This bird is second in command. She is pretty gentle, and has not shown any other change in behavior besides the crowing. As stated, my birds are on a break from laying right now, and will be started up again soon.
My 1 1/2 year old Buff Orp hen has started to crow! It started 2 weeks ago with a sick-sounding two-syllable crow, but has now developed into a full-blown cock-a-doodle-doo. The bird's comb has also become big and bright red. I have kept my hens on natural light this past few months to allow...
-Can't say exactly, but it's long enough not to worry about it. I guess I would consider a month to be safe. In many other countries eggs aren't refrigerated at all. In or out of the fridge they should be stored unwashed.
My coop, intalled this past May, is a converted shed with a plywood floor. I toyed with different floor ideas, such as paint and linoleum. Finally, I decided to just put use an extra layer of 1/2" treated plywood and nailed it down. The bedding is deep-litter pine shavings. So far it has worked...
Do you have the birds under artificial light? If not, then you probably won't see any eggs until the days get quite a bit longer. If your birds were hatched in late April of last year, they were probably just reaching point of lay about the same time the day length was becoming too short for...
Probably a dozen a week for me. I never ate that many before I got chickens, but the homegrown eggs are just so much better tasting and healthier than the store bought ones.
I do deep litter. A complete cleaning was done at the end of November in preparation for the birds spending more time inside over the winter. All the poop has been frozen for the last month, but now we've got a thaw. I'm going to add more bedding tomorrow before things get stinky.
I have tried various methods for boiling eggs with varying levels of success. Then I read a tip from a BYC post about steaming eggs. Don't know why I never tried that, as I am a steaming maniac. Let me tell you. Steaming blows all other methods of hard- boiling eggs out of the water. It's really...
My silkies can't jump more than about 6 inches, and can't fly at all. Still, they like to act like real chickens in some ways, such as roosting with the flock at night. I gave them a ramp to use. They love it. My rather uncoordinated BO appreciates it, too. Notice that extra block of 2x4 and the...
I'll use the feet and heads for stock. They're good to eat on their own, too. Have you ever tried steamed chicken feet in black bean sauce? Delicious! In the Chinese markets you can always find packages of just feet (they're usually next to the duck tongues and dressed silkies).
I've just seen this thread for the first time. What a great coop! So original! -Should come in real handy for the odd artillery barrage as well. You have very lucky chickens.