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  1. ErikaRI

    Introducing pullets to hens

    Hi all, I have 3 3-yr-old hens, and 3 pullets (about 8 weeks). Probably doesn't matter, but the hens are a silver-laced Wyandotte, a Polish Top Hat, and an Australorp. I can't really tell who's at the top of the pecking order, but the Wyandotte is the best layer (the Australorp is the largest...
  2. ErikaRI

    Chick starter vs starter/grower?

    Hi, I haven’t had chicks for about 3 years so have forgotten what I used to know. I’m picking up 3 day olds next week, and was going to pick up their food and other supplies tomorrow. TSC has both Chick Starter 24% and starter/grower 20%. What’s best for the first 4 weeks or so? I can’t...
  3. ErikaRI

    When you’ve gotta go...

    One of our chickens just laid her first egg in a month. At 9 pm. And then she decided to announce it to the neighborhood, LOUDLY.
  4. ErikaRI

    Adding a run to a coop w/ 6 ft door?

    Hi; Last summer I got a new coop for my chickens. It's got a hardware cloth bottom, which is great for security, but it means that my girls aren't getting as much digging in the dirt time as they'd like. I want to get a run for them, so that they'll have more "outside" time during the day...
  5. ErikaRI

    Growth on chicken foot?

    Hi, my daughter just discovered this growth on a hen’s foot. We were able to clean it and put blu-kote on, but I thought I’d get some input. Does it look like bumblefoot? Something else? She isn’t favoring it at this point, and I don’t know how long it’s been there. Thanks!
  6. ErikaRI

    Phew

    One of my hens died the other day, abruptly and with no warning. I was a little worried about the survivors, because I only got one egg yesterday. But I already got one egg this morning, another is in the nesting box, and the 3rd is also in the box making a LOT of noise while she waits her...
  7. ErikaRI

    One of our hens died yesterday

    One of our chickens died yesterday. She was fine in the morning, and when I went out in the early afternoon she was at the back of the coop, gone. She was our first layer and was only about 15 months old. She was also the loudest—in the morning she’d been loudly proclaiming herself from under...
  8. ErikaRI

    Good grief my hens are loud today!

    Not sure what's going on, but 2 of my 4 hens are being insanely loud this morning. Everything is fine--they have food and water--but my Wyandotte (who as far as I know isn't laying yet) started carrying on just a bit after sunrise, and one of the australorps is joining in now. My husband walked...
  9. ErikaRI

    Snow-proofing the coop

    So, we're getting a little bit of snow right now in RI. I just put a tarp around all but the top 3 inches or so of the coop so that we don't end up with a foot of the snow *in* as well as outside of it. It does seem to be minimizing (but not eliminating) the snow--but now it's pretty dark in...
  10. ErikaRI

    How do you keep your water from freezing?

    Hi all, After talking to the woman at the local poultry supply store, I bought a heated dog bowl to use for our coop. Last week I switched to using that (instead of our galvanized waterer). I'm already seeing some problems with it and things I don't like--chiefly that it's really easy for my...
  11. ErikaRI

    Poopy butt on a pullet?

    Hi all, Our chickens are about 7 months old. One started laying a month ago, another (our Polish Top Hat) started laying about 3 days ago. (The other two are still freeloading.) Twice in the past week (a week ago and then again today), we've noticed that our Polish has a lot of dried poop stuck...
  12. ErikaRI

    How dangerous are squirrels?

    Several times this week I've come home to find a squirrel trapped in the coop, thoroughly crazed, and totally freaking out my 10-week old girls. I thought I'd figured out how to keep them out, but today one made it in again and then couldn't gt out. So far no injuries, just general chicken...
  13. ErikaRI

    How much panting is normal?

    It's hot (90) and dry in RI right now, and my pullets are wandering around the yard foraging. But every time I look at them they seem to be panting. There's water in the coop and I have a tray of water near me, but they're not going for either. Is some panting normal? They don't seem listless...
  14. ErikaRI

    Pullet or cockerel?

    Hi all, This is a 6.5 week old Wyandotte, Tacy. (We were told she was a golden-laced, but still looks more silver. Opinions on that welcome too.) Her comb is much more red than the others we got at the same time. Do we have a rooster, do you think? Or is it just a breed difference? None of the...
  15. ErikaRI

    Is this normal?

    So, I took advantage of some sun and brought our 4 chicks (about 3 weeks old) outside today, and put them in the run while I cleaned their brooder. They didn't know what to do at first but then got busy pecking around, flapping their wings, etc. Anyway, my golden-laced Wyandotte started...
  16. ErikaRI

    Thoughts on medicated feed?

    Hi, What are thoughts on medicated chick feed? The woman we just got our chicks from recommended it for 2 months, but our local urban chicken supply store says they don't sell it. We have 4 chicks, and they're 2 weeks old and have been vaccinated.
  17. ErikaRI

    Ugh, need to start over

    So, we had 3 beautiful month-old chicks, and had just started letting them sleep in the coop at night. And on their second night, I forgot to make sure everything was latched, and something got in and ate them. So, does anyone know whether I have options for getting chicks right now? I know...
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