I know this is a heated question and there are alot of different opinions/stratigies/answers out there, but if anyone could help out I'd be really appreciative.
I've been collecting all the chicken poop for many many months. I scoop it off the dropping shelf along with a small amount of pine...
HOw long a break does a hen take after she hatches her clutch before she goes back to laying regularly? I guess this assumes that she will be raising them too.
Thanks, how about using cedar chips and some straw over the newspaper?
And she is not alone in the coop, there are 6 other hens, maybe I should bring them in...
Peach is now a mama! After being broody on and off most of the summer, her chicks hae finally hatched! The little blue egg is in the picture, and the dark brown egg is out now too, just waiting on number 3.
Horray! My hen is now a mama! Her 3 eggs began hatching out today, 2 are out completly and can't see what is going on with the third.
I am not sure if I should leave them in the coop tonight, all tucked under her, or if I should bring mama and the chicks in and put the heat lamp on in the...
HI,
My Buff Orp is on day 21 with her eggs, and last night when I checked on her I swear I heard the little chicks peep when she sat back down on them. No breaks in the shells yet, but was wondering if it is possible to hear them in there?
So, I have a hen who is about to hatch 3 chicks (hopefully) this week. And I don't want to buy a bag of chick starter, but I'd like to use what I have on hand. I have an organic 16% layer feed that I give to my 7 laying hens.
Can I mash up the layer feed by adding some warm water and boost the...
MY Buff Orp had gone broody several times this summer and I finally put some fertile eggs under her. This is day 12 and since then I have been hand feeding her in her box 1-2 times daily.
My question is, how does a hen have the ability to not get up to eat or drink on her own for the 3 weeks...
ChickChick's DH here:
We thought she may be broody as whenever I'd go out to console her she'd tend to ruffle up and make herself look big and protective. So we removed the egg under her (the 'lay here' fake egg), took her out and threw out a bunch of their 'treat' feed. All the chickens came...
Chick Chick's hubby here:
If you can't bring yourself to kill them personally (and I can understand why it might be hard, especially if they're loved pets), one of the most humane ways you can kill them is with Carbon Monoxide 'poisoning.'
Put them in a large tupperware/plastic bin that has a...
My Buff Orpington hen is now 1 year old, and has slways been healthy and lays regularly. But she has been in the nesting box day and night, never once getting out for the last 2 days.
I have hand fed her some feed and scratch, but she won't take any water or the oatmeal I made for her. She did...
OK, so when we built the coop last year, or DH built the coop I should say, we did not make the run really high. I can't remember why we did it this way, but I don't like it and as soon as we, HE has time I really want to change it.
But my question is can having a low run be a real bummer for...
Thanks, I hope it can be of use to some people and their cold chickens!
I tried it when we got real cold, which here is hovering right around 26 F. I was so relieved to find a way to keep the wate from freezing without electricity since DH would never allow me to bring out a cord, way too MR...
To the original post,
I have the exact same problem. There is so much chicken poo that my kids can't use the backyard and I won't be able to garden at all...
so my solution is to make a pen aroud the coop and run so that they can be somewhat free but still be confined to an area. I am using...
Well I'm sure this may be old news to many but to me who is new to chicken care this year I was so pleased to figure out a way to keep my chickens' water from freezing WITHOUT having electricity out to their coop.
I filled a hot water bottle with near-boiling water and placed it inside their...
They have oyster shell in their run, some eat it and some don't.
It seems like maybe one chicken laid 2 shell-less eggs at one time, and that happened twice in one day...can that happen?
Can anyone help me out on this one?
I have 6 chickens, 3 are now laying and I am getting 1-3 eggs a day.
Today I collected 1 good hard-shelled egg in the morning along with 2 watery, thin to no shelled eggs sitting together in a lump. I thought weird, maybe another is starting to lay and...
If you really still want some Buff Orps, (I have two and they are sooo sweet and pretty) you could make an order from a hatchery of the min. 25 birds and then keep what you want and put the rest up for sale locally. I did that here on craigslist and I got many many people wanting a few chicks...