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My broody hen is hatching out her chicks. I can see several and don't know what the final result will be. I have 20 more fertile eggs that will be good for a few more days. Roos are gone. I'd like to take the chicks from this mother in a couple of days and raise them in a brooder, hoping that...

The eggs of my Speckled Sussex hens were small in comparison to those of the Sex Links. People who were interested in buying noted the small ones, not the jumbos. Consequently, I sold the hens but kept the roos around for awhile. A Sex Link hen is now setting on eggs, all of which will be of...

I have one broody sex link who is setting. We recently sold our Speckled Sussex hens but still have the roos, which are soon going to be butchered. We are replacing everything with RIR for egg size consistency. The SS eggs are too small and look weird in the carton with the jumbos. The SS have...

What I meant is that if a seed were an F1 hybrid, I wouldn't save another generation, but it could be used as a crop. My main goal is that it be organic. On the other hand, I think I've found an open-pollinated source, which means I could save the seed and continue to plant organic.

Respectfully disagree. The F1 is the first generation of a cross. It is this strain that is a hybrid.

But even if the seed is a hybrid, you could still plant for a single crop. Organic can't be GMO so that isn't an issue. I did find a grain producer in NY State who sells 50-lb. bags of organic seed. It's about a day's worth of driving to get there and back, but it looks to be worth it.

Our hens are fed organically, and we bought some seed for grain crops. We did this last year, and it's a big treat to give them bundles of wheat to pick through. We planned on saving most of this year's seed to replant next year. On a whim, I sprouted some wheat seeds from the coop. It was hard...

I've been paying special attention to the behaviors in the flock now that the roos are fully grown (eight months), and I've noticed some surprising things. If I put a treat down, the roos stay to the side and let the hens have most of it before they jump in. They are all the same age, so it's...

"Since these are hens, they run. Maybe a rooster would attack." Probably for the same reason. Both the hens and roosters might perceive the big red human to be a big red rooster.

I think there was too much going on too. They are used to having just one person in there, usually me, but sometimes my son or both of us, and they know us. There were three extra people, and a little more excitement than I think they could handle without reacting.

We had seven roos and the two with the least desirable personalities went into the freezer. Of the five left, I've had no trouble until today. My three-year-old grandaughter went in the barn to visit a new calf, and one of the roos took a jump at the back of her snowsuit. My son said it has...

We planted organic Golden Bantam last year. Are planting much more this year so that there will be some for the chickens. Corn cross-pollinates easily. The trick to having more than one variety is by choosing them so that they are pollinating at different times. Add to this a couple of weeks...

I hope the chickens will eat the millet if I plant it. If they get hungry enough? It is more nutritious than corn, or so I've read. Thinking close to an acre. What grains are in the four-grain scratch? My deal is that we only feed organic, and in order to make a little profit, we are going to...

Thanks. I hadn't thought of them. Johnny's has a Japanese millet, says that it is deep-rooted, grows tall, has to be plowed in. Tiller will only work with smaller plants. I've had no experience with millet. Anyone? Do all varieties grow deep? I want to be able to save some seeds. Did that this...

Want to experiment with growing millet as a step in raising more of the hens' food. We feed organic grain and organic (from the garden vegetables in season), but I know it might be hard to find organic grain for planting. I'd be satisfied knowing the seed was not GMO, but I can't seem to find...

Lately I have been putting him out when I go to bed, but next week is supposed to be single digits at night, and there isn't anywhere warm enough out there. I'm thinking of throwing him out late afternoon so that he gets some exercise, then call him in around 9:00. Maybe he'll get the idea and...

Thanks everyone. Yes, Maine coons are something else. He thinks he is a dog, rolls over for a belly scratch. Loves snow, and doesn't mind being wet. As for my cutting his nails in the middle of the night, hmm, it might cost him a toe. As it is, he doesn't mind a manicure, and having had cats...

I'd lock him in a bathroom, except that I live in a camper, and there is really no way to partition anything off.

Have a 1 1/2 yr. old Maine coon cat, altered male, who used a litter box until spring, when he decided he would be an outside cat. He and a stray I feed think the garden is the litterbox, but now that it's turning cold, my cat (Arlo) wants to come inside in the evening. Trouble is that in the...

Thanks for the replies. They all have grit. They all have access to outside but the younger ones hang around the door, so I put oyster shell further out where only the hens get it. Then I took everything out of the youngsters' area that might attract the hens, including a couple of too-cozy...