Thanks, Nancy! I've never seen any evidence of predators, but that doesn't mean we don't have any. I've also tried the golf ball trick...I used ping pong balls. They kicked them all out, kicked them underneath, and "played" with them down there. :)
I've also tried it without...
Tell me about it! We have a large family run farm supply near us that blew away everywhere else on hardware cloth prices. We thought we were going to break the bank covering the run until we called them. Still pricey, but much better. Our coop is our coop for life, so we figured we'd bite the...
Thanks everybody! We are all about using what you have. We put a lot of though and care into our little farm...it feels nice to be recognized for our ideas and thriftiness :)
Thanks JTbass and Sylvester for the compliments! I know, Sylvester...the Adirondack Mountains are a rough place for a chicken as far as predators. With the coop...the 4x4 posts are buried 4 feet in the ground set in concrete. The wire is buried about 18" and large shot-rock stones were placed...
I'll join in! Here is our coop - "Mother Cluckers". I designed everything...my dad, my husband, and I were the builders. The coop is 8x12' with a trap door in the floor to access the run area underneath the coop. From there we have a chicken tunnel that connects to our large run area. This...
My girls occasionally sing without laying an egg too. Waiting for that first egg seems like it will take an eternity...I promise, the day will come! Are they beginning to squat when you reach to pet them? This is a sign that the time is close. Mine began to squat and I had eggs within 2...
First off...welcome! I am also a new chicken mother, you are in great company here. This community has helped me though many situations. I don't allow my chickens to free-range due to where we live, but as far as eating the eggs goes I would say you are safe. I've read online that some...
When I first placed my chickens in their coop they were about the same age. They would all go out underneath the coop during the day and when night would come they would sleep in a big huddle in the corner of the run. Every night for two weeks I would have to crawl under the coop and manually...
Here is our coop and run area. As I said in my original post, the coop is 8x12'. They have access to their food and water inside at all times, as well as their roosts. There is a "trap door" in the floor of the coop that leads to the underneath. They can then travel though our chicken tunnel...
I'm in the same boat, springchicken! I know there is something going on, I just can't seem to pinpoint it.
And no sign of any egg yoke, membrane, she'll, etc, LeviS. I saw that two eggs were laid late this morning. I left them in the boxes to see what would happen. Still there when I...
I am frustrated! I haven't been down after getting everybody out in the run this morning...hopefully I'll see some eggs down there! The way our coop is built and you have to access the nesting boxes I really don't think an outside predator is getting my eggs. There is no access for skunks, we...
I had three eggs today :/. But...I stopped giving cracked corn completely. They've been getting straight layer mash for 3-4 days. Something new happened this morning as well. One of my roosters charged me...acted very aggressive. I gave him a shove with the side of my foot and he went after a...
Thanks, Donrae! As I like to spend a lot of down time watching the run (it's a sickness) I do see some mating going on. There isn't any screaming or anything like that. Sometimes the hens will get up after the mating and try to nab the rooster...sometimes the larger more dominant hens chase...
I've found an egg or two on a hay bail in the coop...but not really anywhere they can hide them in the run. It's all open and easy to see the area. No free ranging in our neck of the woods...and they are laying what eggs we do get right in the boxes. I'm stumped which is why I turned to BYC...
Thank you both for the quick posts! I didn't see two roosters holding 23 hens from laying either...but I'm a new chicken mother :).
As for breeds - we have New Hampshire Reds, Light Brahmas, Barred Rocks, and a handful of Easter Eggers. Our roosters are both Speckled Sussex. I haven't...
We have 23 girls and 2 roosters all living together in a 8x12' coop...the one seen in my profile image. We have an attached run that is 12x36' that they access through a tunnel from underneath the coop. They are fed cracked corn and layer mash, given oyster shell free choice, and are fed...
Unfortunately, no. First off...everything here is still covered in snow and the ground is frozen. No bugs in sight. When the weather warms they will be able to enter their large run area and forage for bugs, but we still are about a month out for that. Also, no free ranging here. We live in...
Okay, Kathy. Thanks for clarifying. I don't have a poultry friendly vet in my area...which is why I've been trying to take care of this myself. The last 3 days she has been great...no discharge, clean vent...today after being reintroduced she has taken a u-turn backwards. I have been using...