This year's sumac (not the poison variety) is ripe and abundant. I have made tea out of it before. I know the chickens will eat it, but I do not know if feeding them sumac is a good idea. Does anyone know if harvesting sumac would be good for the chickens and help save on feed cost?
I have a 3 1/2 month old bantam pullet that has been weezing and coughing pretty bad since I got home today. She was fine yesterday. None of her flock mates are affected in the least. Other than weezing and coughing and trouble breathing in general, she seems otherwise healthy. Shiny lustrous...
This year, I came up with a good coop plan that works for spare bantam roosters, chicks, and bantam breeding pairs. I took and turned a gigantic flower pot that we had setting in the shop into a "Chick Pot". Once the chicks grew out of it and moved into the coop, I turned the "Chick Pot" into a...
There is a baby bird that fell from it's nest and is at the base of a pine tree in my yard. It is old enough to have wing feathers. Should I help it or just let it be? I don't want it to just die. If I do help it, what should I do? I've got chick feed that I could give it.
My mom has been having a really rough time for several months. She has anxiety and depression and something else that has failed to be diagnosed. Sometimes, she says that it feels like there is a hair in the back of her throat and she pukes. She has lost weight because of this and is a bit...
I plan on starting shipping bantam frizzled cochin, sizzle, and frizzled silkie hatching eggs. I know how to bubble wrap eggs so that they arrive unbroken and to ship them by Priority Mail. However, I do not understand how to keep them at a moderate temperature when it's really hot or really...
I have a hideous sand filter tank on my property. We used to use a well for water but in the summer it always went dry so we got city water. So, we now have this thing sitting around. It really bugs me to have this eye sore just sitting behind my pump-house. So, I've been thinking, would it be...
Sunny's daddy is a sq black mottled bantam cochin and his/her's momma is a gray sizzle. Sunny is nearing a month and a half of age and is what I believe to be a splash cochin with a topknot. I'm having trouble because there's so much variety in the chicks that I can't really compare him/her to...
So, I recently acquired an insulated dog house. My Uncle Larry made it, then he gave it to my grandma, then my grandma gave it to my aunt, and now I have it! I love recycling! We unbolted the roof and added hinges for easy cleaning. We put a slab of tin on the front for coverage and I painted...
I have a black mottled bantam cochin roo that I am trying to get ready to show and to take to the fair for the first time. What do you guys feed your show birds? I know that he needs extra protein for feathers. We are pretty limited when it comes to feed around here. Our feed store has Purina...
I figure this goes in with the genetics part of the forum, not really sure. But anyhow, I bred a sq black mottled bantam cochin roo to a grey sizzle hen. This resulted in 1 blue straight sizzle roo and 1 black mottled sizzle hen. I would like to get some blue mottled sizzle babies from these 2...
I am thinking about getting a Hova-Bator that has an automatic egg turner that would hold 42 eggs. However, that is more eggs than I would ever want to hatch at this point. I would like to incubate more like 20 eggs at the most. Would this be okay? Or, does the incubator need to be full...
We just got a big bag of TSC pine shavings for our 1 week old to 2 week old chicks. Some of the chicks are really eating the pine shavings. Is this something we need to be worried about? Or is it okay?
I have been wondering about this and I figure it fits in with the genetics part of this forum. My grandmother got some chickens a few months ago and I noticed that they all have solid black eyes. I found it odd because chickens of that type ordinarily have orange eyes. The chickens she got are...
I sprayed all of our adult birds, the pens, and the coops with Permethrin 10 yesterday to keep away lice and mites that the squirrels always spread to my chickens. I want to know, is it okay to put my 7 baby chicks that range from 1 week old to 2 weeks outside in their pen after I sprayed it...
I am really worried about Tinker. She is a frizzle and about 7 or 8 months old. I thought she was just going broody, but now she seems comatose. When I took her out of the nesting box, she sank to the ground. Her eyes are dull and half closed. She is unstable on her feet and has her tail...
I believe the last hen I rescued has gape worms. I am afraid to use a wormer made for cows or any other large livestock. It says on the label, "Do not use on any birds that are extremely ill." Therefore, I assume it is ok for chickens (healthy ones that is). Will Ivomec Drench Liquid get rid of...
I know that layer feed can be dangerous for young birds and can cause kidney damage. My six pullets are 4 months old now. There are 2 rhode island reds, 1 barred rock, and 3 red stars. One of the red stars, Easter, is starting to get a big red comb and I know she will lay probably within the...
I have had several different types of chickens for years now and never once has one gone broody. I would LOVE it if one would go broody. I even have a black australorp hen. I thought they were supposed to be good motherly hens? I let them out to free range as I think it just makes them happier...