I have a young (hatched last year) blue Orpington rooster who has a respiratory infection. I found him under the coop after dark when I checked on them, so I brought him inside and he has been laying down. I can hear him breathing and it sounds congested. He will drink water for me and...
We just did a hatch and this last chick pipped but didn't get any further than having it's beak out for 24 hours. I decided that she needed a little help so I opened the shell up a little more and she had the membrane stuck to her head. I gently peeled it off and let her finish hatching by...
It's finally beginning to warm up a little here in central Pennsylvania and we will soon be looking for some silver laced Wyandotte's to hatch and add to our flocks. We have a couple weeks yet until the nights are regularly above freezing, so we aren't in a huge rush, but would like to get some...
We had a horrible heat wave last week and I had one chicken die and another that wasn't acting herself. She then died three days later. This morning I went out to the coop and there was another one lying dead under the roost. They start by isolating themselves from the rest of the flock, not...
I'm in the process of installing the doors in my coop and found the ultimate raccoon proof latch. It's located here and it's on sale!
http://www.hardwareandtools.com/Stanley-Hardware-75-5245-6-Inch-Combination-Locking-Hasp-033923011785.html
I'm so excited today. One of my pullets laid this huge egg that weighed 2.4 ounces! I've been weighing them and the Wyandottes began laying 1.6, which is a medium egg. When the Orpingtons began laying, they started laying larger eggs, 1.8 usually with one at 2.0. But this one is huge...
My rooster has been limping for about four days. At first I wasn't sure if he was limping because he sometimes does this side-step kind of walk toward me like he's threatening me. I've noticed that it's becoming more pronounced and today when he ran he reminded me of a horse cantering, like...
I let my chickens free range for a while after I get home from work. Today they turned 21 weeks old and while I was outside talking to my cousin I saw a chicken running by with something in her mouth. I ran after her and yelled that it looked like she had an egg, and it was! I managed to get...
My 19 week old pullets were under my deck the other day and I don't know if something scared them or what but they came flying out from there and sounded more like a flock of geese than they did chickens. They don't even cluck yet. Not long after that my neighbors cat came over to investigate...
My coop is 6x8 and 6' high with exterior nest boxes. I've insulated the walls of the coop, the nest boxes are insulated top to bottom (i.e. floor, walls and lid). I'm not insulating the pop door because I don't see how it would slide up and down and would have to be too thick, and it's so...
My pullets are almost 17 weeks old and still don't cluck. I have BO's and GLW's and none of the pullets cluck. My BO cockerel has been clucking and crowing for several weeks. He puts the girls to shame, but all they do is this kind of purring sound, almost a whine. It's cute but I'd like to...
I'm now in the process of trying to build the lid for my exterior nest boxes. As you can see it has roof-like rafters, but I want to put an insulated lid over it since all of the walls and ceiling will be insulated. Have any of you built this type of lid? I want to have a lip on the lid so it...
How long is it usually, once they've turned completely red, until they begin to lay for these breeds? I'm not in a big hurry because the coop isn't finished just yet! They will be 16 weeks old on Wednesday Sept. 1st.
I have a 13 week old Buff Orp roo who seems to be getting very hormonal. I keep them in an 8x8 tractor during the day and let them out when I get home. He's the only roo out of 15 chickens, so when I'm not home, he's the top. When I first let them out he comes up to me and stomps his feet. I...
I'm still building my coop and I've begun building the nesting boxes which will be attached to the exterior wall. I'm at a loss of how to frame it though. Do any of you have pictures or could you explain how you did it? I left a large hole along the length of the coop which is 8' long. So...
My 10 BO and 5 GLW chicks will be 9 weeks old tomorrow. My coop isn't completed yet so I built an 8x8x5' pen for them to stay in until the coop is finished. It has old lawnmower wheels on it so it can be moved around. I guess you'd call it a tractor of sorts. (thanks lildinkem for your help...
How many of you buy food items with your chickens in mind? I'm finding myself buying things that I normally don't buy or buy more than I used to since I've gotten my chickens. I bought a watermelon because I knew they would love it during the hot spell we've had and that it would keep them...
I'm planning on using the deep litter method in my coop. For those of you using this method, how deep is deep before you clean out the coop? I know a lot would depend on how many chickens you have and the size of our coop, but I'm mainly looking for a ball-park estimate.
Thanks a bunch!
-Sharon