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  1. petrel

    Chickens repeatedly caught in automatic door!

    Same tractor, same door, same door settings, same everything for the last 10 years. My new flock, now 12 week old pullets, insist on attempting to roost in the doorway! 5 out of 7 nights a week there are between 1 and 3 birds pinned in the automatic door. The automatic door is slow and noisy...
  2. petrel

    Beautiful RIR chick just deteriorated in days.

    I have a flock of 16 new hatchery birds that have grown out beautifully over the last seven weeks. 4 days ago a RIR started with 1 drooping wing. Then a drooping wing and a limp. Then drooping wing and a dragging non extended foot. Finally a drooping wing, and an inability to to open either...
  3. petrel

    Free Chickens in Spotsylvania, Virginia (Massaponax area)

    Free Chickens in their third year and in molt, but were laying. Two Rhode Island Reds, Two Plymouth Barred Rock, One Dominique, One Andalusion, One Speckled Sussex, One Golden Laced Wyandotte, One Americana (Easter Egger). Will not separate. Fed all organic feed. Must be gone this weekend...
  4. petrel

    Early Molting

    My flock was one year old yesterday. They came into lay around February. One of my Barred Rock hens has been shedding feathers like crazy for nearly two weeks. Based on what I've read here, it is an atypical molt. She started molting around her vent and up her keel and from her wings. She...
  5. petrel

    Meat Bird Tractor Questions - In the planning phase.

    deleted
  6. petrel

    Winter Egg Production?

    My flock's egg production has declined dramatically in the last two weeks. They've gone from 9-12 eggs a day to 7-9. Everyone appears healthy and there have been no changes to their environment or food. I'm guessing (actually my DW suggested) that the declining day length is the culprit. If...
  7. petrel

    meat bird tractor question - how do you catch the birds?!

    Sorry, I'm sure the answer is right under my nose, but how do you catch the birds in those low profile tractors when it is time to slaughter? I've been studying meat bird tractors for a few days and can't figure how you get them all to come out of one opening and not run to the other end? Thanks
  8. petrel

    Yesterday was my 1 year anniversary on BYC!!!

    My sincerest thanks to everyone who makes this site so informative, fun, and welcoming.
  9. petrel

    Chickens - A fisherman's best friend! (Warning! photos of fish carcasses)

    My family and I love to fish, but I've always fretted over the waste in fish carcasses. Fortunately, my new feathered friends are taking care of that! Spadefish Hickory Shad They get most fish (fresh or frozen) with the fillet removed. They get the shad whole and frozen with just the...
  10. petrel

    Help with diagnosis - sick delaware hen

    I copied the questions from the diagnosis thread: 1) What type of bird , age and weight (does the chicken seem or feel lighter or thinner than the others.) Delaware hen, 9 months old, can feel keel in breast she is light, comb droopy and pale, almost purple in places 2) What is the behavior...
  11. petrel

    Just a rant...First-first hand observation of chicken savagery!

    Wow, I'd read on BYC that chickens were ruthless to the weak and injured, but I thought my harmonious little flock was immune. I was very wrong! Even though my Delaware hen is one of the biggest hens, and they are all the same age, she has been singled out and chased since she suffered from...
  12. petrel

    Handsome Young Pekin duck drakes available in Northern Virginia

    Anyone want one or three handsome Pekin duck drakes? My neighbor just gave them to me and I'm planning to process them tonight. However, I figured since they are such nice looking young (6 mo) fellows that I thought I'd give it a day to find them a home first. They are free to a good home...
  13. petrel

    My new chicken breed criteria: Dual purpose, Brown eggs, & UNFRIENDLY

    My family and I are new to chickens. We figured we'd get eggs, fertilizer, and eventually meat when production fell off and we introduced fresh stock. Now it has become obvious that this entire flock will get to die of old age! They are pets with names and individual personalities who are...
  14. petrel

    Tiny cluster of "eggs" or little spheres on eggs?

    What is this stuff on the egg? Up close they appear as a group of tiny spheres, similar to insect eggs. They have only appeared on one egg in dozens. I had already boiled it and was preparing to peel the shell off before I noticed it. The egg was fine.
  15. petrel

    Very excited about my new Heated Water Fount!

    Allied Precision's new model 33. Not the old one that got such scathing reviews. After several nights in the teens and twenties and still ice free water for my girls, I am very pleased with my new waterer. Just fill it up, hang it up, plug it up and forget about it...well at least until it...
  16. petrel

    Road trip Chickens? Is traveling to great forage for the day worth the stress?

    My flock lives in a chicken tractor in my back yard. It gets moved every day, but they only get grass clover and the occasional bug in addition to their regular feed, kitchen scraps, and fodder. I lease a piece of land where I farm food plots for wild game. The place is covered with millet...
  17. petrel

    Mold in Fodder!

    We're on our third failed attempt at growing fodder. First I used aluminum roasting pans and watered them manually. Just as things started sprouting, white fluffy tufts of mold began to form. On the second attempt we went all out with a set of shelves, plastic trays, catch basin, pump...
  18. petrel

    Mold in Fodder

    wrong forum...sorry!
  19. petrel

    Lawns FOR Chickens...sort of revisited.

    Four children, three dogs, and countless moles and grubs ago, I gave up on what used to be a showplace lawn. Now it is mostly clover, dandelions, and wire grass. I/we now have chickens in a tractor and move it every day. We've been growing some brown top millet in little pots for them...
  20. petrel

    chick starter

    Spotsylvania, VA....Partial small bag of Dumoor chick starter crumble. Nothing wrong with it, I just switched to organic. If you are planning to be in the Massaponax/Cosner's Corner/Southpoint area anytime in the next week, let me know and we can arrange to meet.
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