I just bought a barred rock rooster Friday evening, he is supposed to be around ten months old. Didn't notice anything Friday evening but I noticed one of its eyes was closed the next morning and now it is covered whitish / yellow, he stands around a lot of the time fluffed up and makes some...
I'm interested in a mechanical chicken plucker. I've done some research on the internet looking at making the whizbank or purchasing the featherman pro. I would like some input from people who are using pluckers. What is the best type, brand, size, etc. What price range should I expect to pay...
I have a question about one of my hens. She is a Buff Orpington. She's around 7-8 months old. For the past several days she has been staying in the next box day and night. I do not have a rooster so the eggs are not fertile. The first day I got an egg from under her, the second day she was still...
I'm interested in starting to raise rabbits. I'm leaning toward the New Zelands whites. I want to raise them for meat, is the New Zelands the best choice for meat? I think I would like to start with 1 buck and 2 does. Where can I purchase them at? Do I need to get my buck from a different...
I have been getting eggs for the past 6 to 8 weeks. I have 16 chickens 4 of which are still a few weeks from laying. I'm getting up to 11 eggs on some days. I have a few questions about the appearance of some of the eggs. There is usually one egg a day that has brown looking specs on it. They...
I just ordered 12 cornish cross from Ideal poultry. They are scheduled to ship on 10/31/07. Once they are big enough to take from the brooder how much space do they require per bird? I was planning on building a cage (I'm thinking approx. 3' wide by 8' or 10' long, 2' tall) in my current run...
I purchased what was supposed to be cornish cross chicks about two months ago. Below is what they look like now. I'm new to chickens but I'm pretty sure these are not cornish cross. They were yellow with a little white on them when I bought them at about 1 week old. I asked the farm supply where...
I think that I may have some birds with coccidiosis. I have 8 hens around 18 weeks old, 4 hens around 14 weeks old and 4 hens (had 6, chicken hawk got 1 and found 1 dead) around 8 weeks old. I found one of the young hens (8 week old) dead Sunday evening, nothing looked wrong with the exterior of...
The chickens have finally moved into their new home. I think it was worth waiting for. Everthing is complete with the exception the chicken wire over the run and hooking up the electric for the lights. This turned out to be some project. As it progressed I just kept adding, as you can probablly...
I'm getting ready start a run for our new chicken house. I want a 5' or 6' high fence, I was thinking of using 1"x2" welded wire and covering the top with the same or chicken wire. I have some 3' wide 1/2" weld wire that I was planning putting at the bottom up about 18" and the other 18" bent...
I have finally got the coop started. The coop is a 8' x 12' salt box design. It should be able to house 24 hens. We currently have 8 chicks around 6 weeks old and 4 chicks that are 2 weeks old.
I have really enjoyed the forum, it has given me a lot of advice and suggestions on the design of my...
New to the chicken biz. My 5yo daughter and I purchased 8 chicks last Thursady. 2 RR, 2 Buff Orp, 2 Slilver laced wyandote, 2 domoors. (names may be spelled wrong, spelling is not my best subject) The silver laced seem to be smaller that the rest. These chicks have really grown in 6 days. The...
I have made a brooder out of a clear plastic storage bin. The dimensions are 30" Long 16" Wide at the bottow and it is 12" tall. I cut a large rectange in the lid and put 1/2" wire in its place and mounted a 250W red reflector light to the top of the wire on the out side. So far my tempature is...
I was at the local feed store yesterday looking at the pullets. He had one he was calling a yellow buff. Is a yellow buff a buff orpington? He also had New Hampshire Reds, I was planning to get the Rhode Island Reds. Are the Newhampshire and Rhode Islands the same? If not what is the difference?
My 5 year old and I are just now getting started with chickens. We expect our first pullets the first of May. We will be getting around 8 to 12 pullets. I'm working on designing my coop and run. I have some 6' tall chain link fence, some post and a gate that someone has given me. Will the chain...