We ended up with a roo in the new birds, so after he went to his new home, I tried the method of putting them together at night. It was unsuccessful. The Lorp just kept going after the new Olive. I ended up using the extension coop and run to exclude the Lorp. She wasn't happy about it, but it...
I gave my girls a small purple cabbage yesterday and this morning the coop was full of dark green poop. I'm pretty positive that all 3 are pooping green because of the cabbage. They aren't acting strange and they are eating and drinking normally.
We ended up with a male from our straight run birds in June. The city ordinance doesn't allow for roosters, so he needs to find a new home.
Breed: Blue Copper Maran
Age: Approx. 5 months
Demeanor: A bit skittish, but very friendly and not aggressive yet.
I can't ship him for obvious...
The older girls are about a year and a half. The younger are 15-16 weeks. I don't care who challenges who, as long as I don't have to worry about coming out to dead birds. The cockerel will eventually be top roo anyway (if we don't have to give him up).
Maybe our run is too small to put them...
We started last spring with the 3 hens that our city ordinance allows. This spring we lost one in spite of our best efforts. We chose to get two new birds in an attempt to keep our flock from getting too small. I'm wondering if that was the best idea now!!
We couldn't get guaranteed pullets...
Thanks for the tips. We did some reading on deep litter before starting, but apparently not enough. We only have 3 hens, so I doubt the manure load is too much, but in hindsight, it would appear that straw alone was not the best choice considering how wet our fall/winter/spring can be. The run...
We had issues with deep litter straw last year. Too much clean up and maintenance, not to mention constantly buying straw and then finding a use/place for the manured stuff when cleaning up. Just cleaned out the deep litter from winter a few weeks ago and switched to sand in the run. It is...
The only concern I would think you would have with flies in the coop is the possibility of flystrike should one or more of your girls be "messy poopers". We just lost one to flystrike and it is not pretty.
That being said, do you have a lot of flies in the coop regularly? If so, you are...
We had a lot of flies in the run last year, even when it was mostly dry. We used a deep-litter method and kept layering in straw. When I finally cleaned it out mid-summer, we had well over a bale of straw and manure mixture and in spite of the top layers being relatively dry and odorless, the...
I recently had to euthanize one of my girls. It was a very sad day and a difficult thing to do, but ultimately it was for the best. One shot through the head and a second one to make sure she was gone made it quick and painless for her and much easier for me than any other potentially drawn out...
Before I ever even considered getting started with chickens, I got very invested in Permaculture education. A few years ago it would have been difficult to find a lot of information about Permaculture on the web, but now there are people a resources in almost every city in the country actively...
I would be more concerned with people getting in over their heads and chickens running wild! That was one big concern during the process of changing the ordinance in Ferndale, what happens if people who don't know what they are doing end up with a bunch of chickens? We have to get yearly...
Ferndale, MI changed the ordinance in January of 2012 to allow coops in backyard lots. Our lots are incredibly small, so we are only allowed 3 hens, no roosters. The ordinance does not mandate size for your coop, only that the coop must be at least 10 feet away from residential structures. There...
How did the hardware cloth come out? I plan on using the 1/2x1/2 for my whole run and then maybe adding a translucent top to half of the run for weather reasons. I read a post here about a year ago where a guy made a roof out of hard white plastic of some sort for his run, but I have concerns...
I love the contemporary design, but like everyone else, I'd be concerned with the size and light. I have to get my coop up off the ground higher than this one due to city ordinances, but I do like the green roof design. I wonder how much a green roof decreases heat in the summer. I live in Mich...
The Silk brand Dark Chocolate almond milk is about the best chocolate milk I've had since going vegan 8 years ago. My son gulps it down too and according to the carton, it contains more calcium than regular milk. I would believe it because it is made from almonds, which are rich in calcium as...