Search results for query: *

We have 11 hens that are 2 1/2 years old. We purchased new baby chicks from a local Amish farm and have raised them in a small brooder box. They are now about 8 weeks old. They will soon be on grower ration and off of the starter food. The existing flock occupies the main part of the coop...

We have a permanent coop. We are getting 12 new chicks today. I will be trying to introduce them to our flock in about 10 weeks. Once they are big enough to be outside I want to put them in a chicken tractor and move them around to let the old hens get to know them a bit. I hope to have...

A couple of red foxes stole six of my hens. They were hatched in February of 2012 and were producing very nicely all year. I want to replace them and maybe add a few more. I will be getting day old chicks and am sure there is a very good post on the best way to introduce the new ones to the...

We free range our flock but we have an automatic coop door that works on a timer. It opens a little after daylight and closes just after sunset. It has been working fine. Earlier this week I noticed that none of the chickens were coming out to graze. I went to the coop and the rooster was...

I've posted about this before. My chickens (I have 18 hens and 1 rooster) seem to have lost feathers, down to the skin, on their backs in front of tail, some tail feathers and some on the wings and around the vent. Others have suggested this is a lice or mite problem. I've cleaned the coop...

I got DE at the feed store.

Several of my hens have developed a bald patch in front of their tails on their backs. A few have the same thing around their vents. I was told it could be mites or lice and to use DE. I spread it in their litter and made a dust box filled with it. The problem is spreading. Any ideas?

No. It's 60 degrees. Could he have rubbed them off in the run under the coop? He's a pretty tall boy.

I have no idea what is going on here. Take a look at my rooster's comb. See the little raw boney points? What is this?

Our rooster has been fun. He is a beautiful specimen. Nice proud tail feathers, colorful wattles, pointed eyebrows and a really cool crow. But.....recently when I go into the coop to do work (water, feed etc.) he has become very aggressive. He flies at me with his spurs up and when I try to...

We had our biggest day ever. With 17 hens today we collected 15 eggs. A few were small so I consider those the new layers, but one hen is consistently laying a goose sized egg with a double yolk. Makes my breakfast a snap! Great that they are producing so well. Thanks to BYC.

I collected them at 4 pm and candled them at 7 pm. We eat them and sell the rest, we don't incubate them. I'm looking for bad eggs, not developing ones. So what do you think?

Our hens are happily coming on line with egg production. Still a bit small but now up to 11 eggs today. Candled them all and found one dark one, and one that was not as bright as the rest. What do you think, might I have a few bad ones? They will all be 23 weeks old Sunday September 16th...

My flock is now 21 weeks old. At least two hens are laying. The rest should be coming on soon. I switched them to the layer crumbles available at our local Southern States feed store. Do I need to add any calcium to their diet? They do not free range but we do give them treats from the...

We have Barred Rocks.

Our flock turned 20 weeks old this past Sunday and we got our first egg. It was very small, smaller than a ping pong ball. So far this week we've gotten about 6 eggs, they are all about the same size. First question, when do they start getting larger? Second question, is there any reason...

We have barred rocks. We have 17 hens. No idea which one laid it.

I have become fascinated by chicken behavior. I won't detail all of my observations about their actions, communications, social ranking etc, but let me ask this question. Last night we let our chickens out of the coop and the run into the yard to graze about an hour before dark. That was...

My flock is exactly 20 weeks old today. We've been on egg watch for two weeks. Let them out to free range for the very first time last night just before dark for about an hour. Recently changed the lighting schedule, added a bit of "scratch" to their daily treat and around 2 o'clock this...

I bought a box of plastic egg cartons from McMurray. They came with labels I can print at home. But I didn't like the way they fit so I designed one I liked better and am having them printed for me at Staples. 100 labels cost about $12