I live in Austin as well. I'll tell you what has been the ideal coop litter for me for the last several years. I do have a large area for my girls (and rooster, mustn't forget the boys). They only use the enclosed coop at night. In their coop (which is roughly 6' x 8') I rake it completely...
So we did it. We FINALLY got our chicks, our first ever. I have been wanting a few hens for the yard for years. When I was young a friend in the neighborhood had chickens and his dad kept a wonderful vegetable garden, I think that is where the fascination for such things came from. I am now in...
What a nice and reassuring post. I'm in Central Texas and rarely does it get bitter cold but I get concerned anyhow. The most we ever do is wrap our coop in plastic to cut the wind and chill. We've brought home batches of week old chicks twice now and have never used a heat lamp. They stay...
I bet they'd be happy with a cube - something enclosed. I think the boxes you have are too exposed, maybe. Or maybe they're just being a bunch of jerks. I'm totally kidding. Don't take anything I say too seriously - except for the enclosed nestbox idea. I'm sticking to my guns on that one
Congrats! I added three delawares chicks in July to an existing flock of five. We didn't put them together right off the bat. We had plenty of time and it took a few months before they were all okay with each other. Last night it was chilly so they all hunkered down on the same roost. That was a...
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I absolutely have to agree with goobhen. When my husband and I were looking to buy our home, the one that we really liked had an HOA that did not allow chickens. It was a big decision that we had to make and we chose to pass it by because we did not want to violate the agreed upon...
I can see how that would be a problem. The rake would break up the poop and make it so you couldn't collect it. We have a stationary coop. I have sand on the floor covered over with rice hulls. The rice hulls are a great addition to the compost - they break down much faster than wood shavings. I...
I might add...a guinea fowl made it's way to our property about a year ago. I am not able to handle her, I don't think I can dust her. Won't she just re-infest everyone? She stays close, eats out of their feeder and in the afternoon she sleeps in the coop. Any advice?
THANK YOU ONE AND ALL!!! You are lifesavers. I don't know why things like this always seem to happen on a Saturday after hours. Our feedstores, both that are nearest, are closed on Sunday. I have to wait until Monday now.
I check my girls for crawly things regularly. It's easy since they like to sit on my lap. I just lift their wings and do a check. This afternoon I peeked under my 1 1/2 yr old Buff Orpington's wing and saw crawly things! SEVERAL. They were very small and were moving in the feathers. I did not...
i almost think it's the luck of the draw and there are no guarantees. We started with a small flock of 5 - that's 4 hens, 1 roo. They seem to get on just fine. One hen DID lose feathers but it was due to the rooster mounting her. They all grew back after her first heavy molt. This is not the hen...
I was surprised how long it took for them to lay when they first started. Early on it took 45 minutes to an hour. Now, it might take 30 minutes. Sometimes they will sit for a really long time in the nest and to top it off, they don't lay an egg!
The healthy shell is due to calcium though I wouldn't doubt that protein plays a part in forming a good looking egg. Have you checked for mites? I've read on these forums that people dust their birds with Sevin. I think that's what it's called. Some even use DE. You could do a search for both...
Well, thank goodness. It doesn't look nearly as bad as I imagined it would! Our buff orpington had a bald back for months and months. It was due to the rooster but I think you said you don't have a rooster. Do the other hens peck at her? Does she pluck her own feathers? We had to wait until our...