This is my first year with a rooster, and i had an incredibly reliable broody, so i waited. She started to sit on the eggs, so I set up a "brooder pen" for her- an old rabbit hutch with a solid bottom, nest box/food/water. I wasnt sure if any were fertile, I just kind of set up a makeshift...
I've got a dozen pullets that are about 10 weeks old that I've had separated from my laying hens by a temporary fence across their run. I would like to remove the fence soon, but I'm cocerned about the young girls and the nest boxes. I've always read that you dont introduce the young girls to...
I have a small flock of laying hens that I have kept separate from my 10 week old flock. They have been separated by a temporary fence in their run, and this morning a couple of the young girls got over the fence and was in the layers... there wasnt any aggression (which was the main reason that...
We just moved from a little lot in the city (along with our 4 hens and 2 dogs) to a beautiful 7 acre ranch in the mountains. Our chooks have always been confined to a run/coop, and while it was rather spacious, they have never been allowed to "free range". Now that we have built their new...
We've got four hens about 8 months old.
Next week, we will be moving about 45 minutes away, and I have NO idea what the best way to move them will be! We have the run already made (chain link run on top of a concrete pad, reinforced with hardware cloth around the bottom). Our coop is a hutch...
First time chicken owner here, and last tuesday I got my first egg! My four chickens are 19 weeks (yay for young starters!), and in the past week, i have gotten 6 eggs (exact same size and color- pale green). I have two easter eggers, a delaware, and BA. I (obviously) know its the easter egger...
My four girls are about 17 weeks old, and have been the most docile, SILENT chickens that I've ever been around. They almost whispered when they would cluck, and that was only when I would bring in their treats...
That all changed today! I was in my kitchen (a good 100 yards from the coop) and...
I have four 14 week old girls... they have a hutch style coop enclosed inside a spacious run. When making the transition from brooder to coop, I kept them "cooped up" in the coop and did not allow access to the run for a week so that they could aclimate (and we could critter proof the run!)...
Our EE, Peggy, has MUCH different tail feathers than her sister- I realize that EE's vary immensely, but I wanted to be sure. She was also the first to start clucking...
Peggy (sideways, sorry!)
Her sister Wendy for comparison, same age(again, sideways, not sure how to make them go the right...
I have a hutch style coop that is inside the run. My girls are about 9 weeks old now... and were "cooped up" in the coop for the first week after their brooder, and were learning the ropes of their roosting bar. Now that I have opened up their popdoor to the run, I seriously dont even think they...
We are in the final stages of finishing the run.... the girls were recently introduced into the coop from the brooder- and in the meantime they are "cooped" up until we get things finished (they are 5 weeks old). The coop is 5'x3.5', and will go against the back fence on our sideyard, inside the...
Our four girls were just moved out to their BRAND NEW coop on their 5 week birthday. This is our first time raising chickens, and first time building a coop (see https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=483282 for what we did!)
We've got 2 EE's (Peggy and Wendy), a Delaware...
I'm planning on using sand on my coop floor (5'x3', about 2" deep). I was thinking that a kitty litter scooper would be the easiest for cleanup since I dont have a huge coop to clean out (and only 4 chooks). Would chicken poop be too small to clump in the sand? Am I dreaming when I think that...
We are in the process of building our chicken run...our 4 girls are 4 weeks old today and getting anxious to get outside!
We are lucky enough to have a hose bib inside the run area, and was wondering if anyone used something like this...
Took my 4 girls outside to play in their soon-to-be run. They were HILARIOUS!!! Their behavior is sooo much different towards each other when they have more room to run Chest bumping, bug chasing, and dust bathing galore!!
Delilah, my Delaware on the left. And Peggy and Wendy my EEs on the...
My 4 girls seem to have feathered out overnight!! Seriously, Friday morning I was telling my husband we needed to put the finishing touches on the coop and get the run done by the end of the month. And 2 days later, I'm looking at them, and they seemingly grew into young "women" in a matter of...
So I wandered into TSC today (mistake numero uno) and picked up a bunch of unnecessary things (as usual)... and they just got in a shipment of their "featured breed"- welsummers! darn!
I live in the city that has a strict "4 hen maximum" law, and unfortunately, my two EE's, delaware and BA are...
DH and I were initially going to place the coop on the side of the house (its about 8' wide, fence to house) and build a self contained run using a 2x4 frame.
After more research, and realizing how extremely NON existent predators are where we live- middle of the city, nothing more than an...
I'm not sure if this is the right section to post this in, but I'll give it a shot here...
My girls are 3 weeks old, and I put them in a smaller tub with bedding pellets that have been scratched to a basic pulp by now when I clean their brooder. I noticed that they started "bathing" in the...
Coop build is underway, and the girls are almost 3 weeks old now!!! I'm amazed at the personalities that they have all developed... never thought chooks could be "pets" but I'm cracking up at the sassy attitudes
Here they are at 3 days old when I got them:
The tan with stripes is Peggy...