Wanting to try fermenting feed for my broilers this year, but I'm not sure how to actually give it to them. Do you allow them free choice, giving a whole 5-gallon bucket (for 50 chickens) at a time? Or do you only allow a certain amount? I'm worried if I just give them a ton of it at once it...
7 month old Buff Orpington rooster has a respiratory infection. I isolated him as soon as I saw him, gave him vetrx and apple cider vinegar. He seems much improved now. However, can I ever reintroduce him to my flock now that he is a carrier? Hens all seem fine, don't want them to get sick. Also...
I bought day-old Cornish X on 4/26 (so now 3 weeks old) and would like to put them outside soon as they are nearly fully feathered, but I have been told they require heat at night their entire lives. Next week will be lows in the 50s, I built a chicken tractor but it does not have access to...
I am getting 25 chicks in a couple of weeks, planning on building brooder 5x5 feet, so 1 square foot per bird. Planning on moving them outside at about 3 weeks old (to 10x10 tractor). Is this enough brooder space? I understand Cornish are a lot messier than layers, expecting to have to clean the...
My local feed store recommends flock raiser, which is 20% protein crumbles, for the first 3 weeks and a finisher for the remaining 5 weeks. They do not carry any broiler-specific feed. Both are the same price ($19/50 lb bag). Does this sound right? First year raising meat chickens, and I'd like...
Hello, my new pig weaners made an awful mess using feed buckets before they got big enough to use the trough, and there is grower pig feed (20% protein) scattered everywhere. The pigs don't seem interested in what's on the ground. Can I kick them out to the pasture for a few hours and let my...
Hello, I built a coop 2 years ago and my chickens last year were fine with it. It's about 6x8 feet with 8 nesting boxes and total 25 feet or so of roosting space for 10 chickens. Unfortunately, a loose dog got in the run (not the coop) and killed all of my chickens last year, so we reinforced...
Hello, I have a 27-week old rooster (luckily the only rooster in a batch of 11 chickens) that I originally intended on keeping as I thought he completed my flock nicely, plus he is oh-so-handsome. However I have decided there is no room for a rooster in my flock, especially one that has grown...
Hello, all! My 5-month old Ameraucana rooster is starting to do the rooster dance, but I have read differing opinions on what it means. He only did it to me once, which earned him a 30-minute "time out" in the crook of my arm to remind him who's boss. However, he also does the rooster dance to...
Hello, I am a new chicken mama to 11 chickens (10 hens, 1 rooster) and noticed today that about half are missing a noticeable amount of feathers on the back near the base of their tail (mostly the 2 Gold Sexlinks, 2 of my 4 Americuanas, and my 1 Americuana rooster - my 2 Australorps and 2 RIRs...
Hello! I am interested in vermicomposting. I was already considering composting due to having 11 chickens approximately 22 weeks old and not wanting to let their manure go to waste, but I also was considering raising worms to supplement their diet. Does anyone else do this? Is it fairly easy or...
Hello all, I am a first time chicken owner and discovered my first egg yesterday! Small and brown and surprisingly perfect. I am curious which breed it belongs to, though. I have 4 Americuanas (I'm assuming since the egg is brown that it wasn't one of them), 2 Gold Sex Links (who I think is...