My blue laced red wyandotte went broody, so I got her 10 hatching eggs from Meyer hatchery. I'm not sure what went on with the eggs, but she only hatched 1 chick and left the nest! The other eggs appear to be not viable after candling. The chick is very cute, and it's really fun watching her mom...
Hey all, I'm looking for thoughts on if there is a waiting period between losing birds and getting new ones. I got 4 hens in February of this year as 7 week old pullets. 2 of them died recently, and I'm still not sure of the reason. I have speculated that it was some type of disease, fearing the...
I built a 3w x 6l x 2h ft chicken tractor for my 4 hens so that they can explore the yard and garden and feast on some grubs etc. My plan is to only have them in it for periods of the day when I'm home, as it's not as secure as their run, and though I'll move it around, it's still rather small...
I got 4, seven week old pullets last week and I'm excited to have chickens again. Two easter eggers, one olive egger, and a blue laced red wyandotte. So far they seem to be getting along well. I am already wanting more chickens, and thinking about getting 2 more, possibly a Wheaten Ameraucana...
Hey all,
I am planning to install a Run Chicken automatic door on our duck house so they ducks can get out in the morning if I sleep in. I have an idea to try to train them to go in the coop at a certain time at night - by having an automatic feeder drop feed into their bowl at the same time...
I might have missed it - but which brooder plate have people used successfully into temps in the 20s?
I am trying to figure out if it's realistic to brood ducklings outside in my climate. The mama heating pad method mentioned in Blooie's thread and others sounds like it is working for people...
I have tried to search-up the answer to this question but have come up with some conflicting answers. We have 6 ducklings arriving the last week of March, and I believe we'll have to keep them inside in the garage for 8 weeks as it may still be getting below 45 at night into May. Regarding...
Noise does seem to be subjective and/or vary by individual. At least that's what it seems like as I see reports of welsh harlequins being very quiet, and others saying they are very loud - for example.
Oh interesting, I wonder if they need to eat more since they're making eggs. The main reason I was thinking all drakes or to have even ratio is in case we have to get rid of the hens due to noise. Then we would still have more than 1 lonely drake.
Lucy, what breeds are your females/males to get the size difference and what's your total flock size? I am hoping to do equal male/female numbers at a total flock of 4-6 and curious how yours is working.
I'm getting ready to order some ducklings from Metzer farm, but I haven't solidified which ducks to get yet. They have a duck comparison chart where they've rated different duck qualities including skittishness. They rate the fawn and white indian runner significantly more skittish than black or...
Thanks! Yes that does help. I have read that ducks also eat plants, so I am planning that we would fence off the vegetable beds and let them roam under our fruit trees and in our native plant beds. I have read they eat tender greens like lettuce, kale, etc. Do you know if they would also eat...
Hey duck folks! We're looking into getting a troop of ducks for bug control in our backyard orchard and garden and I'm trying to answer some questions before we move forward to make sure it'll all work out ok.
Breed. I'm leaning towards all drakes since we're not concerned about eggs but are...
Hey everyone,
I'm a gardener and hobby orchardist in Boise, ID. I've kept chickens for eggs in the past. Currently I'm hoping to learn more about good options for bug control. We've had some bad earwig and squash bug infestations in our garden and fruit tree orchard recently. I was thinking...