As I have said before and will say again: Never, never, never feed a chicken anything it won't eat. They are hardwired to know what they can or can't eat, and what is or isn't good for them. I get a kick out of all the human angst about feeding chickens.
Never, never, never feed you chickens anything they won't eat. Other than that, go for it. For instance I have not been able to get them to eat anything metallic. Don't believe all the junk about what they can or can't eat. THEY will be the judge of that. My BO's like only one specie of my...
My BO hatched two chicks recently in an egg box about 30" off the ground. The first I saw of them, they were on the coop floor with their mother, scratching away. That night they were back in the egg box! How? I don't know, but after having seen that I am not in the least worried about a...
Heck, the best way to feed chickens zucchini and squash is to throw it in the coop. Let them have the fun of doing all the work. It keeps them busy and entertained.
Screws with washer or TEK screws are the ONLY way to go. Immensely strong and easily removable if needed. Worth the cost of a rechargeable drill many times over. I have built two coops in the last year and would NEVER use staples for fastening.
Hardware cloth screwed into wood framing with TEK screws. Will keep out most anything in my area, but I am not positive about a bobcat. Dogs, cats, raccoons, possums, snakes, hawks, etc. cannot get in. In 16 months I have not had a successful attempt at breaking in. Electrified barbed wire...
In the chicken world, as in the human world, there are just some bad mothers. She had her reasons for pecking the chick, but we will never know what they were. I had a Buff Orpington hen set on six eggs. When two hatched she left the nest and abandoned the other four. Why? Maybe they...
If your run is protected, I would let them stay out at night. As they mature the roosting urge comes out and they will start to go into the coop to roost. Yours are awfully young yet, and need more time to figure out how to be a chicken. At three months or so they have most of it figured out...
First..
Slow down and start over. Get a combination digital thermometer/hydrometer from WalMart or Amazon. About $6 shipped. You cannot hatch ANY egg without being able to control the temperature and humidity. If you cannot buy an inexpensive incubator (Hova-bator with egg turner about...
In high heat chickens need four things, and four things only. 1. Shade. 2. Dirt 3. Water. 4. Ventilation. They Do NOT need swimming pools, ice cream, frozen treats, fans (unless in an enclosed building). Remember chickens are jungle birds and can thrive in heat that would put a human in the...
All chickens prefer open water, even if muddy and nasty, BUT they WILL use a nipple waterer, believe me. Take out the old waterer and don't give them an option. In a few hours they all will be using the nipple method.
Ditto on the Layena for layers, but since Purina puts calcium in Layena no additional calcium is required, and the chickens probably won't eat it. Grit is also good thing, but if they chickens are ranging around sand and gravel they will pick up their own. BY ALL MEANS get another chicken...
ANY latex paint is harmless to your chickens. Paint away. No need to relocate your chickens, no more than you would move out of your house if you painted a room. Oil based paints are a different matter.
Lets get a few things straight about DE. There are a lot of myths out there.
1. DE does NOT repel ANY insect. It is a drying agent that sucks the juices out of some worms and some insects with jointed shells IF it gets on the insects while it is dry. If you want to kill insects in coops...
I got a Hova-bator for my birthday, followed instructions to the letter and had a successful hatch with no problems. Got it with the automatic turner which I highly recommend doing. The thermostat is a bit ticky, so the unit with the solid state thermostat might be better for someone who is...
Do not begin oyster shells until they start to lay. If you feed them layer feed (starting about week 18) they will have all the calcium they need and oyster shells are superfluous if not damaging.
Oyster shells are almost pure calcium and the digestive system in a chicken grinds it up and...