Last week my Polish rooster (4 months old) was bleeding from a broken tail feather.
We assumed rooster fighting had occured and placed him in a huge dog kennel to heal up.
We reintegrated him and watched closely, no fighting at all.
Yesterday we saw the hens were the culprits, each going for...
Yes, I know there are many threads about this - I've been reading through them for some hours!
Our current set up: One coop about 120 square feet.
"Up front" the original set of 4 hens, about a year old. Introduced to them last month, the set of 4 (plus mama) "New Years" hatched hens - now...
2 hatched on day 20. Pipped first thing in the morning, then absolutely nothing until about 1030 pm, them zip, bam, hatch with one and 230am zip and bam with the other. My other two eggs were rocking a bit and thought I heard a peep very early today, but all day long nothing. No wiggle, no pip...
These were my first four, two toms and two hens. One tom has a layer of fat like a huge pig would (well more than an inch thick) on him - he jiggles like jello.
They were all narragansetts at 9 months old.
The others are lean and yummy in appearance, almost no fat at all.
Same feed for all...
Having 4 turkeys butchered today to make way for a bunch of newbies.
Planning to make sausage out of one.
Have a friend who has recently aquired a sausage maker but hasn't used it before so its new for both of us.
Any of you have suggestions on casing choices?
Spices to add?
Technique...
My bantam hen went broody and foster hatched eggs on January 1st.
She has laid only one egg, about 2 months back, in the hay in the tractor where she and the chicks sheltered for the winter.
They are now moved to a new coop (for about the last 6 weeks).
Just last week I finally started...
MY free chick from McMurray sure looks like either a polish or houdan - has the big mad hatter feather head happening. Appears to be a buff color. This picture is at two weeks. Now that he(?) is 3 weeks you can really see that he has very blue legs - much darker than in this picture. Anybody...
I posted this as an add on to another members thread, however to be fair I am starting a new one. Here's the story:
I am looking at a feed schedule (light restriction or 12 on/12 off is not my plan - these pullets must make it to 12 weeks) however there is major disparrity between storey...
I have 11 eggs in and plan to put one more tomorrow (hoping a hen cooperates!) They are narragansett. I am thinking of adding a row of chicken eggs in a week, giving them all the same hatch date. The timing would work well to fill out my layer numbers this way a bit more too. Has anyone tried...
One of my young hens seem to be developing a cross beak - jusy slightly, but clearly crossed. Of the batch she hatched out of she is the largest hen so I assume she is having no trouble eating. I did not notice the cross until just this week, she most certainly did NOT have it two weeks back...
I ordered 30 Cornish X from Murray McMurray. One chick died within the first 24 hours, pretty much as expected. Now, after 6 days, I am suddenly losing them - two this morning and one on its way now. They are definately warm enough (but not to warm), eating Poulin Broiler Grower Crumbles, and...
Ok - so he's not naughty - just doing his thing but...... I ended up with two toms and three hens from eggs hatched last August.
The hens have startd to lay for the strutting Toms and the fighting has started with no end. It is getting ridiculous.
I have read that 1 tom ok, 2 toms fight, 3...
I have a friend who raises her birds "organic" who gives her birds electrlytes to start them off. Is this actually organic? Where do they come from? I give my chickens cider vinegar in the waterer daily - doing so because of advice here on BYC. So chicken folks, which do you use? Why?
I am switching up from the giant 1 gallon plastic waterer to something a bit larger. Plus they drive me crazy - you can't hang them and the botttoms pop off when you carry them! I will have about 2 dozen laying hens needing a waterer. Seperately I will also need a new waterer for 30 meaties...
Mama Butter, Buff Banty Cochin, age 7 months, hatched these chicks from eggs from her friends in the little flock on New Years Day. At 14 days old they are in a tractor with a heat lamp in our garage. Sounds toasty but with our temps here its about 4o degrees inide the plastic wrapped tractor...
I have a newly built coop - two story, upstairs being walled, roost bars, 4 nest boxes and the downstairs is like a covered run with roost bar. There will be a covered, permanent run attached as well this spring. At night the hens will all be locked in the two story coop. During the day they...