Ok so I checked all of my chicks crops. The other two have squishy and kind of grainy crops (if im feeling them right). And the problem chick I couldn't really get a good feel on because every time i tried to feel the area she would squeal and try to get away, which leads me to believe it might...
So my chicks are a little over one week old. I have two in the brooder right now and so far they have been great. Seem to be acting completely normal. Today I was holding our little RIR and she suddenly let out a huge long clear mucusy drool from her beak. Almost as if she had spit up, but it...
Well, they are not on medicated feed so I don't want to introduce them to anything that could kill them if exposed to too young. That is my reason for hesitation, but I suppose I will just use dirt from our front yard where the chickens have never been.
My little 1 week olds are already trying to dust bathe in the pine shavings. I want to put a little bowl of sand/dirt in the brooder but I want to know what is safe. I have some colored reptile sand from an old gecko we used to have. I was going to use that but I wanted to make sure it would be...
Yes, not entirely ready to give them up yet, just starting to think about options as our new ones are growing. Luckily our little backyard coop will fit 6 but any more and we would be getting a little cramped. It gives us a little more time, but some in the fam would argue that we are feeding...
Its a red and white standard plastic waterer. I guess I will have to go hunting for a brick! and good tip with the curtain. It would be so much easier to be able to pull out the bottom rather than emptying the whole bin.
We've only got two little chicks in there and they already have wet the entire brooder! We have a little chick size waterer thats sitting raised on a plastic lid but somehow when I woke up this morning all of the water had soaked the pine shavings. No leaks from the waterer. This happened all...
Thanks! I will try snooping around on craigslist! Our older ladies are a BO, BR, and a Blue Cochin. All of them are about 3 years now. We're still getting a few eggs every now and then but we've got new chicks in the brooder and so we are starting to think about retirement options for them
I don't have enough experience with this breed or sexing to be sure, as I have never had a chick grow into a cockerel. But based on what I have seen here, my vote would be that you've got two pullets. I feel like if it was a cockerel, the comb and waddle would be a little more developed and...
I've read that treats (anything non feed) should only make up 10% of their total diet. Good luck figuring that out!
I say just give them treats, they will still eat their feed and will love you for the greens. If you think about a full free range foraging bird, they are not eating much feed...
My hens have gone through weird on and off laying periods. Sometimes they are just fickle. I would say your new hen is probably going through the stress of a new environment, even though they all seem to get along im sure its still stressful. I would give it another week? I know how frustrating...
We live in Los Angeles so when we got or chickens there were a lot of skeptics and people with weird questions and comments.
When we got our first egg we posted a picture of it on facebook and got this comment:
Friend: Wow! Do you have a rooster?!
Me: Nope, you don't need a rooster for the...
Hey SoCal! Does anyone know of a 'retirement home' ranch for retired chickens within reasonable distance of Los Angeles County? We have a few older ladies that space in our tiny urban yard will no longer permit to keep around post egg laying years. We absolutely love them and were debating if...
0 eggs from 3 hens.
They are 3 years old and only give an egg once or twice a week now.
Got more in the brooder now but they still have 7 more months before we'll see anything.
I love them too, already have stollen my heart and all my attention. They just sprawl out and sleep, but I can't stop staring at them.
90% chance they are pullets, so I sure hope they don't grow into that other 10%!