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Our barn is cold. We're a little like Little House on the Prairie, no electric in the barn, no running water, nothing. So far, everyone had been doing quite well. The weather warmed a few days ago and I had my fingers crossed we were in the clear until the next cold snap. Yesterday, we found one...

17 of the 30 eggs hatched yesterday. Now we have 13 eggs in the incubator that I'm unsure about. I followed the advice in this post and listened to the eggs. I heard distinct chirping in one of them. What should I do? I can see where it pipped but it's not making any progress. Should I peel a...

I know there is a great debate on whether chicken & quail can peacefully co-exist, however I haven't found an answer to my question. Until recently, my chickens are largely free-range. This was causing trouble. We have them cooped right now, but I have been told by local friends that caging...

All I can find is "play sand" or "tube sand" (which my husband tells me is the same as play sand, but in a convenient tube). I can't find coarse or construction sand anywhere. I've checked Menards, Farm & Fleet, Home Depot and Lowes. Do I want "leveling sand"? "Pool filter sand"? "Paver...

I was given a ton of prickly pears. Can I feed them to my chickens? I found ONE site that says yes, but nothing else.

I recently acquired 8 ducklings from a lady nearby. The story I was given was she had hatched them and tried to sell them, but no one would buy them. So she put out an ad that they were free. Since we would be driving right past her house that day, we went and got them. She told me they were 2...

We recently acquired a small (ahem) flock of quail and are in the process of hatching out our first batch of eggs. I would like to supplement their feed with some fodder. I'm already growing some for the chickens, since their free-ranging days are numbered as winter sets in. The mix I have at...

I picked these up yesterday. The lady said her kids show them in the Fair, and these were the ones who didn't make the cut. Theoretically they still lay - I've noticed one of the hens "guarding" the little nest box I put in for them. Her son told me in passing what breed each chicken was, but he...

I have 20 broilers that are 3 weeks 3 days old. The overnight temps aren't expected to drop lower than the mid-60s for the next few days. Can I leave them outdoors in the tractor 100% now? Thusfar we've been tractoring during the day, then bringing them in to the garage at night.

Or, to put another weigh, I'm screwing up getting my broilers to weight. My chicks are roughly 3 weeks old (tomorrow is 3 weeks since I received them as newly hatched chicks). So, this marks end of week 2. According to Miller Hatcheries, commercial broilers should be .81 pounds (13 oz) by now...

Anyone ever raised pastured broilers? I'd like to run an experiment with my 20. 10 will be on pasture alone, in a 6'x6'x4' pen enclosed with chicken wire and a tarp ceiling. The other 10 will be on pasture + feed. They will be 2 weeks old on Tuesday. Temperatures still aren't steadily warm...

I need some quick help! We were out working in the yard at dusk. I started hearing really desperate mewling. There were two TINY kittens sitting on the side of the road, right outside the grass. They were tumbling toward the road. I didn't think first, ran over and grabbed them so no one would...

2 weeks old, broad breasted bronze, got 8 from the hatchery. No signs of disease. We moved the turkeys in with the broiler chickens since we had to get a larger pen out anyway. They were shipped together and have been quarantined since we got them, so I'm not overly concerned with disease. I...

I didn't have this problem with the meaties I got in March!! My 20 broilers are 12 days old. I have them in a footlocker turned brooder. Welllll sitting out here, and they're trying to ESCAPE! They're flying up (about 18 inches) and sticking their heads through the wire. Umm....help...

We're moving our hens from the detached garage to the real coop. Got some pigs, and the coop is large enough to house everyone. I was going to build an enclosed fence around the back of the coop for the chicken run, but that's going to be $$. The coop is about 40ft long and I was going to...

My daughters and nieces seem to want me to get Silkies. Awww heck, I want to get Silkies! How will they integrate into my existing flock? It consists of 3 Pekins (1 drake, 2 ducks), 6 black sex links (3 hens, 3 roosters - at least 2 of which will become dinner here shortly), and 17 "Browns"...

My boyfriend has turned me on to direct from China websites (where he orders his flashlight batteries). I was browsing through one, just to see what weird items I'd run across today, and found seeds. Lots and lots and lots of seeds, for pretty dern cheap. Right now I'm looking at apple tree...

The chicks came a day early!!! Tonight was supposed to be a laid back preparation, getting ready to just plop 8 turkeys and 20 meaties into their temporary homes. Then the post office called at 3PM and said "They're heeeeeeeeere!" So the oldest daughter and I put our non-existent carpentry...

I'm sure this has been discussed to death, but I couldn't find it when I searched. I only found the plant plantain. Can I grind up the peels from this morning's breakfast and toss it to my flock? 2 peels spread over ~25 birds. Or would this be a better treat for the worms?

We're using tires to grow potatoes. Lots of them. One of the local auto repair shops has taken to dumping their tires at the [abandoned] farm next door, so I have no shortage of them. My potato plants are approaching 10 inches tall - time for a second tire. I need to mulch them. My yard soil...