It is always good to check to see if others in the neighborhood has chickens. If they do ask if they have had any complaints from neighbors. Then if you decide to get chickens speak with your neighbors and let them know that you will be getting chickens and that sometimes they might be a bit...
The video looks like my girls when we open the gate in the mornings. Except, they all run to the front porch thinking there might be some cat food left for them. Great video!
When we first got interested in chickens we attended a seminar held by our local Extension Office. The person speaking on poultry said that when you get new chickens, turkeys, duck, geese, any fowl, always, always, introduce them slowly to each other by creating a separate run for the new...
Here is a tip on calming your chickens after you catch them.
Once you catch your chicken, turn them over, laying their back in the palm of your hand. With the other hand gently stroke their tummy. For some reason this puts them into a calming trance and you will see their heads fall forward...
Our chickens are free range. We lock them inside a large covered run with a coop at night, so the coyote's don't get them. Yes, coyotes can get them during the day, but our dog keeps the coyotes and other critters at bay. We open the gate right before we leave for work in the mornings, about...
Ventilation is probably keeping them off the roost. Even my young ones hop on the roost at night and have found them on low branches of the trees in the yard.
I talk to my gals every day and they talk back. I have a conversation with Rhoda the other day about the grasshoppers that are everywhere. She said to give her and the others time and they would gladly take care of them for me. Anyone who says they do not talk to the gals are fibbing. Even...
I should have entered last year...all my girls but one was completely naked. I even thought about sewing/crocheting them a sweater until their feathers grew back in. So, far, none have started the molting process this year.
We always keep our smaller chicks separate from our adults and put them together once the smaller ones are grown. Since the smaller ones are separate, the cats are able to see them like they see the adults, so once the small ones grow up and are out with the adults, the cats never bother them...
I have always stirred with a long handled wooden spoon and poured the soap into wooden boxes made for soap. The soap sets in the boxes until it is firm enough to be turned out onto racks to air dry, which takes a couple of weeks and longer if the humidity is high.
Since this is an old post, I...
Thank you for the "Welcomes" everyone. I wish I could have captured on video the look on my 3 year old orange tabby when she heard the chicken honk. It was one of pure surprise.
Lots of eggs will happen. We have learned to dehydrate eggs and we take those when we go camping, so we don't have to worry about keeping the eggs cold or breaking them.
I have a 4 month old that honks. We think it is because she gets mad. She comes to the porch where we feed the barn cats and she pecks at their empty dishes then honks and leaves the porch. She also likes to hang out in the wadding pool we have for the chicks on hot days, like we have had...
I lost a leghorn over the weekend. Her belly was large and spongy and her poop smelled horrible and looked at times like runny scrambled eggs. My chick had egg yolk peritonitis. There is no cure for this. You should probably isolate the chicken from the rest so no one picks on her. You can...