Any one have information ibn this? I have a target that I use for shooting air rifle in the backyard. It's a plastic bin filled with dirt. I guess the dogs thought there might be food in it and knocked it over and got the lid off. The chickens tore through the dirt and scattered it around.
So...
So I'm pretty sure I have my first broody hen. I went back to check on everyone, and I was missing one of my hens. (Buff Orpington, under a year old, so I guess technically a pullet at this point).
So after looking around awhile I finally found her. Next to my property is a ponding basin that...
Every coop design you see has a nest box either inside the coop or attached to the outside of the coop. Is there a reason for this? Is there a reason not to have the nesting boxes elsewhere in the run? My coop took a different direction than I had originally intended and it's going to be...
My little flock is starting to grow up now, coming closer to laying age for the girls. They've managed to strip the greenery in their run, and poop is starting to accumulate. The plan has been to use various forms of bedding and let it compost over time and hopefully eventually use it in a...
Has anyone found a timer that works for misters? The timer I have can't be set for more than 4 hours. I've been looking at some of the sprinkler timers out there, but i'm not finding the answers I need. I need something that will go for up to 10 hours.
I work nights, and right now that means...
So I'm growing a garden this year for the first time in my life, and I'm having some success, some failures. My watermelon plant (the only one that sprouted and survived) has started growing all over the place. It has recently set a number of fruit.
Is this something where I should eliminate a...
Ok, So I have 7 birds with a reservation for freezer camp this weekend. My arm is broken. I had planned to chop their heads off, but I might have trouble holding them still enough to do the job properly. I think I could do the job properly with a pellet rifle. Is this a bad idea? Brains possible...
Ok, so I ended up having to butcher bird a bit unexpectedly here. I got home late for work, went to give the birds their food back, and one bird was outside the run with a broken wing. Snapped clean in half. I'm guessing it tried to flap out of the run and got tangled on his way down. Since I...
How does everyone else in hot climates keep the brooder box cool in the summer? I moved a set of Cornish cross out into my shed last night, they've grown a bit too large to keep in boxers in the house. I didn't realize it was going to be quite so hot this week. Nearly cooked them today, and...
I'm doing a set of Cornish Rocks, my first chicken experience. I got them last Sunday, I believe it was, so I've had them 8 days, but they are probably closer to 13 days old, since they had been at the TSC for a few days.
One of the chicks is having trouble walking. It can get up and walk, but...
I'm getting ready to put my coop and run together. I've moved from wanting a large tractor design to wanting a permanent pen, simply because the tractor idea was getting too darn big and heavy in my mind.
So now I'm on a 16 by 16 run with a 4 by 8 coop, either attached or possibly just sitting...
Ok, is there a decent solution for chicks when they start going through the little 1 quart chick waterers but are too small to go outside and the brooder doesn't have room for the really big chicken waterers?
Right now I've had these chicks (9 Cornish Rocks) for about a week, I'm guessing...
Ok, so Chicken math got the best of me, and although I ordered 25 birds to show up in 2 weeks, I was at the Tractor Supply today looking for stuff to get ready and they were getting rid of the last 10 Cornish Rock's for a buck a piece. Figured I might as well get started practicing with chicks...
Does anyone have any suggestions for cameras for watching the pen/coop/yard? I need something to watch for people as much as predators, although it would be nice to get an idea which of the neighborhood animals are coming into my yard. Around here, most predators have owners, and owners get mad...
Ok, so as I wait for my chickens to arrive (should be delivered the 12th of next month) I'm trying to think of alternative sources for meat for them. I hear people talking about feeding roadkill and the like to their chickens, but I'd be concerned about the possibility of diseases.
So, here...
I've been getting things ready for chickens, hoping to place an order in the next few days here. A few things to work out first.
The plan is to get a dual purpose breed, I want eggs and I want to breed for meat. If at all possible, I'd like to have some broody hens doing the incubating...
I'm looking into chickens right now, hoping to get some chicks within a month or less. For my rabbits, I've been feeding them a lot of grass out of my yard, cuts down a lot on how much I have to spend on their feed. For the chickens, I know they eat more grains and not so much the grasses, so...