set up a dog kennel chicken run on a sloped area? (Everything's hilly down here so there isn't a better spot). What would be the easiest/cheapest way to do it? Gravel, wood, cinder blocks...? Dad wants to get rocks from the quarry and balance the kennel on them (no idea how that's...
Thanks for the reply. Muad'dib went out to the run today but he is still just lying around so I guess he's finally feeling his age. The poor hens are just hanging out next to him, keeping him company. I'm sort of shocked at how nice and respectful they're being.
The pullets/cockerels were...
I've been planning to expand my run from 7X7 to 10X20, thanks to a guy who sold me 5 dog kennel panels for $80 (10 feet long, 6 feet high). I already bought all the hardware cloth, chicken wire for the roof, welded wire skirt, etc. But now he's got 4 more panels he wants to sell me for another...
In my flock it usually depends on the age; the older girls go to bed sooner and the young ones stay up. Lately though it seems like everyone's gone to bed around 5:30 like yours.
Wanted to get everybody's opinion on this. My 6-yr-old EE roo (Muad'dib) has been acting ill for a few weeks, and tonight he is sleeping in the nest box. If he lasts the night, I have a feeling he will probably die sometime tomorrow or soon after. (Pretty sure it's natural--both his wives...
My rooster was an angel until he turned 1; and when he turned 4 he went through a sort of "midlife crisis" and got really out of hand. So I don't think you'll be able to tell their adult personalities for quite a while yet. The lazy cockerel may just have his hormones kicking in at a slower...
I think if you keep her locked up 24/7 it will be easier for her to forget about brooding. With my hens it always takes a few days, at least, to break them.
You'll know if she's still broody because she'll have her feathers fluffed up to keep the heat in, and she'll be more likely to growl at...
You really can't depend on the rooster, though. The last time I lost one to a hawk, the rooster didn't seem to notice she was gone, and plus, our entire family was outside doing lawn work and nobody saw a thing. I don't free range mine anymore because a hawk attack is really an awful way to...
Yes, it's different with age groups, especially if you have a rooster (in my experience). Wait till they're close to the same size.
Nowadays my rooster is older and mellowed out (age 6) so he hardly cares when new hens show up, but my three youngest hens (ages 2 and 3) are jealous of newcomers.
Warning: rant/obituary ahead.
Don't, whatever you do, build a tractor like this one. This was my retirement coop, made of 2X4 welded wire with chicken wire on top, with a modified plastic dog house inside. I knew it wasn't very sturdy at the time, but I needed a quick and cheap solution when...
You can coat it with Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic ointment as long as it isn't the kind with pain killer in it. If you can't keep her in the house (where it's more sterile) I would put her in a wire cage in the coop, maybe hanging. I've had a hen with a hole pecked in her head and another...
Good news! She made it!
So last night I tried to make a chicken diaper to hold the yolk up, but when I un-swaddled her the umbilical cord freaked me out. I couldn't tell where the cord ended and where intestines might start, and the hole in the stomach seemed to be bigger. I was really...
Okay, it looks like the yolky part at the bottom of the membrane is almost completely gone (hard to tell with the chick kicking all over the place) but the umbilical cord is still wet. I've had her wrapped in wet rags all this time, sitting in a bowl so that she can't move--is that hindering...
Thanks! It's been about 105 so I'll try to get it down just a bit.
My sister realized that the chick wasn't making progress because the back end of the egg was gone and she didn't have anything to push off of.
We just got her out of the shell (the inner membrane had stopped bleeding) but the...
Have you tried wetting and mashing up her feed? You can mix it with oatmeal and scrambled eggs, and add a bit of honey and yogurt to tempt her. You also might try tuna. (She has been getting enough grit, right? Does her crop feel full?)