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  1. CandiceN

    Daytime tractor help

    Hi all. We lost our first hen to a predator last week and now I'm a bit leery of leaving the other 3 out free ranging even when we're home (we were home last week when it happened). I am going to see about making a small A-Frame tractor for daytime use only - probably only when we're home. I...
  2. CandiceN

    Lost our first chicken - after a year of being a chicken owner.

    We only had 4 chickens to begin with, and they roam the yard when we are home - get locked up safely when we are gone. But I can't watch them all the time. Today, one went missing, the rest were all screaming and spread out across the back yard instead of in a group; and I just knew the...
  3. CandiceN

    My "winterized" coop

    We've had this setup for a while (starting with the unexpected storm Halloween weekend!), and the chickens seem to love it. Out of 4 hens, we still get 3-4 eggs daily - even when it hit 10F overnight last week. They don't want to come out in the snow, so having the run covered makes them happy...
  4. CandiceN

    Bubble on chest?

    One of my RIRs has a weird bubble type thing in the front of her chest. It's HUGE. It doesn't seem to bother her, but it's been there at least a few days. It's not red or irritated in appearance, just very obvious even from far away. It feels like it's filled w/fluid or air, it's not solid or...
  5. CandiceN

    Would this work?

    Hey all- I'm looking into getting the coop ready for winter. Here's my coop, and the plan we've got in place: For the run - Hay bales around the outside, 2 levels tall with plywood across the top (over the run - from one row of hay to the other to support the weight) to protect from snow and...
  6. CandiceN

    Cheap way to cover our run for the winter that can manage snow load?

    I'm in NH, it's not unheard of to have 3 feet of snow in our yard for 2 months at a time. Can anyone offer any suggestions as to how to cover this 4X8 run in a (cheap) way that would make it so we could leave it attached? Right now, my husband's plan is to disconnect the run, store it under...
  7. CandiceN

    About to spread sand in the run - any prep suggestions?

    I have 5 bags of all purpose sand for a 4X8 dirt run. I know I might need to buy more, but it's a start. It hasn't rained since Sunday, it's been nice and sunny so the ground is dry. There's a few holes in the dirt; should I try to flatten it out first before spreading the sand or is it...
  8. CandiceN

    Think we got a double yolker! And I think our last hen is ready.

    My son brought me this from the coop : And our youngest pullet, a 17-18 week old RSL has been squatting and going in and out of the nest boxes. Her comb and wattles are nice and red and she's about the same size as our other hens now. I think she'll be laying soon! Woohoo! It will be...
  9. CandiceN

    Is this hanging feeder too high?

    I decided to hang the feeder now that we're doing deep litter, so I put a couple heavy duty screws in the ceiling beams of the coop and used welded wire (similar to hardware cloth wire) and carabiners to hang it. It looks like it's about neck height, but the girls seem to be able to get into...
  10. CandiceN

    Uh oh, they've tasted egg :( Should I be worried?

    One of my girls decided (first time ever) to lay an egg in the run, which is only about 2.5 feet tall. It was on the opposite side, so I had to try to get to it with a rake. Well, I broke it in the process (ugh!). As soon as I realized what I did, I said "CRAP!" and sure enough all 4 hens...
  11. CandiceN

    Sand floor just isn't cutting it

    We have had our 4 chickens outside in their new coop for about a month. We have sand on the floor, because I've read it's easy to clean. Well it's not, lol! I tried using a litter scoop or a rake, but it just makes a mess. I am considering moving to deep litter. anyone with a sand floored...
  12. CandiceN

    The fake eggs work! Finally got the ladies to use the nesting box :)

  13. CandiceN

    Made a nipple waterer!

    It took 2 pitchers (Cracked the first one, oops! But we had 4 pitchers and never used more than 2 at once, so it's OK), but we made a nipple waterer this weekend. I saw my Little Red using it this morning, so I know they'll get the hang of it. It will be SO nice to not have to worry about...
  14. CandiceN

    Eggs on the floor, chickens in the nest boxes... (updated!)

    We have 2 hens laying right now. One started last week, the other a few days ago. I found the first few eggs last week in one of the 2 nest boxes (I've found eggs in both). Since then, they've been on the floor outside the nest box (which is about 18" off the ground) for one hen and off in...
  15. CandiceN

    Ventilation and drafts

    Hi We recently converted an oversized dog house into a coop. Since it's Summer, we didn't worry much about blocking drafts, figuring the more ventilation the better right now! I went into the coop to grab a rogue egg today (behind the food bin, silly hen!). I noticed that all around...
  16. CandiceN

    Definitely have 2 laying now!

    Yay! I've found 2 eggs per day for the past 3 days. Woohoo! One keeps laying outside the nest box, but in the same place, so I know to look there now. On a sad note, my poor 5 year old son dropped an egg on the way to the house today and it cracked open. He started to cry immediately, poor...
  17. CandiceN

    2 eggs in one day, or maybe another hen is laying?

    I was happy to see an egg this afternoon from one of our 3 RIRs after not seeing one yesterday at all. I figured it was just because she's still quite young and I know they miss a day or two here and there. Then my hubby just told me he got one this morning before work! They look different...
  18. CandiceN

    Inexpensive way to expand our run while maintaining safety?

    This is what we currently have: It's 4X8 and 2 feet tall. I'd like to expand it both up and out. But hardware cloth is expensive and we live in a wooded area so we need security. Suggestions? I was thinking we could expand up using 2X4 welded wire and expand the footprint using the...
  19. CandiceN

    So hopefully this will keep the food and water a bit cleaner...

    Until today, we just had an open dish for food and the water dish was on a block alone, about half as high as the block you see below. My hubby put this together for me today. We were going to use a 5 gallon pail, but with only 4 hens, we decided this Tidy Cats container would work fine. It...
  20. CandiceN

    What to feed a mixed age flock?

    I have an 11 week old hen and 3 20 week old hens that are showing signs of laying. I know the older ones should be on the layer crumbles, but I don't know if the 11 week old is too young for them? Ideas? Thanks! I have to go buy more food tomorrow and I'm not sure what to get.
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