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  1. S

    My three chickens are not eating, and it seems like it's been months

    Yes, feathers are about. We wondered about molting, but was thrown off by their not eating. Thanks for the suggestions. We will start working on those.
  2. S

    My three chickens are not eating, and it seems like it's been months

    Here you go. They are about 3-4 years old. We haven't dewormed them. They just look skinnier, scraggly feathers, haven't been eating and haven't laid eggs in a couple of months. What do you think?
  3. S

    My three chickens are not eating, and it seems like it's been months

    I could use some advice. They stopped laying about four months ago and their food consumption dropped off. I figured it was molting. After a few weeks, I bought some fresh feed, which helped a bit, but now the fresher feed doesn't seem to interest them at all. They free range a few times a week...
  4. S

    What to feed when not free ranging?

    Thanks very helpful.
  5. S

    What to feed when not free ranging?

    We decided to stop free ranging, mainly because of predators. What do I feed them beyond their standard feed and grit since now they are locked up all the time (though we may start giving them an hour or so of supervised ranging). We have just three birds. Is feed and grit enough with the...
  6. S

    Heat vs Darkness

    I have decided on not doing the lightbulb method of heat (or any heat) as many here and in another forum have strongly suggested to me not to do. I will also not deprive the chickens of much needed darkness. This last part was what disturbed me the most. I really felt the same as most all of you...
  7. S

    Heat vs Darkness

    Thanks for the suggestion.
  8. S

    Heat vs Darkness

    Now that the temp is below 10 degrees (and regularly below 0), I have put a light in the coop for some heat. I keep it on from dusk to dawn. However, I worry about the chickens not having any darkness. So, the question is which is more important? warmth below 10 degrees or darkness (having a...
    • SnowdogHERA
    • Thread
    • 0 degrees cold weather darkness heat light night very cold warmth zero degrees
    • Replies: 13
    • Forum: Managing Your Flock
  9. S

    Yet another question about chickens not returning to coop

    Yes, this was really great feedback. Thank you so much.
  10. S

    Yet another question about chickens not returning to coop

    Ok, sorry. I have been having trouble labeling the different parts. From what I have understood in the past, and reading these forums, Coop is the area where the roosts and nests are, Pen could be the smaller outside but enclosed area while Run is a much larger outside area that is most times...
  11. S

    Yet another question about chickens not returning to coop

    When you say better roosts, what do you mean? And if we continue this endeavor, we plan to make a larger coop/pen. I thought it was a little small myself. However, I had always planned to free range them. If we didn't, we would have made a larger run for sure.
  12. S

    Yet another question about chickens not returning to coop

    Even though we free range them? I have been letting them out in the morning every day so they have about an acre to run around. I plan to snow blow areas during the winter so they have more room, kind of a run in the snow as it were. And to maybe clarify some things, it was the coop door I...
  13. S

    Yet another question about chickens not returning to coop

    It's only the coop door I wasn't closing due to heat. The pen door we closed. However, I can certainly do that. And also keep them in the pen for a few days.
  14. S

    Yet another question about chickens not returning to coop

    That's interesting about the alpha being the last. Ours is also the alpha that goes in last. One thing I forgot to mention before is I am concerned about the gaps around the access doors (by laying area and across from it) with regard to drafts. I tried towels as was suggested by someone up...
  15. S

    Yet another question about chickens not returning to coop

    The entire coop/pen is 8'x4'. The coop is 4'x3'. The height is about 8', though I forgot to actually measure that. The three roosting poles are fairly thick and at angles and go roughly to the top. The light is a low to no heat bulb and on a timer, and I keep the door to the coop open at night...
  16. S

    Yet another question about chickens not returning to coop

    Here are some pictures of the coop and one of two of the chickens.
  17. S

    Yet another question about chickens not returning to coop

    Yes, I do believe the behavior started when we put the light in, and yes, it was to provide longer light for laying. I figured they would get used to it like other things. They did start going back in though after a few days. We used the design "in how to build chicken coops" by Samantha and...
  18. S

    Yet another question about chickens not returning to coop

    Well, to tell you honestly, they all seem to want to come inside, especially toward the end of the day. They watch us and peck at the door. It makes for a dangerous minefield when we walk out the back. One, not the one in question, actually came in when we were trying to get our dog to go around...
  19. S

    Yet another question about chickens not returning to coop

    I have read the forums with regard to this question, and am still befuddled. I have three chickens, two Plymouth Rocks and one Australorp, who have a very nice coop sized for four. The coop and pen below the coop is clean and there are no red mites. I do not see any evidence of critters...
  20. S

    Hi from Northern Maine

    I have four chickens, australorps and plymouth rocks. I haven't raised chickens since I was a kid. I am enjoying them very much and learn a lot from the BYC site to help me raise them. Hope to continue to gain much knowledge from veterans and newbies alike.
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