hi all. I let myself be swayed by bad advice. I have an egg that is at 22-23 days. It hasn’t been doing much (no cheeps, not rolling). Another chicken keeper told me I should break the shell or I’d lose the chick. I knew better but I broke the shell. It’s alive in there but looks like it’s not...
When I first got chickens and was learning and reading what I could about them most recommendations for dealing with an aggressive rooster was to dominate them and never let them win.
I worked at this and tried hard, but nothing ever seem to change the temperament of the rooster. It always...
hi guys, it’s been ages since I’ve been in here. I am not sure if this is the best place for this question, I am just trying to replenish my own flock, not breed for show or sale. Not yet anyway.
I have a nice black bearded silkie pullet and an unrelated buff/white silkie cockerel. The pullet...
Hi! I originally posted this question in the wrong folder- I have 6 hens (chickens) in a 48 sq ft coop with an attached 150 sq ft completely enclosed run. I have the opportunity to hatch a couple of peafowl eggs and thought it would be an interesting thing to add to my flock. I have 3 acres of...
Hi, I have an opportunity to get a couple of peafowl eggs that I'm thinking of hatching. I have a small number of laying hens in a 48 sq ft coop with an attached 150 sq ft mesh enclosure. With thoughts to having them roam free on my 3 acres most of the time, would it be realistic to use the...
This was a found stray chick I took in when a couple weeks old. As it grew it was looking more manly but now I'm not sure. It acts a little cocky, but still gets his butt handed to him by the hens. What do you all think? I think it is pushing 3 months old now. I'm guessing it's a rhode island red?
This was a stray little chick that was given to me. I was guessing 3 weeks old and wonder if it is a female red star? Because it's the only chick I have right now it's becoming so imprinted and affectionate! I sure hope it's a girl :) Please let me know what you think it is- breed, gender and...
Hello, I just hatched my first and only barred rock 2 days ago. I've read about telling the gender by the head spot, but of course this one isn't looking so clear to me as the pictures I've found online. Do you think this is a girl?
Jen
Hi all, I have a couple of questions if I may. One is more appropriate for this thread than the other, but I'll post them both.
1) My hens poop in their nest boxes. Almost every day I have to change out the wood chips and it's tiresome. When I built the coop (floor 6x8') I unfortunately put the...
I have been having trouble keeping my hens' nest boxes lined with straw. I saw them today eating it (it is straw, not hay). Is this normal behaviour? Should I get rid of the straw and use wood chips so they don't get impacted? Do I need to find them some roughage? Its been a long winter. They...
I caved to peer pressure a month or 2 ago and put a droppings board under the main roost in the coop. It is about the best feature of my coop! I can't believe the difference it makes. Being able to scrape off the poo and toss it in the compost with no wood chips mixed in it is so efficient. The...
Wow, we're in a cold snap. It's -10 celcius tonight. We have an insulated and heated coop, but even with that it's -2 inside there. I poked my head in tonight to check things out and turn off the electric fan (it's a dry cold and wanted to let it warm up a little in there). While saying...
Hi all, I've gotten some great advice in the past about some mold issues in my coop. Tonight as I was leaving them some rice and spinach I couldn't decide whether to close them up (window and hatch) or not.
I have an insulated coop (8x6 foot). There is a bathroom fan running all the time...
Hi all, after halloween I put the jack-o-lantern in the chickens' run. They've been working their way through it day by day since. Some like it more than others. Yesterday I picked up 2 odd eggs in the coop. 1 sounded like a pingpong ball when touched (high pitched tapping or brushing sound). It...
Does anyone have any interesting egg related supper ideas? Other than the obvious... omlets, pancakes etc. We're between shopping trips and the fridge isn't very inspiring tonight Any ideas?
Hi people, my orpingtons are 4 months old now. They are the same age, but are beginning to look pretty different. One has markedly redder and bigger comb and wattles than the others, but no male feathering. I wish I could have gotten a photo of all of them together, it's harder to compare them...
Hi all, my friend just got her firsdt chicks and we're wondering if there is any hint to the gender of these barred rocks. I haven't had any before so I'm no help!
What do you think?
A)
B)
C)
I pulled a mostly empty bag of feed out of the metal container it's kept in to check the label. I put it back and felt itchy. Washed my hands and saw in the mirror I had mites in my hair! I scrubbed them off then returned to the coop to find where they came from. I re-opened the can and it is...
I feel like we've been living in a rain forest this summer. I've never seen such humidity. It's gross. Everything feels wet. The biting insects LOVE it. I hate it.
I rehomed all my roosters about 2 weeks ago, cutting my number of chickens by half (7 standards and 1 bantam). We emptied the...
We dropped off our 7 roosters at a farm tonight after months of trying to find a taker. It was harder than I expected and we drove away with a bit of an empty feeling. It was a hard decision but I am looking forward to the hens being 'mine' again, being able to interact with them without having...