Hello, I just had 8 ducklings hatch this week and they seem to want to drink a lot and make a mess, but they haven't eaten hardly anything. I'm not seeing a lot of poop either. I got them chick feed that's unmedicated like I was supposed to. Not really sure what to do.
Hello All,
We just got our first egg yesterday from one of the Rhode Island Reds. This chicken in particular has been extremely friendly and loved to be pet, but now that she's had her first egg she has become hyper aggressive. She's even attempting to chase us (we don't react) and she has...
So I have some chickens that I hatched on Thanksgiving. They are close to reaching the 5 month mark to begin laying eggs.
Recently I've noticed the rooster is starting to mount the hens and a couple of the hens are being very receptive to it while others just run off.
I wasn't sure if those...
I have 4 jumbo coturnix quail. As far as I know, they are all female (they all have chest spots). Now the quail with the least amount of spots is making a weird croaking sound. She isn't crowing or anything like that. The other three chirp or trill while this one sounds like a really small...
This isn't super important, but I was curious.
I had 3 RIR's hatch a couple of weeks ago and immediately I noticed all their beaks were different. One chick has a standard yellow beak, one is dark brown tipped and the other is completely dark brown. They are exactly the same age, so I was just...
Hello,
So I have one Rhode Island Red, only 3 days old and he's been doing this weird thing with his leg. I couldn't get a picture, so I drew it.
He's hyperextending the hock joint at the knee, which makes his ankle overextend as well. I could not find reference to this anywhere.
I have...
Hey All!
Well, this is my first time incubating in a DIY incubator I build myself. I've candled a few eggs and found non-fertilized as well as completely dark eggs (I imagine that means they are grown). It's Day #16 and they should be hatching soon! I thought I would share it with you as it...
Hello all,
I'm working on getting some chickens hatched in a week or so. They will be kept in a brooder with newspaper shreds for bedding for a couple of weeks, but after that I had some questions.
My first layer in their pen will be shavings and straw. After that I wondered if it's okay for...
Hello All,
I had a question about roosting and coops.
First, can chickens, if supplied with a roost and nesting boxes, function without a coop? My first instinct is to say they can since coops don't exist in nature and factory farms do it (but let's try not to be like factory farms). Be...
Hello All,
So I'm busy building my own incubator, brooder and quail pen. I'll be ordering the quail eggs in soon.
I had a couple of questions.
1. Do adult quail need heat lamps to keep them laying in the winter? I'm already going to give them 14hrs of light a day to keep them laying, but I...
Alright, so I've never raised quail, but I was thinking about it because why not. We're working toward the whole "homesteading" and self sufficiency thing and I would like to eat something other than chicken and pork for the rest of my life.
Anyway, back to business.
1) Do you know of any...
I was wondering if anyone here had dabbled in Aquaponics? I think it would be a fun think to get into and I really love Tilapia. If you have any favorite books, websites, or youtube channels about it, please share them! I want to do more research on the subject!
Thanks!
Any knitters in here?
With the cold weather coming on, I find myself eyeing my knitting drawer more and more. I finally broke down today and started making a new hat for myself. I'm hopefully gonna make a scarf to match!
Share your knitting projects with me! (Crocheters/hookers are okay to...
Hello, I'm looking to purchase a cheese press from a maker of cheese presses or someone who has one that they don't use. I need the press to do at least 50lbs of pressure and hold up to 2lbs of curds. Please let me know if you have any such thing.
I would love to trade for it (I make pottery...
So, I have been reading about no-till gardens and I was wondering what your take on mulching was.
What kind of mulch do you use? Does it work? Do you have any pest problems (slugs, rats, whatever).
For some reason, I've read that straw mulch causes rats and slugs and that leaf mulch gets a...
Hey Everyone!
So I'm trying to keep a list of books I have read and ones I should read about country living. I'm not talking about how-to books, although, if you want to list those, that's fine, just label them as such.
So far I have read:
The Dirty Life--Kristin Kimball
Chickens in the...
Hello Everyone! My name is Ben (my partner is Justin) and we've come here to learn more about chickens before we get our new home and try to raise our own. Hopefully I can get some real-life experience answers from some people to make a more informed decision about our future flock.
(1) Are...
First off, what is the general difference between these two breeds? Is it just looks?
Which do you think is a better chicken?
These are the chickens I would like to have eventually, so I was just wondering what everyone's opinion on them was! Thanks!
Ben