I've had chickens for four years now and do always experience a slow down in egg production but nothing like this. Days are getting longer so we will see.
In the past I had used an "All flock" feed from Rural King that was 18 % protein. I was looking at the layer pellets they have and noticed they are only 16%. I was curious if one is better then the other for egg production. Does the percent of protein have an impact on egg production? I...
I know about the waiting period and have not kept any eggs since I started medication, I was just curious how long I should wait to look for "normal" egg production. With the 14 hens, in the past I would still average 5-7 eggs a day in the winter. Before finding the worms I had a drastic drop...
I had to treat my flock (14 hens) after they got worms. Their egg laying had slowed down and this past week I started treating with Safeguard. Since I am treating all 15 hens I am adding it to a gallon of fresh water, every day for 5 days per the local vet. Once they are dewormed/treated how...
Like others it depends on the breeds. I have had chickens for over three years now, buff, RIR, rocks, black austr..., My coop is 8x6 with four windows and a pop door. Each of the last three winters we have had spells were overnight temps have gotten well below zero with wind chills around...
Do you get much snow where you live? My run is 8x24 and is completely covered in hardware cloth. I have a 14 foot tarp covering a little over half of it. I usually get a year (sometimes 2) out of a tarp. When I put it on I cut a few slits in it to let water drain off of it. In the winter if...
I feed 18% all flock, the breeds are RIR, black australoprs, buffs, and barred rocks. It's the same feed I've used for years. They have a large run but only free range when I am home and able to keep an eye on them, usually a couple hours an evening.
Sorry I wasn't clear. The ones left over were hatched early last year, so they are about 18 months old or so. The new ones hatched this spring and have been laying since june or so. In the past several years I have always had them continue to lay, just not as much. Last year with 14 hens I...
This spring I lost most of my flock to a weasel. I have 2 buffs and a barred rock left from last year and I also have 4 RIR, 3 black australorps, 2 more buffs, and 2 other barred rocks, that I bought this spring that started laying in July or so. About 2-3 weeks ago I started noticing tons of...
In store bought coops predator proofing is more of an issue then wind proofing. Every winter I get temps below zero for extended periods of time, the last two years we have had wind chill temps -25 degrees over night. As long as the wind is not on the birds they will be fine. I have 4 windows...
Not sure at all how you could secure the run with trees grown up in it. You might think the density of the tree would be a deterrent but it would be a matter of no time before predators would climb through the tree to get to your chickens.
I always just throw a layer of lawn clippings, leaves, or straw, or whatever else I have on hand into my run. Depending on what I put in and how much I put in I leave it as is until it gets back down to mud again. Once it breaks down and I start to see mud I put another layer in. The bedding...
Everyone has there own opinion on chemicals and round up. I have sprayed it near my coop. When I do I do not let me chickens out until the weeds are brown and dead and it has been rained on at least one. I have never seen them eat the dead/brown weeds and the go for the more green lush foliage...
Look at this old thread of how I did mine. I don't have pics at the moment so youll have to go a few pages into this thread and see them. My ground was not level either. I basically set all my post and then found one of them to use as a reference and leveled everything from that one. The I...
On my run I bought some welded wire fence that was 24 inches tall. I just set if flat on the ground around the entire perimieter and then set the bottom rails of my run directly on it. The grass etc. will grow up through it in no time and you won't be able to see it and can mow over it etc...
What will the night time set up be? I have lost hens to them but it is always at night when they found a way into the coop. Last time a skunk dug through the HC I have on the bottom of the coop to the ground and got in. The mink then went in through that hole. Once I secured the perimeter...
Most predators that are capable of killing a chicken are attracted to the chickens not their feed. So more then likely possums, skunks, foxes, raccoons,weasels, will still get into the the coop and kill them if they have a way in. So if their sleeping area is not fortified from these predators...
I have found that a fence to keep chickens out doesn't need to be as tall as a fence to keep them in. The first year I free ranged my hens I built a 6 foot tall fence all the way around my garden. The chickens never tried to get in, they walk up to it but see it as a barrier. The last two...