Here is a pic of the feed mix and two of the coop. The coop has since been updated to have an automatic door and the regular door is reinforced. The coop is laying on top of hard wire to not let anything get in. This are not my current hens. I have Rhode Island Reds now.
Thank you. I just realized you responded. I came back to my thread to post the feed mix I get from my local Feed Store.
The coop is open. The coop doesn't have many mites. We discovered a nest of sparrows above my son's windows and the mites are coming through the hole where they nested. My son...
I thought that the meal worms were protein. They do eat the whole scoop (2 cups) but then again they run around and eat something all day.
Something I did change this weekend, we had bought a bucket and made holes at the bottom with four dangling washers and pvc pipe. The peck it and food comes...
My first flock from 2017 got annihilated in the Fall of 2022. The flock is from May 2023 through now. Same feed brand from a place called The Feed Store. I don't know how long they stay stressed, but the rooster's been gone since January, the mites almost 2 months, and they hardly molted. Today...
The funny thing is no one has shared any answers on sunlight really. So this is day two and I got two eggs in a row. That is a rarity. Been letting them out at 5:30am in Chicago and they go back to their coop by 7:50pm-8:15pm. Yesterday and today. I'll update if tomorrow is different.
Two cups is a scoop of meal worms. They get don't get treats every day. Just Friday-Sunday, they may get left overs, fruit. They free range in the yard.
Good question. I don't know. I'll ask next time. I've been feeding them the same mix since 2017. This is a newer flock since May 2023. I was overflowing with eggs all through that winter, rooster got added as a cockrel in May 2024, got big and handsome, but died suddenly in January 2025. It just...
I feed them the premium feed from the Feed Store and a scoop of meal worms when it doesn't rain. Also water with a bit of acv. Then they free range the rest of the day. But I think the mites and the rooster were definitely too much. They layed the whole first year even in the winter and didn't...
Is it true that the amount of sunlight determines the amount of egg laying per day per hen? I have 4 Rhode Island reds.
Stress factors:
Winter molting
Added a rooster for the first time.
Had chicken mites for the first time.
I only get one egg if I'm lucky from one dependable hen. I get a...
Hi Everyone, I just posted a moment ago on what breed is my rooster. I've been busy with family matters and work, but still love my chickens. I lost the prior flock to Raccoons, since set the coop to predator proof and bought some Wisconsin Rhode Island Reds last year. This summer I added a...
Bokoblin was introduced to our hens on June 23rd. Maybe three months old now?
The back of his neck is naked, don't think it was plucked. Bought him at the feed store. They didn't know at the time if Roo or hen so we called him Hooster, THEN he crowed and we named him. He joins Might Thistle...
I put Chocolate in the sling last week and she kept trying to fly out. She was finally eating on her own, but think she got re-hurt. She stopped eating. Her crest started fading. We finally went to the VET ER and had her reviewed. They believed that the wound was too great and she could have...
Ok, her sour crop is gone, it just emptied out by Sunday morning. I gave her water and a soft boiled egg on Sunday. She ate the egg on her own, no need to force feed. She's ate on her own since. Today, after the egg, I came home to find my son gave her a hot dog. Finally figured out a sling from...
Honestly, those are my uncles methods from when he was on the ranch, he's in his 80's now. I don't know how to pick cacti and the crop supplies I'll have to order on amazon. My son doesn't want to make her vomit if she's pooping ok or he just doesn't want to help me at this point. I left her...
Checked her this morning and she has a squishy crop. You could feel the liquid and grains inside.
I haven't figured out the sling yet, instead it looks more like a hammock. Just a t-shirt over a Rubbermaid container and her lying on it. I took her for a while on my lap to examine and...