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  1. Sheila

    Removing just-hatched chicks from hen

    My broody hen is hatching out her chicks. I can see several and don't know what the final result will be. I have 20 more fertile eggs that will be good for a few more days. Roos are gone. I'd like to take the chicks from this mother in a couple of days and raise them in a brooder, hoping that...
  2. Sheila

    Crossing Speckled Sussex Roo with Black Sex Link Hens

    The eggs of my Speckled Sussex hens were small in comparison to those of the Sex Links. People who were interested in buying noted the small ones, not the jumbos. Consequently, I sold the hens but kept the roos around for awhile. A Sex Link hen is now setting on eggs, all of which will be of...
  3. Sheila

    One broody hen and cross breeding

    I have one broody sex link who is setting. We recently sold our Speckled Sussex hens but still have the roos, which are soon going to be butchered. We are replacing everything with RIR for egg size consistency. The SS eggs are too small and look weird in the carton with the jumbos. The SS have...
  4. Sheila

    Growing grains from seeds purchased in bulk from food coop

    Our hens are fed organically, and we bought some seed for grain crops. We did this last year, and it's a big treat to give them bundles of wheat to pick through. We planned on saving most of this year's seed to replant next year. On a whim, I sprouted some wheat seeds from the coop. It was hard...
  5. Sheila

    Positive rooster behavior

    I've been paying special attention to the behaviors in the flock now that the roos are fully grown (eight months), and I've noticed some surprising things. If I put a treat down, the roos stay to the side and let the hens have most of it before they jump in. They are all the same age, so it's...
  6. Sheila

    Do roosters react to the color red?

    We had seven roos and the two with the least desirable personalities went into the freezer. Of the five left, I've had no trouble until today. My three-year-old grandaughter went in the barn to visit a new calf, and one of the roos took a jump at the back of her snowsuit. My son said it has...
  7. Sheila

    millet as a feed

    Want to experiment with growing millet as a step in raising more of the hens' food. We feed organic grain and organic (from the garden vegetables in season), but I know it might be hard to find organic grain for planting. I'd be satisfied knowing the seed was not GMO, but I can't seem to find...
  8. Sheila

    Stubborn cat and litter box

    Have a 1 1/2 yr. old Maine coon cat, altered male, who used a litter box until spring, when he decided he would be an outside cat. He and a stray I feed think the garden is the litterbox, but now that it's turning cold, my cat (Arlo) wants to come inside in the evening. Trouble is that in the...
  9. Sheila

    12-week olds with hens

    Sort of similar to another question. I have the younger birds in with the hens, 25 of each age. They are getting along fine and the setup is such that the younger birds are better off. I have two hanging feeders, one for the hens, and one for the girls, with grower pellets. Their is in their...
  10. Sheila

    Birds of different ages

    Have 25 layers hens, 25 8-week-olds, 25 2-week olds, and am expecting 25 more in 6 weeks. The 2-weeks olds were an order I canceled because it couldn't be filled earlier, and I replaced it with the chicks that are now 8 weeks old. Imagine my surprise when the p.o. called 2 weeks ago to tell me...
  11. Sheila

    Which keep best, fertile or nonfertile eggs?

    Can't seem to find this anywhere. Thanks.
  12. Sheila

    moving chicks to barn

    We are planning to make a home for our chicks in an empty stall. Will enclose it to keep everything else out. We are in New England, still cold. The chicks are currently in an unheated building but in a dog crate with a heat lamp. I'd like to move them soon, as it's getting crowded and would...
  13. Sheila

    Does anyone successfully collect their eggs less often than daily?

    The situation is that we have the choice of keeping our hens where we are currently living or taking them to a barn on the property we will be moving to, but aren't sure how soon. There they would have three times the indoor space in an old barn that has a hayloft above (warmer), while here...
  14. Sheila

    Welsummers

    We have 25 15 month-old RIRs (no roosters) and are considering adding Welsummers and/or Black Stars. We feed organically (expensive) and are wondering if the cost of feeding Welsummers, which I understand lay fewer eggs, is offset by foraging, which I understand they do well. That and their egg...
  15. Sheila

    mulching with chicken litter

    I want to mulch with litter that has been sitting in a pile for about five months. I have turned some dirt into it, but it is still primarily shavings. Would the manure still be too hot to use around plants? Normally my compost piles have more soil, but I didn't think I would need this and was...
  16. Sheila

    winter molt

    Have read other posts on this subject and still am not sure of my answer. Our 25 RIRs are about 28 weeks old and have been laying for 8 of those. Last week we were getting more than 20 eggs a day, and then production dropped to maybe 15, today, 2. We had a couple of weeks of nicer weather (NW...
  17. Sheila

    Egg freshness

    Getting extra eggs and posted signs to sell them just this week. In the meantime, there is going to be a local indoor winter market on 2/2, and my question is: How long would you hold eggs and still consider them "fresh." Is three weeks too long? Also, I was told we need a certificate from the...
  18. Sheila

    HELP chickens eating insulation

    The coop was cold enough that my son went out and bought used fiberglas insulation and put it in the walls, covered it with heavy plastic. It was near zero, and we had to throw the chickens out, cause they kept eating the insulation as he was working. They stayed in the crawl space underneath...
  19. Sheila

    nest boxes

    Anyone ever make them from old cabinets? Just had the thought. Most are about a foot deep, and I'm guessing wider ones could be divided vertically. Be interested if anyone else has ever considered doing this.
  20. Sheila

    Leaking waterer

    I have a Little Giant 3-gallon double-wall fount and can't figure out why it is leaking. It's on the wooden floor of the coop, and I finally took it out because the floor and shavings were soaked. Tried several times to refill it. Filled it, put it in place, put the sleeve over the top, and it...
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