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  1. msjones

    All 3 'girls' were accidental roosters...how did this slip by me?

    My three buff hens are all Hanks. How on earth did I not know this sooner? Do roosters not behave in rooster-ish ways if there are no hens present? They are 28 weeks old. Just started some very strangled pathetic crowing at sunrise 3 days ago. Hardly a peep out of them before then. And...
  2. msjones

    Help! A rooster?Roosters not crowing until 28 weeks?Is that possible?

    Would it be possible for a rooster to never crow until 28 weeks of age? I have three chickens that I thought were hens. They all look the same -- same size, feathers, behavior. No big tail feathers, no huge combs or wattles. The other day at dawn, 2 of them started a garbled, choked...
  3. msjones

    nighttime chicken party in an unlit coop? Is this normal?

    This morning around 5:00 -- still completely dark-- my husband saw the girls up and about out in the run. (Yes, the run is fully enclosed and as critter-proof as we can get it...) Our coop/run is not lit. The sun doesn't come up lately until around 7:00. I thought they were night blind. How...
  4. msjones

    Now I wonder if I need a door...will it be too drafty?

    My coop is tiny -- about 12 sq feet for 3 birds. It is attached to a covered run. It has no door at the top of the ramp to the coop -- just a chicken-sized. I've just been locking up the run at night. But the opening to the coop is just open all the time. The roosts are away from the...
  5. msjones

    what does a raccoon sound like?

    This seems like a stupid question, but here goes... What sounds do raccoons make? I know we have plenty of them around here, have even seen a group of 5 during broad daylight. I wonder if there are sounds to listen for when my hens are out of the coop/run for their afternoon hour of backyard...
  6. msjones

    Silly hens won't go on the new sand!

    So, I finally got the right kind of sand in the run. Scraped out the old, stinky wet stuff, dragged in the new stuff with the bigger particles. Spread it all out -- got all dusty and dirty. The run was so fresh and lovely, and I was so happy to have it done. I put the girls back in so I...
  7. msjones

    The sand in my run got wet, and now it stinks!

    I thought my roofed, sand run would stay dry. Nope. It was windy and it dumped and dumped rain here last week, and the sand got pretty wet. Now it stinks. It's a little run for my 3 hens -- just about 20 sq ft. It didn't stink at all when it was dry. I've been trying to rake and turn the...
  8. msjones

    Post pics of your LAND, or farm or ranch -- city girl wants to dream..

    I see the 'post pics of yourself' threads, and I'm sure you're all real cute, but I want to see your land. One of my favorite things about this forum is seeing everyone's land/farms -- some of you have so much space! I'm here in the city on a little lot with a grumpy neighbor, dreaming of...
  9. msjones

    Will they be okay with layer feed if they don't lay till spring?

    My 3 buff orpingtons are 22 weeks old -- healthy, funny, and happy, but no eggs yet. I'm beginning to think I may have no eggs until Spring, due to the dark, short days up here in the PNW. They sure look ready to lay -- nice red combs, doing the 'squat, making nests during the day...but no...
  10. msjones

    City girl needs some compost info, please.

    Could someone be more specific for me about composting all this poop? I have pine shavings in the coop, so do I just keep all the droppings/shavings in trash cans until spring? Do I need to add other stuff? Is it going to stink and irk my neighbors? How, exactly, do I do this? Thanks...
  11. msjones

    What do you use to keep the girls out of the veg garden?

    I love my new chickens. I love to let them out when I can. They love my vegetable garden. The carrot tops, the lettuce seedlings, the cherry tomatoes, the cucumbers (probably their favorite). Mmm, mmm, good. It's like a chicken buffet. I put plastic poultry netting around it to keep...
  12. msjones

    'cleaning' their beaks on the grass -- what is that?

    My 8 year-old son wants to know: We're noticing our cute girls rubbing their beaks on the grass when they're out and about. What is that all about? Are they just tidying themselves up? Or is there something else?
  13. msjones

    Rat skirt -- do you think it'll work?

    We 'skirted' our coop and run on all sides with about 2 feet of 1/2" hardware cloth. The cloth is buried under dirt and woodchips and stapled firmly to the base of the coop/run frame. The 'skirting' overlaps on the corners. It was a pain in the neck to do. Do you think it'll work to keep out...
  14. msjones

    neighbor extremely upset -- looking for solutions

    We've had our 3 hens for 3 weeks now. Yesterday, the hens were out in the yard twice for about 30 minutes total. My neighbor's dog barked for about 20 minutes while they were out and near her fence. (It's a very solid, wooden fence -- nothing visible through the fence...) She was very, very...
  15. msjones

    Seattle people -- where can I get supplies?

    I'm in NE Seattle, and I am fervently hoping that I won't need to be driving all over creation to get my chicken supplies. Is there anywhere in the city where I can buy feed? I know about the Bothell, Issaquah, and Burien stores. I'm hoping for something that won't involve fighting traffic...
  16. msjones

    my hens spill more food than a toddler -- help!

    How on earth do I stop my 3 goofy birds from spilling almost ALL of their feed each day? They have a small, plastic, 3 pound feeder hung from a hanging-plant bracket. The tray part of it is about level with the top of their backs (they're about 4 months old). Every day they dump the feed...
  17. msjones

    newbie hopes life is good enough for her hens

    I can only let my 3 hens out for about 30 min each day. They look so thrilled when I let them out that I'm feeling guilty about keeping them in all day. But I'd feel worse if a neighborhood raccoon (there are lots) or the neighbor dog got them. Or if they devoured my whole veggie garden...
  18. msjones

    How do I get my darn chickens into their portable run?

    We have a tiny coop/run, so we just built a portable run/tractor (with no henhouse -- just a pen) so they could have some space around the yard. (They really can't be out and about unless we're watching them -- we have coons and neighbor dogs.) Question: If I put the door/entrance on the side...
  19. msjones

    Help! Best way to keep a tiny run/hen house clean?

    We are brand-new owners of 3 sweet hens. They have a tiny coop/run -- the run is 30"x66". (We plan to make a tractor so they can be out in the yard some, but due to lots of coons, dogs, etc., they won't be free to run in the yard very often.) The 'floor' of the run is currently open to the...
  20. msjones

    First day with our new girls -- are we all set? New to this...

    :)We brought home our 3 buff orpingtons today -- they are soooo cute, and seem happy in the coop. But, I'm wondering if we've done this right, and hope you can fill me in on anything I'm missing or doing wrong. Here's a link to a picture of our style of coop...
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