I use a homemade horizontal nipple waterer with a 100 watt fish tank heater in it. Easy to make, We used a square cat litter bucket. In Michigan you will probably want to step up the wattage. If you are not familiar with horizontal nipples, they are the clean and easy to use. Get 10 or 20, cheap...
Agreed, I used a pair of side cutters to remove the spiral leg band once. eBay, amazon both sell larger size bands. I use the big thick ones now that have to be snapped closed with a pair of pliers. I always put them on the right leg. Some of the chickens have two on one leg because of the color...
Leghorns are egg laying machines. I would have to agree that there life span is shorter than average and they are targets because of their color. They are not cuddly chickens as a norm, but my favorite because of the amount of eggs they put out.
Mine come in the evening to the coop. However, when I feed scratch, I always ring a cowbell that I bought on eBay. If I need to leave in the middle of the day, I just grab a little scratch and head for the coop. Ring that bell and they will sometimes take flight to get to the coop.
Do not forget to line the bottom of your dog pen with chicken wire or hardware cloth. I did not at first and my hens would come out in the dark and sit right by the fence. More than once I had a coon reach through and pull the hen through the hole and eat it little by little and when it was over...
20Pcs Poultry Nipples Water Drinking Device Chicken Hen Quail Automatic Drinker. $14 on eBay. Put them ( 4 to 6) in the side of a bucket. In the winter, I just put an aquarium heater in the bucket to keep it from freezing. Easy to clean, cheap, durable. Simplest, cleanest setup I have ever...
I use a cow bell. If I have to leave in the middle of the day I carry it to the pen and ring it and here they come to get the scratch, close the gate. Very handy.
Vegetable oil or vaseline the smooth inside surface at the top of the black cap. I removed the o-ring and rapped thread tape in the groove where the o-ring goes ( makes the o-ring stick out and seal a little better) and then reinstalled the o-ring. I can take it on and off with two fingers...
Leghorns. I have had them several times and if you want a chicken that lays eggs, this is a small framed chicken that lays large or x-large eggs continuously.
I have 13 hens, two of which are leghorns and I have only been getting eggs from the leghorns the last 3-4 weeks. RR, EE, Marans, have all shut down. I am selling them all if they don’t start putting out some eggs by the time the eat through the last 100lbs of feed. Leghorns are the best laying...