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Well, if it makes ya feel any better, the first two we named are the two Cornish Rocks we got strictly as meat birds. Hard not to name 'em - Thor and Magnus - as they quickly grew to twice the size of the others. They're about ten weeks old now, and I swear, Thor is almost as big as a...
I think I lucked out with my solution. We had two ducks in a large storage tote (about 2 1/2 feet x 18 inches x 16 inches tall) in the basement. Big PITA going up and down the stairs every day to change water, litter, and food. Unfortunately, they were stuck down there longer than I expected...
I started feeding mine spinach, but after reading that it inhibits calcium absorption, I stopped. Now I just go into the backyard and pick dandelion greens for them. They love 'em! Hopefully by the end of today, they'll be outta the basement and in the backyard to pick their own.
Are they on a wire/hardware cloth floor? Not sure how it works with chickens, but I know after years of raising rats that they can get bumblefoot from being on a wire mesh floor.
Thanks! It's been a bit of an ordeal, but I'm having fun with it.
On a sidenote, what does everyone use to attach hardware cloth? I've been using a heavy-duty staple gun which works, but seems just a little flimsy, I guess.
We got our ducks and chickens about 4 weeks ago. Finally getting around to posting some pics.
Cute li'l boogers, ain't they?
They started out with the chicks in the same brooder, but are in their own now.
Yeah...they got a bit bigger. Hoping to have 'em out by this week.
Now, I'm...
Finally got some pics of our chicks. Six red pullets and 2 cornish rocks. And if anyone can tell me exactly what breed of pullets I've got here, I'd appreciate it. I've been looking around and can't positively ID them.
A couple of the reds and a cornish rock. They WERE all the same size...
So after the cut/paste/resize/organize/upload/fight-with-photobucket thing, I finally have some pics of my coop construction. Still not finished, and the design keeps changing, but I'm hoping to be able to get my birds outta the basement and into their new home by the end of today.
Getting...
Didn't have to go through any of that with our chicks at TSC. However, I did notice that after a few weeks, they put a big fence around the chicks and ducklings. I also noticed a few weeks before, a kid about 6 or 7 years old with no parents around poking his hands around inside the chick and...
Very good info. Thanks so much!
I do live in a pretty predator-dense area. I'm on 220 acres of cattle land and I've seen coons, opossums, hawks, coyotes, etc. so I will have to make something that I can close up. Glad they don't need anything too elaborate, as I'm having a hard enough time...
So I just read in the sticky above that spinach can be bad for the ducks. And my dumba** has been feeding it to 'em for the last week or so. Luckily, we have dandelions growing all over the property here.
Also didn't realize they do need grit, just like chickens. For the most part, I've...
I've been fighting through illness, bad weather, and prior commitments to get my chicken coop built for my six red pullets and two cornish rocks, when it occurred to me that the two Rouens are gonna need a home of their own as well. I don't think I'm going to be able to put as much thought into...
Sweet! That's exactly what my 2 ducklings look like! Glad I found this thread, although kinda bummed when I heard they're not real prolific egg layers.
Thanks for the warm welcomes everyone. I've had the chicks and ducks for about a week now, and they all seem to be doing just fine. Although I moved the ducks into their own brooder. Was getting a little crowded and they were making quite a mess.
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Just some hard learned advice... DOn't expect your dogs to resist the temptation of killing a chicken. That is WAY too much to hope for. If you want to range the dogs with the chickens, I propose a great deal of training and work with your dogs until they learn that mom is NOT ok...