I told earlier about my hen who set up housekeeping under the cedar tree unbeknownst to me. She hatched quite a brood (not sure they were all actually hers, the other hen might have been laying in the nest, too), and she has been a great mom to 10 chicks outside. But one was born a day late...
My hen stopped laying, turned out to be setting on eggs under a cedar tree. She hatched 12. the next day I heard hysterical peeping from the nest (they were all off the nest), and when I checked there was a chick in the nest stuck to its shell, which fell off when I picked it up. It couldn't...
I went out and heard frantic chirping coming from the nest that had been abandoned. (posted earlier about the unexpected dozen.) Found a chick struggling to get out of the shell, and when I picked it up it fell right out. Mom hen won't have anything to do with it. I brought it in and it's in...
The unexpected 12 chicks I wrote about yesterday had one late hatch - it was having trouble getting out of the shell and I could hear it chirping all the way across the yard. I helped it out and brought it to Mom, who was uninterested in this damp, scraggy chick. It seems to be a fighter -...
When one hen (out of my 4) started laying somewhere in the yard (they free range in my backyard), I didn't do much to stop her because she had made a nice nest and was now sitting on the eggs. OK, I thought, she might hatch a couple of chicks and that will be fine. I can get them in the coop...
When Goldie went missing for 2 days, I thought she had flown out again and met some misadventure. But the next day she was back at threats time, desperate to get back in the chicken yard. Tuns out she had made a nest under the cedar tree and is incubating over a dozen eggs. I've had to leave...
Because we are in central California, we've had a coop that is open at the top of the walls, but now we have an opossum coming in at night. My two options for securing the open space are chicken wire and cutttung sections or welded wire with 2"x4" spaces. Which will deter opossums? I'm...
I"m frustrated by the inability of my local feed stores to keep chicken feed in stock. They have feed, just not the same ones and not always something I want, except for Purina, and I don't like the way eggs taste on Purina. Do you mail order feed for your birds? What do you get and from...
I lost a chicken and was left with one 6 year old Silver Laced Wyandotte. A friend gave me a 2 or 3 year Wyandotte who looks just like the one I lost. I've divided the coop and they each have their own run. They see each other through the wire. My chicken was extremely excited to see the new...
Feeding & Watering Your Flock My chicks (2) favorite treat is scrambled eggs. When they were laying, I gave them one egg between the two of them every other day. Now they are molting. How much egg is too much in general, or is there no limit?
I've got the misters up, ice blocks for the water in the freezer, and I'm wondering - is damp ground cooler than dry ground? The chicks (2 Big fluffy silver Wyandottes) hang out under a densely shaded copse of oleander and yucca. I could turn on the sprinkler to get it damp, but I'm worried...
I have 3 Silver Laced Wyandottes and last week a Thai gamehen showed up. She hung around outside the chicken fence, obviously looking for a home. After a week, I had her vetted; no lice, mites or intestinal parasites, so she was invited in with the others. We've had the usual pecking order...
I'm new to Sac (moved here last December) and new to chickens (3 sliver laced Wyandottes, ~26 weeks old). How cold does it get, and what kind of winter protection do the chicks need? They are in a tiny, probably drafty pre-fab coop with a screen door where they sleep - I will change the door...
My 18 week old Wyandottes have undergone a personality change. They've never been the friendliest birds, but a week or so ago they decided that they are terrified of me and everything else. They stay behind their small coop or in it and won't venture out much - they used to greet me if I came...
My 3 silver Wyandottes are at week 15. Do I stat transitioning them from starter to layer feed now? Soon? Maybe start with 75% starter/25% layer for a week, then 50/50 for a week and so on? I realize I am probably being over-precise, but all those years of teaching math and science have...
I've run out of the chicken Gatorade packets we got when we got the chicks - they are now 5 weeks old. can i use the 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 Tablespoon sugar recipe from now on? Do I add ACV, and how much? It's hot in Sacramento, and they are going outside next week! I'll...
This geek-nerd was forced out of Silicon Valley by the absurd rent prices. My son bought a house for me since the mortgage on this 3 bedroom (800 sq ft) with a 7500 sq. ft. lot is less than half the rent was on my one bedroom with no mod cons in Sunnyvale. I moved in Dec. 2017. The inevitable...