As AinaWGSD says above:
Last spring we ordered 3 Sapphire Jewel chicks from Meyer's. They are now eight months and have been fun from the start (they look like stark white Ameraucanas). Each pullet reliably lays large light- blue eggs 6-7 times a week. You heard that right. They started...
When chicken people measure egg-laying capacity, they sometimes talk about "longevity of lay." This means that certain breeds of chickens may be more likely to lay regularly into their 5th, 6th, or 7th years. So if you raise these breeds, you might have better luck getting ladies that will lay...
I've had her since she was a chick, and the rest of the brood have been with her since day 1. They are 26 weeks and in lay. She has no symptoms of respiratory issues. She's walking around foraging and meanwhile mooing and occasionally giving out a squeak or a hiccup. Interesting that she...
My grandfather used to say
"Whistling girls and crowing hens
Always come to bad ends."
I'm one of those whistling girls, so I'm rooting for your hen. So far I have avoided the bad end thing!
We have a brown leghorn, Bucket, who is 18 weeks, and has been laying small green eggs for a week and a half now. Of our 6 hens, she has been one of the first two to come into lay, and at first we thought the eggs were just freak "getting started" eggs. But now we have a bunch of them, and...
We have been having the same problem. Dumped the artificial turf and switched to excelsior nesting pads. I don't know if these would work with rollout. Pullets love them because they can make their own big old dent in them, which seems to be a big part of the allure.
We got six female chicks from a local hatchery on Mar 17. We were well intentioned for buying from a local hatchery, but the place was very disorganized, bad communication, and I though I ordered the chicks in December I had to drive out there and get the chicks I'd ordered - 2 BuffOs, 2 Barred...
I'm in the middle of putting a clear polycarbonate roof on my run. The manufacturer suggests no more than a 4" overhang on each side, FYI. I bought some extra panels and am planning to use those in winter, tacked to the sides of the run against prevailing weather like you're doing with shower...
Before you beat yourself up too much, be aware that many of us beginners have made the same mistake and bought one of the "dollhouse coops." (Unlike you, I couldn't return mine and had to eat the cost.). The rest of the advice here is great. Making a home for chickens can be time- and work-...
It's spring here in Rochester New York along the shore of lake ontario. It's the season where everything is growing like a weed including weeds. Today I removed some aggressive grass turf from the garden that was growing into the flower beds put it inside a nursery tray packed it in well and...