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I am looking for a decent pre-fab coop, big enough to house 2 large roosters for about a month. I'll be building them a nice custom coop as soon as I have time, but these boys need new housing faster than I can build it. All the prefab housing I've found is tiny, with tiny doors, and usually a...

Hi! I wonder if there is any good cold weather forage that I could plant in my runs. Is anyone doing this? Something that would stay green longer into the winter than grass does, or that would begin greening before the grass in spring?

Is it ok to offer frozen fruit as treats on the hot days? Or could some harm come to the chickens if they swallow something frozen?

I had my pullets and cockerels living together for too long, because I was delayed in completing the separate coop for my boys. Meanwhile, my hens lost some feathers on their backs and heads from over mating. The roosters have been living separately for about two months now. I do see some new...

I found this egg shaped shell, which seems almost the consistency of a balloon. It's not hard at all, and is empty. Is this cause for alarm?

Two of my hens have received pretty bad mating injuries. The wounds are not bleeding, but there's like a hole in the skin where I can look in and see muscle tissue. So far they seem to be acting normally. I've isolated them from the rest of the flock and treated the wounds with Vetericin...

I recently bought a cheap plug-in candler, hoping I'd be able to detect blood spots in the brown speckled and pink eggs I get from my faverolles. They have really thick shells, too. I can't see a thing inside these eggs, even with the light! Is there another method or a better candler that I...

My local feed store is out of almost all kinds of bedding. All that's left is compressed straw in bags. They were labeled for chicken bedding. I got some today and I just put it in my coop and holy chicken, it's so dusty! I was coughing quite a bit after spreading it around. I know it's not...

Hello! I know there have been other posts about prepping for winter, but I have a few specific questions I hope you will answer for me. I have a mixed flock of 13 pullets and 9 cockerels, hatched in May. They're all faverolles. I'm in Indiana where we have mostly tolerable winters with an...

I have one very special little chicken in my flock named Rose, 7 months old. When she was 5 weeks old, her tongue mysteriously swelled to a very large size and fell out. I nursed her through it and eventually she got strong again and rejoined her flock. She seems to be doing well now. But, I...

It's getting cold here, and it's been rainy too. I've noticed some of my chickens feet are looking pink. Is this frostbite? Is there anything to be concerned about? Any way to help? I have faverolles. They were not supposed to be pets, but they are pets. ♥️

6 months, 8 days and one of my 13 ladies has laid an egg! Is there any way to find out who it was? Also, um...is she okay? Do I need to do anything for her? I brought out a little yogurt for them (their favorite snack) and put out oyster shell grit alongside their normal grit.

I find I have a lot of extra grower feed, but my chickens are 5 months old and I have read that they should soon transition to layer feed. Is there harm in feeding them the grower feed a while longer, if free choice calcium is readily available? Can the cockerels continue to eat grower feed...

Hi! I am raising a small flock of faverolles chickens, all hatched together and age 5 months. One pullet had to be isolated at 5 weeks old due to injury (not a pecking related injury). The flock has never taken her back. Soon after she recovered from her original injury I tried reintroducing...

One of my pullets (4 months old) pulled off a plastic/rubber piece of my shoe and swallowed it. It was a small piece. But, what should I do? Is this likely to harm her?

I just completed a portable aviary for my chicks! The structure is made of 3/4" PVC and it is covered with bird netting (attached with zip ties). Modular 10' lengths of tunnel are tied together with Velcro straps. The last segment has an end cap of bird netting. I plan on making a couple...

I really wanted a portable coop and run setup that would accommodate at least 12 LF chickens. I started with the "chickshaw" plans from Abundant Permaculture, but based on feedback I received from this forum I modified the design heavily. I doubled the size, reinforced the ceiling and plastic...

Where does the food and water go? Does it go inside the coop, or does it go in the run? I've read cons to both. I was hoping to install some gravity feeders similar to "dine a chook" and leave them out all the time. I would like to encourage them to spend most of their time in the run, so I...

At what age do chicks need to start honing their beaks? Should they have a stone or brick or something in the brooder?

I had originally planned to keep my chicks indoors until they were 8 weeks old, but they are 6 weeks now and they desperately need more entertainment. I'm starting to see some behavior problems and it's becoming impossible to contain the smell. It's hot here. Highs around 90, lows around 60...