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  1. frog522

    Trimming or managing chicken nails

    Hello, I'd like to seek the advice of fellow forum members on when humans need to intervene with trimming the nails of chickens. I've had a pet chicken for about 4 years now, I've noticed recently her nails are longer than before. She used to have more outdoor playtime in the backyard however...
  2. frog522

    Plastic Wrapped Runs???

    Is greenhouse plastic different than painter's plastic? I've used painter's plastic (still currently using it, two layers of 6-mil each) and it degrades pretty quickly. First tears/cracks appear after 2.5 months and by 6 or 7 months the whole plastic breaks off into messy flakes. I guess...
  3. frog522

    Cost effective ways to dump sand?

    I have a 5'x4' chicken run with sand on a concrete floor. I've used the sand for about a year and half now, without replacing any. There is a detectable smell now when I kneel down in the run which is bothering me. I have been scooping out poop nearly daily since I have been using it. I only...
  4. frog522

    Molting

    Quote: Really? Is any canned wet cat food is okay? (I might go out and buy some after work). Will chickens eat it? Is it safe for them to eat??
  5. frog522

    Chicken losing feathers--is this normal? (pictures included)

    Here is a picture update on my chicken going through her first major molt. She lost all her tail feathers! Pin feathers are growing out all over but are most visible underneath her wing...kind of gnarly!
  6. frog522

    Chicken losing feathers--is this normal? (pictures included)

    Thanks for the reassuring responses that she is molting! She lost even more feathers since the pictures were taken yesterday morning...now she looks even more scruffy and doesn't have any tail feathers at all! She looks quite ridiculous. I have a few questions about molting that maybe some...
  7. frog522

    Chicken losing feathers--is this normal? (pictures included)

    My chicken has lost a lot of feathers within the last three days. I got her early May 2010 so she was probably hatched/born around the end of April 2010. This all happened in three days. Coop and run were spotless before. Is she molting? Is something wrong with her? Is there anything I...
  8. frog522

    Your preference: Laying crumble or Laying pellets?

    I started my chickens on "Starter Crumble" in May 2010 and then switched over to laying crumble when they first started to lay. In June 2011 I switched over to laying pellets because I thought it would be more convenient to eat in terms of size. I've noticed quite alot of pellets scattered all...
  9. frog522

    Sick hen or broody hen?

    My same chicken has gone broody again. This is the second time she's gone broody in 2 to 3 months, what gives!? I did not give her any eggs to hatch the first and only time so far. How often do your broody hens get broody again?
  10. frog522

    Roaches...gross...how to eradicate without poisoning?

    Our neighborhood has roaches, most likely from the sewer. They haven't been a problem for the year and 2 months I've had chickens, but it must be combination of the warmer spring weather and scattered chicken feed on the chicken run floor that is drawing them near. I've seen two or three every...
  11. frog522

    Sick hen or broody hen?

    Last night when I found she was in the nest box, I put my hand under her to see if she could have been injured. I had let her out for 2 1/2 hours before nighttime. When I put my hand under her, I felt a large area of skin (not feathers), which I thought was really strange because it felt...
  12. frog522

    Sick hen or broody hen?

    Normally my hens sleep on the roost at night (for the last year since I've had them). Last night I found one of them in the nest box. She didn't move at all when I poked, prodded, and pet her. This is very unusual since normally my chickens are finicky and don't let me touch them at all. She...
  13. frog522

    Who else had their chicks BEFORE they built their coop?

    I got my chicks last year in May and didn't finish my coop and run until July. They were starting to get mighty big by then. I had heard they could start laying at 15 weeks and I was panicking and working on my coop/run everyday after work. You know you're outside too much when you can sense...
  14. frog522

    newbie to composting

    Thanks for everybody's replies. I think the probability of me ending up with a good compost after a few months is looking good! Is it even possible to fail at a compost?
  15. frog522

    newbie to composting

    I've been asked numerous times since I've gotten chickens to compost chicken manure to use as fertilizer in our garden (or what's left of it, haha) and yard. Keep in mind I don't know much about composting. I've gotten some questions that I'm hoping you all can answer. Feel free to add...
  16. frog522

    True cost of starting a backyard flock.

    Quote: Why couldn't a coop or raising chickens be called an investment? Investment does not have to imply monetary return. A person could invest in having chickens for personal satisfaction or enjoyment, even if raising chickens never makes up the cost of money and time they put in. What...
  17. frog522

    True cost of starting a backyard flock.

    Quote: My post was not aimed at you. It was a general response to a culmination of responses I've read on BYC over the past few months. No one is saying that it's mandatory to spend $2,000 on starting new to raising chickens. At the same time, it's not realistic to tell somebody they can...
  18. frog522

    True cost of starting a backyard flock.

    Some other factors involved could include: trade skill, upbringing, self-construction/pre-fab. Trade: If you are related to a trade or know someone who is in the construction trade, it's a whole lot easier to get quick advice on how to build proper structures rather than spending alot of time...
  19. frog522

    Chicken myths and old wives' tales, please!

    Quote: I remember reading this article! And this was before chickens took over my life (they have returned some of it now). I was pretty amazed by the article at the time, haha! Although I've never seen a blue or green egg first-hand yet, now I know this guy in Mexico doesn't have the only...
  20. frog522

    ...chicken bowling anyone?

    this morning I opened the human door to the coop and one of my girls thought she could get by me. i pushed her back into the coop with my hand. she tried again and again...5 times. I was mildly amused that she didn't get the message I wasn't letting her out. It felt like I was bowling with a...
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