I found what may have been a roundworm in an egg this week. Our 20 chickens free range, some put themselves away in the coop at night, some like to sleep in the trees.
I see folks use liquid wormer in water but I cannot guarantee all 20 will drink the water. We have a spring and they prefer...
A sweet friend is fostering these chicks for me & she thinks all 7 are roosters. They were hatched mid october. We have no idea how to distinguish male/female at this point. No one is crowing. I can ask for more photos if that helps. ??
Thanks!
Sorry in advance to be so gross, but there's just no nice way to talk about this.
We have 3 lil ducks in the house-one((Peeps)) was motherless from day one so has been coming in at night. Another one ((Carrots)) (about 2 weeks older) was severely injured (massive open gash on neck) and needed...
Hi all.
I recently posted here because our mama duck had some eggs in her nest that were a different color(transparent looking with dark spots) compared to the others. Candled the odd looking ones and they were bad. Did find 1 with a lil duck moving inside so put the other eggs(that didn't...
Hi all, it's been a while since I posted here but it's good to be back! :D I've been spending my time over at backyardherds.
Anyway! We have a mama duck who, I'm sure, has been sitting on her nest for what feels like 8 months now! (slight exaggeration , but I'm impatient!) About two weeks ago...
Hi all. We are looking to restock our Silkie population. I can order chicks from Tractor Supply or Farm & fleet(though I'd rather not deal with them after a bad experience last year). Ideally I'd like to show some support for someone on this board/community! Trouble is, it all comes down to...
oh my gosh. Please I hope someone can help! I've been putting my 9 week old red hens with the 3 adult rir's and they've been fine. This morning I went out and one of the little hens has been picked at very badly. I can't say if it was the big hens(who normally just stay away from the little...
This may be a RIDICULOUS question but my hubby and I have been talking about whether or not you can keep lawn grass as winter 'hay' since the goats and alpacas eat the fresh grass in summer? Any thoughts on if this is possible? If so-how on earth do you store it? If not-just laugh and walk away...
Help!
We have the opportunity to rescue 2 young alpacas(there are more but we don't think we could cope with more than 2).
We already have chicks and ducks, a goat on the way and the usual billion or so barn cats.
We have 12 acres of land-3 of which is already fenced and contained a horse last...
Hi all. I wouldn't necessarily classify this as an emergency but didn't know where else to put it. We have 3 rir's-free range, cooped at night((all hens)). They are nearly a year old. This morning I cracked open egg and there was this weird rice looking thing inside. It's happened once...
We have 4 20+ week old hens and 1 20+ week old rooster(who LIKES to SHAG!) He's always after the chickens and occasionally will even go after a duck.
Anyway we found a nest of 12 eggs hidden away. The chickens will occasionally lay in their nesting box but apparently prefer this one out in the...
Hi all,
I posted a few weeks back looking for sex guesses for the ducks. Both my rouens have a very similar quack but now Ruth is developing a white ring around her neck and her head is more green-where Betty's is more brown. Also Ruth has a black bit on 'her' nose and Betty doesn't. I'm...
My chickens are flying all over the place but the ducks aren't even close to flying. Sometimes they'll start running with their wings up in the air but they do not get into the air at all. Everybody is 7 weeks old, 3 ducks are pekins and 2 are rouens(in case that matters-thought it might as...
According to the 'quacking' theory I have 1 female peking, 2 male pekings and 2 female rouens. The rouens look slightly different though so I'm still hoping one may turn out to be male.
Hi All.
Our pekings and rouens are cooped up inside and I really want to let them out during the day now that they are so big(and stinky!) but we're having a cold spell here in Wisconsin. I *think* I already know the answer but thought I'd check just in case-is it too cold for them? They have...
So my 5 baby chicks and ducks are growing and happy. We've got rir's chicks right now and apparently they aren't likely to give us many more. I don't mind taking care of chicks but I don't think I can hatch eggs.
So...my question is-when can we get more chicks? Next spring? Will they...
The chicks(and ducks!) love scrambled egg. I was just wondering if there's an age I should stop giving this to them? They fill up on their 'normal' food first and then have the eggs as treats. Is there ever a point where they're no longer getting enough nutrients/protein out of it?
Saw another thread on here that was very helpful when it came to sexing rir's. Apparently the boys have a black line on the head and the girls don't. Well sure enough 4 of our babies have black lines and one doesn't. This sure sounds like it's going to be a problem! We don't want to return...
DH made a comment last night about how long the bulb has to be on the chicks, and something about the electric bill. Told him it had to be on for a few more weeks and that I'd ask you guys how bad it is. It gets really hot, and is on all the time so I'm thinking it's gonna hit our wallet...