I tried to introduce a 5 month old cockerel to my 5 mature hens, and they are very mean to him. My question is: Will he eventually take his rightful place in the flock? Or should I separate him until his is mature?
Thanks. They do free-range, and have very good feed. However we have had a record breaking summer with over seventy 100 degree days. Maybe that does have something to do with it.
I have what would be considered I'm sure, a minor yolk problem. Some of the eggs my hens lay seem to have weak yolks. For no matter how gently I crack them open they spread out as if they had been poked.
Is this normal? Or perhaps caused by some deficiency in their diet?
I agree with Pstock44. I too have nest boxes that open from the outside, and I try and wait until all the hens are out. But when I open it when there are one or more sitting they just squawk a little, but they haven't ever tried to jump out.
But if you are worried about them jumping out, you...
I built this coop for my 8 hens out of 2x6 cedar boards from an old pool deck I tore down. It's built off the ground with wire under their roost so most of the poop falls through. Every couple of weeks or so I rack it up and add it to the garden. Works great.
It gets very hot here, so the big...
Thanks so much for your quick reply. I'm fairly new at keeping chickens, and probably a little too paranoid when it comes to their welfare. Your reply however brings up another question, if you don't mind. Is there an advantage to horizontal nipples, as apposed to vertical? (Mine are vertical).
I have been watering my chickens with Chicken Nipples, but I recently set out a pan of water and the chickens definitely prefer drinking from it. In fact they wont use the nipples at all as long as the pan has water in it. It seems like it is a little awkward for them to use the nipples.
So I'm...
I only have 8 hens, so I built a fairly small coop, which is a little over a foot off of the ground. The solid part of the floor is covered with wood chips, and under the roost area there is 1"x2" wire screen.
That way most of their droppings falls to the ground, which I rake up every few weeks...
Thanks. The box on the side is a feeder hopper that opens on the inside of the coop. That way ground squirrels, mice, etc., don't get to share my chicken's food. However, the sparrows do go in and get some. Although. unlike some of the people that have posted who have a lot of birds using their...
I too am unwillingly feeding some birds.White-crowned Sparrows hop right in through the little door and help themselves. I'm not sure what I can do about it. Hopefully they don't eat much.
Thanks for the compliment. The white bucket to the left-rear of the coop has poultry nipples. The feed hopper on the left side opens inside, which keeps other 'critters' from eating their feed.