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  1. Sunnysidedown

    Fragile Eggs Shells, will Ca suppliment help?

    Hi, it's been a while. Our 4 hens are healthy and fine but one of them is laying very fragile eggs that break as the hen gets out of the nest. The other 3 hens eggs are just fine, only one hen has this thin shell problem. I give them oyster shell and feed that is fortified with Ca but the...
  2. Sunnysidedown

    Chickens & Mirrors

    This is a question alone the silly lines, but has anyone placed a large mirror in the run or coop to see how the chickens would react to seeing themselves? I've got a large mirror to get rid of and was curious if it's a wise idea or not to place it in the run. I wouldn't want the hens to react...
  3. Sunnysidedown

    How to introduce 1 young hen into older flock of 3?

    Hi there! I searched but could not find a similar situation as mine, so here it goes... We presently have 3 one year old laying hens and yesterday my neighbor gave us one of his younger 3 month old hens. All 4 are the same size now so yesterday we placed the new one in a side-by-side run so...
  4. Sunnysidedown

    Another Feather Butt Pecking Thread...

    Hi Folks, I've read several threads here and on the injury site about this problem and suggested solutions. My situation is 5 hens with lots of living/run space, little or no stress. But 1 Buff is pecking the other 4 hens butts and neck areas and will not stop it. This 1 Buff is the only one...
  5. Sunnysidedown

    How Cold is Too Cold? Force Cooping Hens?

    This is more of a behavior question. My 5 hens (10 months old now) prefer to roost outside of their coop at night and now that it's getting colder here (mid 20's at night) I'm wondering if I should force them inside their coop? My coop is 4'x5', has 2 roosts and 2 nests for the 5 young hens...
  6. Sunnysidedown

    Hens Plucking other Hen Feathers, Normal?

    This didn't seem right to me so thought I'd seek advice. Our hens are now 9 months old and I noticed some rough feather patches on a couple of them and wasn't sure if it was early stages of molting or something else. Today I opened up the nest box and found one hen sitting there while another...
  7. Sunnysidedown

    All of a sudden - Tiny Eggs?

    Hi there, Our young Black Sex Link was laying excellent eggs since August but the last 2 eggs were small, esp the last one this morning which is the size of a Robin egg. She seems ok in health and behavior. Our other 4 asst hens are doing just fine. Thanks for any insight and answers as to this...
  8. Sunnysidedown

    Egg Laying & Shortening Daylite Hours?

    Hi there! We live in central Va roughly along latitude 37 degrees and are wondering if extra coop lighting during the winter is required to keep the eggs rolling here.. A friend of mine grew up here with 30 chickens on his farm and he says that they had eggs all winter with no problem...
  9. Sunnysidedown

    Our Black Sex Link stopped Laying?

    Hopefully this is nothing to worry about but our 1 BSL hen was laying an egg a day for a couple of weeks now and all of a sudden she stopped laying 4 days ago, all the while the other 4 hens continue to lay. We did experience a brutal heatwave here this past week, maybe the Sex link is more...
  10. Sunnysidedown

    Can you stretch out a hen's laying years?

    Here's a dumb question(s) for you experts :) I've read that a hen lays about 1,000 eggs over it's laying lifetime and that the average laying lifetime of a hen is 4-5 years. Are these correct assumptions? Whether it is or not, my 2nd question is - Can I stretch out the laying life time of...
  11. Sunnysidedown

    Are Sun Flower Heads edible?

    Hi there, We have a variety of sun flowers that are soon coming to seed and we're wondering if the heads can be used to feed the hens a snak? The heads are large and still greenish and have a very pungent aroma (like marigolds) but we were not sure if they need to be aged and deseeded first...
  12. Sunnysidedown

    Doggie Door on Coop, is it possible?

    Hi there, this may have been asked before but could not find a reference. Our coop has a built-in run, all self contained and pest proof (hand construction, not a kit). Our 5 hens seem to prefer to sleep outside rather then retire to the coop at night (there are roosting poles inside). As winter...
  13. Sunnysidedown

    Does Using a Large Water Container make sense?

    Hi there, We have just 5 hens and presently use 2 water containers, 1 qt and 1 gallon. I was thinking of getting a 3 gallon water container for when we are on vacation until it didn't seem to make much sense to use a larger container. As many of you have come to discover chickens are messy...
  14. Sunnysidedown

    Moving Chickens from Coop to a portable run, best way?

    Hi there, We have 5 hens (3-4 months old) and so far they love their new permanent coop and attached run area just fine. I'm in the process now of building a portable run (16' x 4') made of pvc pipes and chicken wire, this will be moved around the garden for the chickens as the crops wind...
  15. Sunnysidedown

    Amprolium medicated chick feed, when to end?

    Hi there, When we first got our 6 chicks we started them on this medicated chick feed and now that feed is running out after 12 weeks. Is it time to switch over to regular chick feed (pre-layer or finishing pullet)? Thanks. Hopefully we didn't over do it for the first 12 weeks?
  16. Sunnysidedown

    Layer Feeds, any preferences?

    Our chicks (5 hens) are about 11 weeks old and our 50# bag of chick feed mash is just about run out. Would switching them over to "crumbles" form be the next step? Also, there are several brands out there with various ingredients, would ones with or without meat by-products be better than just...
  17. Sunnysidedown

    Bloody Beak Problem, possible cause?

    Hi there, I am new to this raising hens thing and so far it's been really cool to do. Our chicks (5 mixed) are 10-11 weeks old now and in their new coop/run happy as clams. No problems thus far until the last few days. 2 days ago the neighbors dog got loose and charged the run (it's too well...
  18. Sunnysidedown

    Feed & Water inside or outside the coop?

    They say there are no dumb questions but I aim to prove them wrong. We have 6 chicks ready to go into the new coop/run we built for them. It's all 100% caged in and well protected, the Fort Knox of coops (we Hope). What's the better idea, setting up the feed & water inside the coop when it's...
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