What is she/he?
Since I neglected to pre-order any chicks at the feed store I ended ordering 25 RIR by mail and got this little beauty as a bonus. Was listed on the packing slip as SR Rare Exotic.
Hard to get a good pic with the ipad but any ideas?
Put some rocks that are about the same size/color/shape as in egg in their nest boxes. And pick up their eggs as soon as possible
They will get tired of trying to crack open the rocks and give up in a few days. It worked for me!
I've heard golf balls will work too.
Quote:
WOW...never heard of that.
I have a friend who uses a community nest. It works just as well as having dividers. His girls
seem to love it.
That is what I do. Made one box big enough to hold three 5 gallon pails cut in half the long way. They love it and makes it very easy to clean.
A note of caution about PVC feeders:
http://www.besafenet.com/pvc/safe.htm
PVC is a concern to those building "green" houses. I'm not sure if PVC feeders could negatively effect chickens/eggs or not. BUT it might be safer to use ABS plastic (black pipe) instead. It cuts and glues the same as...
I just got a heated water bucket that has a thermostat that turns on at 40 degrees or so and added a couple of poultry nipples to the bottom. My 17 week old birds made the switch from a typical fount easily.
Plus there is a lot less cleaning to do...
How about using an enclosed trailer or old van? I've thought about using a snowmobile trailer as a base, but have found skids to be alright and cheaper.
http://www.capeassociates.com/A_Pages/playhouses.html
They raffle off a replica of a local historic homestead every summer. They look like pretty good coops to me.
I have a six hens and went with a moveable coop on skids. It is heavier than I thought it would be but my small (22hp) tractor moves it without a problem. I like being able to move the girls when one area is gets too trampled. I plan to move it into my garden soon so that they can help fertilize...
Thanks for all the replies. I am going to pick up a 17 week old rooster tomorrow to help keep an eye on the girls. Until they are full grown I will be careful when the cat is around and offer her plenty of other food.
Here is a MOFGA fact sheet on feeding whole grains to chickens.
http://www.mofga.org/Portals/2/Reports/MOFGA%20FS%2013%20Feeding%20Whole%20Grains%20to%20Chickens.pdf
I have six six week old RIR pullets. I just finished their new coop which does not have a run. I was hoping to let them free range when they are older. For now we have been letting them out with close supervision.
Yesterday our barn cat who is a very good hunter was hanging around the chicks...