I run a "no kill" small farm. Two years ago I had way too many roosters so I asked around until I found a guy with a grandfather with lots of acres and willing to take my dozen roosters - which I gave to him for free. I have three places on my farm where I can keep sick, lame or slightly...
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This summer in Southern Maryland we've had a couple months of extreme heat and humidity. My "Bantamville" [for Bantams] consists of a 10'x16' shed with a cut-out door on the side that leads to a shady, fenced area of 10'x60'x4' of wire fenced area. I also put in...
Foxes for sure. They always haul off their prey. Night owls or possibly coyotes. I'm sorry for your loss.
Before I got Pierre, my Great Pyrenees, I suffered such losses, day and night. Now, none. He caught a fox in the daytime, 10 feet from the coop.
I've only assisted with peacock hatchlings. One case, baby was shrink-wrapped. Helping was successful. Another case, a little bleeding and baby had splay legs/feet. Vet intervened but baby died within first 2 weeks. I'll always help because odds are against babies if I don't help. These...
Treats for my chickens:
- Mealworms (www.mealwormsbythepound.com). I buy 22 pounds because my peacocks eat them, too.
- corn on the cob, raw
- peeled bananas (sheep/goats will eat unpeeled)
- watermelon
- cooked oatmeal
- bread (once a week)
- spring greens
- blueberries
- apples
- yellow...
I buy a commercial feed at TSC for 2x/week. I also make a mixture: 25 pound scratch grain from Amish (cracked corn, oats, sunflower seed kernels, barley) then add:
4 cups/bowls black oil seeds
4 cups/bowls whole corn
4 cups/bowls oats
4 cups/bowls barley
1 cup/bowl kelp
1 cup/bowl oyster shell...
I've seen hens sit in other circumstances: once in the coop, so I poked her to see if she would flinch/move; she didn't. She had died. The second time a hen was sitting outside in same place on second day. First day I didn't bother her; she was alive but, second day, I definitely investigated...
I have a ton of mud in about a half acre where chickens walk. I bought 20 bales @$4.50/bale of corn cob stalks from the Amish in my area and covered the ground. Chickens and larger animals like poking through it, and the sheep/goats munch on it. It's thicker than straw so better at covering mud...
I brought in a second Great Pyrenees about two weeks ago to be company to my 7-year old female. This is a 2-1/2 year old male. After being here a week, I caught him running through the yard with a Bantam hen in his mouth. I got him to drop her, and I retrieved her and put her in my bathroom...
Thanks to someone who told me to put a wet washcloth into my incubator to keep the humidity high. My hen hatched out two of seven eggs and then abandoned the eggs so I put them in this incubator, since I felt I had nothing to lose. Another person told me that I can pick up an egg up to seven...
I located an animal rescue for feral cats on 7 acres in Southern Maryland, and bought a couple sheep, goats, peacocks, ducks, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl. I have approx. 24 hens, 4 roosters.
I do talk about the Farmette on our blog site: http://animalrescuefoundation.blog
I love my chickens...
I had two hens sitting on 18 eggs. I have approx 24 hens, and 4 roosters (and actively trying to rehome three of them). A lot of the eggs disappeared over time and about 8 of them were rejected. None hatched, although I thought I heard a peeping one day and not the next. Should I have intervened...
Animal Control in Charles County, MD is harassing me. I need to clip the wings of my guinea fowl to prevent them from jumping the 4' fence I have around my seven acres in a zoned agricultural area. Please don't tell me it can't be done. It must be done. I'd like them to free range because...