1. How do you greet your chickens in the morning?
A) With a quick “Good morning,” as I check their feed and water.
B) I sing them a morning song—complete with choreography.
C) Depends on the day—sometimes a wave, sometimes a heartfelt speech.
HEEEEEEEERE, chick-chick-chick-chicKENNN!!!!! I let...
That bird will be crowing its ass off in 8 weeks, betcha a donut. Comb is not super big but has a lot of color and is still big for a juvenile hen. Neck hackles, saddle, leg thickness, all point to probable rooster. Too bad he is a mutt. It is much easier to sex a purebred chicken by appearance...
I would give the little fella a chance to live. You may have to feed him liquid nourishment only, via eyedropper, for the first couple of days, before he is ready to try crumbles and water. Isolate him from the other peeps, so they don't bully him in his weak state. Make sure he is nice and...
Meh. I just use my Buck 110. I keep it sharp. If I got my pants on, I got my knife with me. I use it for everything from eating a steak to carving a pirogue paddle to splitting a deer pelvis to well whatever.
For many tasks, it's not the bow so much as the Indian. In other words, the operator...
I am painting the floor of mine, then laying down linoleum. Mine is big enough to get inside of and work, 8x8, 8' ceiling, gable roof, standard human door with chicken door planned, outside access to nest boxes. The linoleum will make cleaning easier and help preserve the floor. Pine shavings...
At 4 weeks I wouldn't be too worried. It will get hungry and thirsty and figure stuff out on its own. A peck or two is just part of socializing. Just try to provide places of refuge that the chick can run to, where a mean hen can't continuously peck it to death. At one or two weeks I would be...
A galvanized garbage can makes a great storage place for the feeder. Feed morning and evening, all they can eat in 20 minutes, then put the feeder away. Feeder on a smooth floor that can be swept will help to deal with the birdies flinging feed all over the place for the rats and mice. During...
They don't know nothin bout roosts yet, if they were day-olds when shipped. Your brood pen also has to be high enough for a roost or perch. In a couple of weeks you might want to give them something to roost on. When they are making wing-assisted leaps and jumps, they are ready for that.
I...
My free ranging 8 week old Brown Leghorns barely eat any of the feed I put out. I call, and they will come and eat from my hand if they feel like it, but barely peck at the feeders now. I think they eat from my hand just to humor me and to stay on my good side so I will protect them. They are...
Newly built or almost built 8 x 8 coop, T1-11 siding on 16" center studs, one standard residential entry door, two windows, 6 outside access nesting boxes, gable roof, ventilation hatch down low and up under roof overhang, and turbine vent at peak of roof. Pretty chuffed about the project, but...
Happened to me several times in New Orleans. There were always feral or unhomed chickens around, especially after Katrina. Before meeting my current wife, I had a GF who ended up with a large flock that all just moved in one by one, that included two ducks and a goose. She also had two big...
That's really young. Looks like it could be a cockerel. I would isolate him, or try one of those pinless peepers gadgets. I have some, but TBH I have not felt the need to try them yet. I know my little guys are overcrowded at the moment but I am working on the coop and then I will fence in a 12...
Pest control has always been a problem for me, with sweet peppers, and anyway I only use jalapeños for cooking unless I am cooking mexican or tex mex food. I prefer their flavor very much over bell pepper and similar. I don't like super hot peppers. Not enough flavor for all that fire. I ate a...
I tap the back of the flowers when they are fully open. This shakes the pollen loose and onto the girly parts of the flower. A sharp and repeated finger tap will do it. Some folks use an electric toothbrush, brought into contact with the back of the flower. This works GREAT for tomatoes, too...
You should be starting to see comb development, maybe wattles too, any day now, and definitely before another week passes. The first combs to turn red and the most pronounced are likely little boy chikns. It is tougher to compare when you have multiple breeds though, as their development...
Maybe cross in some Malay and some Brown Leghorn? The BL are prodigous layers but not cuddly lap chickens at least, and the Malay will maybe add a bit of aggressiveness and height. Just a guess, sorry, without reading all 136 pages of this thread.