My chicken years began by standing next to my grandmother in the huge downtown Portland, Oregon indoor farmer's market in the early 1950s. Gram sold chicken and eggs. The bodies arrived in early morning dark packed in large boxes after the ice man had delivered ice for the display refrigerator...
Wild ducks get in an out of very cold water to stand on ice all the time without much problem. Ducks have a sort of anti-freeze going on in their feet that usually keeps them out of trouble in very cold weather, and they stand on one foot while warming the other in their breast feathers.
Stock...
My new Hamburg/barred rock girls are a little over six months and have just begun laying - and are now up to speed with one egg each per day. Make sure your ladies are happy-- i.e.: lots of sunlight, fresh water, all they can eat of a balanced layer ration, and run aroud space, and plenty of...
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I've bought diatomaceous earth in 10 lb bags from these folks, and found it to be terrific and very resonable. Organic gardeners use it for soft-bodied pests, and it is food grade so that it is perfectly safe for...
I've been raising chickens for more than 45 years, and been around them nearly all my life. My grandmother raised chickens during the depression for the family IGA market outside of Portland, Oregon, and she sold eggs and chicken meat in the store.
In the 1950s Gram had a stall in the downtown...
Highly recommend Natural Balance grain-free dog food. A little pricey but my Irish terrier with a grain allergy has been doing well on it for years - and it is consentrated enough that he is very slightly overweight with about a cup and a half a day.
Note: what is not explained in this post is that roosters have favorite hens and when they breed with her they stand on her back and sometimes will pull out feathers with their feet and talons as they do this. If this is done a lot, very favorite hens will have a bald spot above their rump. It...
If it is typical for this hen, and she has not taken to heart any top pecking order instructions from you, then I agree, she must go. I have had superior manners from my Hamburg hens and roosters for 40 years. I trusted them with my children, my grandchildren, and now my great grantchildren...
By the second or third week you should definitely see a difference in comb size, even though the combs are small, they are much larger in males. In 40 years I have not seen a difference in feather color, but that doesn't mean it is not true.
If you dog is as smart as you say she is, she could be trained to not hurt the chickens, but you will need to be focused and firm about it.
Keep her on a lead when you are with her and the chicks. Give her a strict command every time she looks interested at the chicks to leave them alone (I use...
Personally, I don't want to carry the karma after killing a neighor's pet. I have a terrier that would chase my own chickens, if I let him. I don't.
I've had neighbor's dogs kill my chickens before, when I let them free range. Cut little cockapoos whose owners couldn't believe they had happily...
Yes, can be hard to find, especially in Montana, where I also live. I bought my DE at Only Natural Pet, a catalog and on-line catalog. Works great for fleas (yes, there can be fleas in Montana) and bird lice. I mean GREAT! And I feel good about using it because it is completely safe, even for...
I have been where you are emotionally. Last year a raccoon climbed an eight foot fence, ripped the netting off the top, and then climbed up 10 feet in my barn to get seven of my eight chickens who were roosting in the rafters. I now lock the chicken door at night after every day I let the new...
Try diotomaceous earth next time. Very friendly product available at organic gardening supply. Rated safe enough for human consumption, but really works with soft bodied insects. Sprinkle on floor, in nest boxes, on roosts, on chickens. Really, really works, and keeps working for at least a year...
Gender is difficult to tell at their age. You may need to wait until they are three to five months old in order for curled tail feathers and larger combs proclaim rooster. They appear to have pea or rose combs and so their combs may never be large compared to some roosters.
However, I could...
Been raising chickens for more than 40 years.
Current flock of 8:
trio of cuckoo Morans,
two fourth generation silver spangled Hamburgs x Egyptian faoumi,
two silver Wyandottes,
one silver spangled Hamburg rooster.
Love those black and white chickens.
Bird lice or mites do not use humans for permanent hosts but they can certainly bite humans and become infestations, if they do have anything else to feed upon.
There was an article in Bird Watcher's Digest in a recent issue that documented an infestation that came into a home via a nest over...