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I like the idea of splaying the hardware cloth and covering it with river rock, I'll have to try that! I had no idea that raccoons were such troublemakers- I can't believe they scaled your balcony to get to the trash, that's crazy! I'm definitely going to put a carabiner on the lock as well...

Today was the first time that my husband and I have seen a raccoon on our property. It was around 6am this morning, and once the raccoon saw our chickens out (we have 6 sex link hens), the raccoon started gradually getting closer. I put the chickens up at 6:30 to get ready for work, but went...

My dog has a strong "leave it" command, which we worked on a lot with the chickens. He was introduced slowly as chicks, then was able to be out with him for increasing amounts of time with supervision. Whenever he went to chase them, we told him to leave it, and the physically removed him from...

I wish I knew that more space is always better...we bought a coop for our six chickens that was advertised as a great coop for 8-12 chickens, but seemed small to me. I always figured that the commercial coops were best because they were advertised as such. In the end, we ended up converting a...

I did it for a few months, and just recently stopped. While it worked great when it was cooler, the fermented feed seemed to be "off" by the afternoon. The smell wasn't what it normally was or should be, and because of that, the chickens rarely finished it like they used to. For the summer, I am...

We just left our chickens for a weekend, and hired someone to stay at the house. Since we also have a dog and a few other house pets, it was easier to have someone that could let them out, supervise free ranging, and keep everyone fed and watered. This month has been hot too, so I felt better...

I have six sex links and they love the light rain! Heavy rain and they usually end up in the barn, but they seem especially excited when all the bugs come out with the light rain. Since they are only free ranged when I'm home, I try to give them the option to be out whenever I can.

Marketing is something that I have been thinking about with my new backyard flock for a while, and this article was very helpful and gave me good advice to think about moving forward!

Hi, thank you for responding! I'm really looking for hens though if possible.

Hello all! We have a small flock of six sex link pullets (about 12-13 wks) and are hoping to add two Silkies to our flock. We have a 10 x 12 coop and they are free ranged in the evenings and on weekends. Let me know if you have any, thank you!

Thank you for all of your help!

Hi, thank you for your response! Right now they are sleeping in a 12 x 12 converted barn stall. We have two roosts for them, one is a wooden ladder (they use this during the day), and an old park bench (most of the time they sleep here). Both are higher than the nest boxes, which sit on a 4 inch...

Good morning! When I put my 6 hens in the coop, I blocked off the nest boxes so that they couldn't use them to roost in/sleep in. They are currently 11 weeks old, and are Black and Red Sex Links. At what age should I turn the nest boxes around? Should I wait until 18 weeks when they are closer...

I brooded my chicks inside (this was our first time as chicken owners!) and they were outside at 4 weeks. When they started moving away from the heat during the day, we turned the heat lamp off, then turned it off at night, and when they looked fully feathered and were okay with no heat (about a...

Thankfully, my husband loves the chickens and comes to hang out in the barn when he can, but I'm the one who really takes care of them. The farm stuff is my hobby, and while he does a great job with the inside animals, I handle most of the outside animals and some of our small inside creatures :)

It sounds like you have quite the fence! I've seen a few hawks circling, but one of the hens always warns the others and they run back inside about the same time that I see it. They're pretty smart! Have you had any issues with them?

Yes, it's fenced and gated off, and no dogs are able to get in. We have a large dog that stays out while their out, but he leaves them alone. I'm sorry about your pullets! That's awful to lose so many.

I only let them free range unsupervised when I'm home. If I can peek out the window every hour or so, I feel comfortable with them being out. Otherwise they are in their barn stall coop. It equates to them being out much of the weekend and in the evenings. We may adjust as they get older (they...

I was worried about the same thing when I put my 5 week olds out (3 weeks ago now). They honestly did fine and were chirping and happy to see me when I went out in the morning! We ended up moving them to a barn stall to offer some more protection from the elements, but even last night with it...

Thank you for your help! The door is solid, put there is an open panel where air can flow through that is covered in chicken wire, and the top of stall is also covered so that predators cannot fly in. I'm worried about the light, but they get quite a bit from the large barn aisle doors being...