hoping someone who follows this forum might be able to lend some insight -- i noticed this afternoon that several of my three-month-old chicks in a grow-out pen together are limping -- upon closer inspection, several of them are missing toes! an isbar cockerel is missing most of a middle toe...
the more i think about this, the more i realize i have a question: right now in the chick department, i have
-- five 7-week-olds living outdoors in a pen of their own, with one empty pen next door.
-- six 3-week-olds in the indoor brooder, along with
-- four 1-week-olds, and
-- twelve 2-day...
so i started off this spring with one rooster and eleven 9-10 month old girls -- four of whom went broody, each about a week apart. the result is 11 chicks, of staggered ages -- oldest is nearly 8 weeks, youngest is just past 3 weeks.
however, 23 critters is way too crowded for my original...
here's a coop design question for y'all -- i'm thinking of expanding my coop -- it currently is an 8x4' henhouse inside an 8x12' run. easiest thing is to add on to one side, so that it might become 8x20' (adding another 8 feet) or some such number. but here's my question: what are the pros and...
i have three broody girls with chicks right now, a fourth hatching today, and a fifth hatching in a week -- and at least one of the broodies (the first, a basque hen, her two chicks are nearly 3 weeks old) is super-aggressive with the others' chicks, attacking them & their moms. I am fairly...
so here's Lucy, who overall looks fairly pullet-ish to me -- no sign ( to my completely novice eye) of pointed feathers on her back -- but her comb & wattles are looking quite red & a bit larger than her flock-mates (she's my only delaware, so no one to compare to) -- anyone think i may have her...
hello all, from sonoma county, CA --
a friend has offered to help me build a coop, there's a pile of lumber in the driveway, and we're starting construction on monday -- very exciting!
and i have a few questions for those with more experience here:
1) another friend has a 5-week-old...