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  1. chickster88

    Hamilton Ontario: my hens have to go, now what?

    I got a visit from animal control yesterday, as someone (the office wouldn't say who but I know it was my manic-depressive, semi-employed neighbour who has been hassling me about everything, including my trees "stealing" her sunlight), and I've been ordered to get rid of my 3 backyard hens. I...
  2. chickster88

    Will this evening be harmful to my hens? URGENT

    Okay, this may sound crazy, but bear with me. My three hens are in trouble: I live in the city and my evil neighbours called Animal Control on me (we have a history of enmity not even related to the chickens, it's a long story...). I have one month to relocate them, or find a way to squeak past...
  3. chickster88

    Urban Free Range?

    Oh another thing my cat just reminded me of: some people swear by bantams for the city, but I have 3 cats and there are other house cats and strays on my street, some of whom go into my backyard. My hens are rhode island red crossed with columbian rocks and they are pretty big (still growing)...
  4. chickster88

    Urban Free Range?

    Oh, another thing I meant to say was, the trio worked out great for living in the city. One hen would be lonely, two would leave you with the same problem if you buy chicks and one dies, and three is the perfect urban flock. Neither too many nor too loud. And I get one to two eggs every day...
  5. chickster88

    Urban Free Range?

    Hi, I've had three hens in a tiny urban backyard since springtime (when we moved them outdoors--we started them as chicks inside the house). They range freely through a tiny roughly 15 by 30 foot backyard that is filled with perennial flower beds, two small raised vegetable beds, a patio, pond...
  6. chickster88

    Expired garden seed as scattered treats? Problem/no problem?

    Oh man, with all the research involved, it just seems easiest to play it safe and skip it. Besides the possibility of fungicides or fertilizer or poisonous plant seeds, there could be dried up old mold or mildew that you can't see against the colouring of the seeds themselves.
  7. chickster88

    Making homemade feed

    Mine love leftover meat. They've eaten bits of steak as well as picking the meat bits off pork chop bones, which we string to their cage to make it easier for them to pick at. For peace of mind we only give them scraps that are cooked through, nothing raw. If there are any pathogens in the meat...
  8. chickster88

    Feedback on Learning Center "Treats Chart"

    Oh, also: I tied a pork chop bone to their fence so they could peck away at it, amusing themselves. I used to be a little creeped out by the whole chickens-eating-meat aspect, but I used free-range, organic pork that was cooked well done so I'm not that worried re: weird diseases... They loved it!
  9. chickster88

    Feedback on Learning Center "Treats Chart"

    I just wanted to note that I was enjoying some grilled eggplant and yellow zucchini on my deck this afternoon and the hens came over and started bugging me, so I gave them some, which they loved. They won't touch raw zucchini at all, but grilled, with a splash of balsamic vinegar, they devoured...
  10. chickster88

    Can my chickens have.....

    I also rinse my red sauce off 'cause I put garlic in it, and I've read that this can make the eggs taste yucky.
  11. chickster88

    Hen ate a baby mouse. Is that okay?

    Free protein and calcium! Okay, thanks for reassurance, peeps. As long as she's not going to need a vet to pump her stomach, I'm fine. It was horrifying to hear the mouse squeaking (especially having watched Apocalypto a few days ago!), but it was over soon enough and I'd rather the cats and...
  12. chickster88

    Hen ate a baby mouse. Is that okay?

    Okay, definitive proof that chickens do NOT attract mice... My cat was just playing with a baby mouse she grabbed from my neighbour's garage, when, before I could intervene to let it go somewhere else (yes, we're softies when it comes to cute furry critters), the chickens saw and went nuts...
  13. chickster88

    I feld kinda bad taking my hens first egg from her :(

    Okay, an update (since I'm a newbie like you!) My 3 girls have been laying for one week now, and they are totally fine now with me taking their eggs. They lay 'em, and then they leave 'cause they now I am taking them. At first, they stayed on the eggs, but about 2 or 3 days into that routine...
  14. chickster88

    Free at KFC

    Congrats to Miss Ohio, and great kites!!! That octopus is awesome! But just to join the fray re: KFC.... I'm not a PETA supporter but I boycott KFC. (Which is not easy as I LOVE the taste. But it's been 3 years since I had any.) But I bought my own hens because I am opposed to factory farming...
  15. chickster88

    I feld kinda bad taking my hens first egg from her :(

    My trio just started laying a couple days ago, too. Actually, they seemed all freaked out by the two eggs they'd laid, and when I took the two eggs from the laying box, all three hens mellowed out and went outside for a walk and to start foraging. They seemed relieved to have the decision taken...
  16. chickster88

    Be responsible for your dogs !!!(graphic pics)

    That's so terrible. I'm so sorry this happened to you. How devastating a thing to come home to and with a sick daughter, too. I think your neighbour needs to be presented with a bill for financial compensation for sure, and you need to find out about local laws re: unleashed dogs and report...
  17. chickster88

    OMG!!! help, what is it?????

    They're pretty! (The moths, not the squirmy things!) I like the idea of culling some tomato leaves to feed them in "captivity" before setting them loose later, or the suggestion to grow some sacrificial plants to feed them on in a corner of the yard. Mind you, I'm not the one whose garden...
  18. chickster88

    Why are my hens eating my perennials, not lettuce?

    After some more research I think I am going to try making their lives a bit more "hardscrabble." (As hardscrabble as a pampered urban hen's life could be, in any case.) I think if I force them to work more for their food, they'll be preoccupied with that instead of my plants. I'm going to start...
  19. chickster88

    GRRRRR I'm so MAD Big time vent

    You have every right to be annoyed. They wasted your time and caused you both frustration and inconvenience. I'm so sorry this happened to you, $150 is $150 and to end up with a fraction of that and time wasted is no picnic.
  20. chickster88

    Why are my hens eating my perennials, not lettuce?

    Oh wait, sorry, I made a mistake. They are eating a prepared layer mix from the feed store, not chicken scratch. I thought they were the same thing, and I see they are not. Sorry about that! So they've got constant access to the layer mix, mixed with bird seed (sunflower seeds, niger, millett...
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