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  1. RenoHuskerDu

    Can mama hens handle extended brooding?

    Need help. Lost 8 more eggs to another snake, human error this time, cage left unlatched all night. Can we safely put 8 more eggs under the same hen? She's been brooding for 20 days already.
  2. RenoHuskerDu

    Growing red cow peas to feed our hens, anybody done that?

    Feed prices keep going up, and too much soy is in the commercial brands. So we're growing our own feed. We planted a field with black oil sunflowers. Next come red cow peas. We have about 200 sqft of garden space getting ready to plant them. Has anybody grown red cow peas for chicken feed...
  3. RenoHuskerDu

    How far will chickens free range away from their coop?

    If I open up a second pasture to them via a gate, will they can wander and cluck another 50 yards into it? That would be about 75 yards total away from their coop. If y'all think that's too far, let me know.
  4. RenoHuskerDu

    Bruiser just joined the flock

    He's a big young New Hampshire rooster, about 30% bigger than our old rooster. They have seen each other thru the fence for 4 days now. The first day the old rooster was aggressive. But then he stopped on day 2. So after 3 days of calm, we just slipped Bruiser in the main coop tonight. We...
  5. RenoHuskerDu

    Pecky the evil chicken pecks eggs

    Pecky is a Plymouth Rock. She is loud and evil. She pecks any hand that comes near. She even pecks eggs. We find eggs all pecked up. Pecky is mad at the world. We use a stick now to push Pecky away so we can check for eggs. She pecks at the stick furiously and screams even louder. We can hear...
  6. RenoHuskerDu

    We just jumped breeds

    We've been running a 20-strong eclectic, accidental admixture of Comets, Sagittas, Marans, Plymouth Rocks, Easter Eggers, a RIR, and gifted mutts. We just went to our friendly local chicken lady and bought us six new young birds, all the same breed, tah dah. 5 beautiful hens and a handsome...
  7. RenoHuskerDu

    Chickens lack discipline about water

    I keep their water trough clean. Just cleaned it last night. Full of sparkly clean water. A few go there, but... Where do many go to drink when I let them out??? To the old water I poured into a tree irrigation trough. Aaaaaaargh!
  8. RenoHuskerDu

    Bobcat nabbed our new Leghorn rooster, here's what bobcats sound like

    We lost a young free-range rooster a few days back. Only feathers left, no blood, so it was a fast nab and getaway. We suspect a bobcat, because of recent local sightings and no traces on fences of coyote fur. It had to come over the back fence because our 3 heelers were out front. We've...
  9. RenoHuskerDu

    Hardie board for coop construction !!

    I disliked Hardie planks, assuming it was made of nasty stuff like asbestos, but I was wrong. Turns out that Hardie board siding is 90 percent sand and cement. So now I use it for coops, knowing it won't rot, mice have a heck of time chewing thru it, and I can just toss it in a pile and crush...
  10. RenoHuskerDu

    Hopalong Cassie broke her knee. What to do?

    She's a Golden Comet and has been a good layer, quite friendly. I noticed her hopping on one leg and on further inspection we found that her knee moves in all directions. It's apparently broken. We didn't see her skiing but she must have done some risky sports. She's still eating OK but has...
  11. RenoHuskerDu

    Keeping water clear in hot weather

    Our birds are not satisfied with two big nipple founts. Or the house AC drains. Or the irrigation tray under potted trees. They drink at all those, but in the morning when I let them out they beeline for the big old galvanized bucket we use to water by hand with rainwater. In this heat, that...
  12. RenoHuskerDu

    Mama goes crazy, and there's an egg missing

    Twice now, mama hen has bolted screaming out of the coop and run around for 15 minutes doing the alarm cluck. Both times I was right nearby and quickly looked for any predator. Nothing in sight. Both times, one of her eggs is missing. We started with 12 eggs, now she's down to 10. We've...
  13. RenoHuskerDu

    To cat, or not to cat? That is the question.

    We've always been cat people in the past and we love cats, but this time we've been getting by OK in Central TX with heeler/terrier crossbreeds and bait traps for rodents. They hate birds of prey and critters. They protect our flock of 25 chickens. They eat any mouse they see. They even kill...
  14. RenoHuskerDu

    We have a miracle pullet ...

    She was born here in January, and just as her siblings was doing fine, until she suddenly lost control of her limbs due to Marek's disease. Marek's Disease info The CEO (chicken executive officer) put her in quarantine but with no mask(!), and nursed her back to health after about a week of...
  15. RenoHuskerDu

    Burnt a stainless teapot, what to do?

    I forgot a little teapot on the fire yesterday. I use it for pouring drip coffee. The first load of water today had brown foam. I threw that coffee away, and tried scouring the teapot with Bar Keepers Brand powder. It's kinda like Ajax powder. I made microwave hot water today. I wonder if it's...
  16. RenoHuskerDu

    Swallow nests - coexist with coops?

    The CEO is fond of Swallows despite being considered a nuisance by some. I won't allow them to build nests on our house. But I agreed with her to building a nest area on an outbuilding or perhaps on our large coop trailer. Has anybody any experience with Swallows nesting in or on your coops...
  17. RenoHuskerDu

    Buc buc meow

  18. RenoHuskerDu

    Did something bad happen here?

    My posts get a lot fewer answers these last few weeks. Seems to me that more of us would be home, not working, and doing chicken things. But instead, the forums are quieter. Was there a purge or something that I missed? Deplorables or Burnie Bros sent off to goolags?
  19. RenoHuskerDu

    Windscreen for corn?

    Howdy, last year the wind huffed and puffed and blew our corn down. Texas gets some wind, y'all. This year I'm considering stretching some kind of netting between T posts. It would have to reduce the wind, but not block it. I guess I'll go all tacticool and use ghillie camo netting. Our teen...
  20. RenoHuskerDu

    Stupid rooster, caught him in the laying nest playing hen

    What a big dummy. He is tame though, eats out of my hand.
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