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  1. dirtsaver

    Wonderings about choosing a rooster.

    I think it's different for everyone. For us it came down to a single incident. We had three buff Brahma cockerels and one was really good looking boy that we were leaning towards keeping. Another one was so-so and the third was mediocre looking. One evening we were out in the lot with the flock...
  2. dirtsaver

    questions on first time broody....

    I agree with Canoe. We have hatched several clutches over the last two years and each time we set the hen up in a corner of the henhouse in a covered nesting box with chicken wire surrounding the area. The wire keeps other hens from laying eggs in that nest but still keeps the broody part of the...
  3. dirtsaver

    Quarantining using large dog crate?

    We have used large dog crates(not the plastic travel crate) as quarrentine coops for years. As Jaded points out,they will need to be made more secure. For us that was done by attaching plywood panels to some of the sides and hardware cloth to the others for protection from both weather and...
  4. dirtsaver

    What age can you introduce chicks to the adult chickens?

    I agree. In fact,after several years of having chickens raised from mail-order we finally had two girls go broody and let them set eggs. They were in a brooder coop inside the main run so all the hens could see them all day. At 3 weeks we started letting the mommas and chicks out with the rest...
  5. dirtsaver

    Update: Dog Attack and Lessons Learned

    Congrats MountainMama! Just proves once again that there are exceptions to every rule. Now hurry up and get that lottery ticket!
  6. dirtsaver

    Can I integrate 1 month old chicks in with 3 month old birds?

    We order day old chicks every spring to restock our flock and have a few extra to sell at "point of lay". I've built a "brooder house" and run to keep the chicks in before they are introduced into the main flock. We don't turn the new girls in with the older ones until the young ones are about...
  7. dirtsaver

    Straw or pine shavings in coop?

    We've been using pine shavings for several years and while it is messy,I've found nothing that works quite as well. We use a modified deep litter and a poop board under the roost. The poop board gets cleaned daily and the shavings get changed about 4-6 times a year and we have no smell or other...
  8. dirtsaver

    Why did my Chicken die?

    I've never purchased chicks from Tractor Supply because....honestly....I'm afraid to! I've been in several of their stores and seen the tubs of chicks with empty waterers,heat lamps not on,dead chicks laying around in the tubs...just very poor conditions in general. Add to that the stress and...
  9. dirtsaver

    What kind of bugs and insects can baby chicks eat with out grit?

    Sure they can go in sand. Think about it....in a natural setting (like around the barnyard)chickens do not stay in the grass. Them dang birds are everywhere! In the garden,digging behind the barn in the manure pile,scratching in the gravel drive.....you get the idea! Let them be chickens and...
  10. dirtsaver

    Garden Chicken

    Nice way to use the stuff you find laying around the homestead!
  11. dirtsaver

    Coop door - How large for XL breeds like Brahmas?

    fatcatx,maybe they only seem to come out two at a time! Usually it happens when we are late getting out to the coop to let them out. It's such a mad scramble that all the girls are out in a very few seconds! 10"x12" may be a little snug but should be ok for a few of them. If you had a whole...
  12. dirtsaver

    Coop door - How large for XL breeds like Brahmas?

    I'm thinking ours is 12" wide x 14" tall and sometimes I've seen two Buff Brahmas come out that door at the same time!
  13. dirtsaver

    Free from drafts or well ventilated?

    There is no contradiction. None at all. Draft free means no air movement directly on the chickens. Ventilation is simply plenty of openings high above the birds. My ventilation consists of 6" tall vent openings just under the roof all the way around. They are still 18" above the heads of the...
  14. dirtsaver

    Confusion over when to switch feeds

    Either way is fine. The chicks are old enough to not need the medicated feed now,but the extra protein is still good for them for a while longer. I usually switch all my birds(layers included) to a 18-20% flock raiser type feed when the chicks get close to 16 weeks. Since our Brahmas take longer...
  15. dirtsaver

    Suggestions on where to get less than 25 birds?

    +1 All our layers have come from Mt Healthy for 3 years now. They are the best! We've never lost a chick from them.....not one single chick! Plus,I've had experience dealing with them since back in the 1990's when I worked for Southern States Coops. Mt Healthy was the supplier for all the SS...
  16. dirtsaver

    Free range questions

    Sorry tiapet. I should have paid more attention to your location! First thing to do is to "train" your chicks to come when called. You do that the same way you train dogs,by equating your call with treats. It's so simple the chicks will soon be following you around begging for treats! Good luck!
  17. dirtsaver

    Will my chickens be ok with 33 degree weather. Their coop is HOT too.

    All good advice aldarita! Another thing we do is to freeze water in small plastic bottles and put them in the waterers to help keep them cool. An old box fan in the run helps on extremely hot days as well as stretching a cheap blue tarp over the run for shade.
  18. dirtsaver

    Buying more chickens

    Being attacked is the LEAST of your worries. Be far more concerned with introducing disease into your existing flock! You need to keep any new birds quarrentined for ay least 30 days. And quarrentined means TOTALLY apart,so they cannot transmit any virus through the air even. Plus you need to...
  19. dirtsaver

    Reclaimed Barn wood coop

    Looks great dcure! If you notice the coop in my avatar you'll see the siding is wood from a 100 year old tobacco barn. I tried to make it look like the coops I grew up around. The door was a freebie found beside the road. Someone had remodeled an old house and set the door and some other...
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