California - Northern

[caychris]

How big is your coop and how much roost space do they have? If there is a lot of squabbling or fighting over roost space the lower birds in the pecking order may be reluctant to go in. If there were issues with the buffs that came and went that could also be the root of the problem. Does your coop have plenty of windows/natural light? Many chickens do not like going into a dark, closed in coop.

If there is only one nest box you may need to add another. Although half the time they all want the same box anyway lol!

there are 6 birds with 2 roosts 4 feet long set at 2 levels. one of the birds that is sitting out has been blind in one eye since hatch. She rarely roosts or climbs on things as is as I think her balance is affected. The other appears to be her "bed buddy" I don't know which one is driving this

My coop is about a 4'cube with a nest box attached to one wall. I can add more roosts but they is plenty of room for them as is. All the birds get along well.

 

[caychris]

Tomorrow is supposed to start a cooling trend so it would be a good idea to lock them into the coop for three nights and days. This will rehome them and teach them that the coop is home.

The other way is to pick them up and set them onto the roost each night. That can take several weeks.

I do not have food and water in the coop. All food and water is in a protected space under the coop so I would have to add it if they were locked in. Ill look into that because I may want to do something for this winter. Im going to add a light to the coop in the next day or so maybe that will help.

 

[Flowers of Abba]

I have quite a few Pita Pinta/Cream Legbar pullets who are just starting to lay green eggs if you need a known green egg layer! Here is plate full of their first eggs. One is laying a beautiful aqua green color and if I can figure out which pullet is laying that color, she will be guaranteed a place in my layer flock!

My pita and trinkets baby are holding out on me. Are your babies from that hatch producing? Also I've been fermenting whole grains and wonder about my recipe ... Does anyone here make their own mix? And would you share the ratios ? It's truly a pain to try and scroll through the threads for this kind of info:-(

 

[chiqita]

I'm thinking from Papa Brooder. I want something nicer than what you get with hatchery roulette. Unless I find someone local with nice BBS Orps for sale.

Ya I think her is out of the breeding biz but check. This year pollinate went all hatchery to get all pullets. I was sad about that.

If you want to try something local, Pollinate Farm and Garden is in Oakland. I have a nice Welsummer that I bought from them. I'm not sure if they have chicks now, but they advertise on Craigslist when they do. [COLOR=666666]Pollinate Farm & Garden[/COLOR] [COLOR=666666]2727 Fruitvale Avenue[/COLOR] [COLOR=666666]Oakland, CA 94601[/COLOR] [COLOR=666666]Phone: 510.686 DIY FOOD (3493)[/COLOR] [COLOR=666666] [/COLOR] [COLOR=666666]http://pollinatefarm.com/our-products/heritage-breed-chicks/[/COLOR]

Try BYC member "jeremy" He is in Oakland. He used to raise English Orpingtons. Not sure if he does still but it wouldn't hurt to check.

4 Egg Day YEAH all the Dels are laying.. Buffs get it in gear

Huzzah! Pics were very cute.

Hatch is done (day 22). Yay! Final results: 9 silkie/sizzle eggs = 1 cracked (tossed at day 10), 8 hatched, 1 died before pipping internally (egg marked "SR", dark gray with silver streaks, bummer) 1 white bantam cochin egg = hatched 10 chocolate orpington eggs = 10 hatched 20 eggs to start, 19 eggs went into lockdown = 18 hatched No curled toes, no wry neck, no health issues other than the last sizzle (looks white or lavender) that was 1 day later than everyone else & had the shell glued to it Here's the last 3 orps: and the 2nd sizzle so tired Everyone's eating & drinking well - in addition to trying to bite each others toes. Guess I need some meal worms. I'll take some updated photos tomorrow after I change the poopy papers. There are 2 orps that look like mini black bears - they are so round & fat.

So sleepy is a boy.. Look at that comb!

I've put the dust in a pillowcase. Place bird in with head sticking out and move dust all around bird. Worked like a charm. Wear protective clothing. Store the pillowcase in plastic bag for next use.

Make sure not to forget the heads too! We went to celesticon this weekend! Was lots of fun but little sleep. We were doing RPGs so met a lot of old farts like us. I go pass out now....

 

[BCollie]

Okay, so you guys may remember how I was feeding fermented feed...well it started to smell like dog poop, which I figured was NOT normal/good, so I stopped feeding fermented and went back to regular dry feed. I'd like to try fermented feed again but I want to avoid the same problem....what did I do that made the feed smell so bad? It had that good sourdough-like smell for a while but after that it started to smell nasty and I'm not sure why. I did use ACV with the "mother" in it when I started the batch. The batch I did inside for the baby chicks never smelled bad and I didn't use ACV in it.
I have $35 to my name and have to go buy another bag of chicken feed tomorrow, so I'd like to start fermenting it....Dang chickens using up all my money lol...

 

[95030chick]

Okay, so you guys may remember how I was feeding fermented feed...well it started to smell like dog poop, which I figured was NOT normal/good, so I stopped feeding fermented and went back to regular dry feed.

I'm not sure that the bad smell is not good. Right now my fermented feed does not smell particularly good to me, but if my sister's dogs are near the chicken run and the door is open, they go right for the fermented feed.

Perhaps in your area, this just means that you need to start a new batch periodically. There are spores in the air, which is why the feed can start fermenting without the apple cider vinegar starter. The same is true for sourdough bread starter. I am guessing that when you first start out, you have the bacteria that produce a smell pleasing to you, but as the fermented feed is exposed to air over a period, it starts growing bacteria that doesn't have a pleasing smell. Or perhaps it depends on the temperature, and at higher temperatures, the bad smelling bacteria multiply faster.

I suppose you could experiment by keeping the fermented feed indoors or in a cooler location.

All this is pure speculation on my part and I'm not sure if I would be able to find any links to support what I am saying (except for the part about making sourdough bread starter).

 

[HighStreetCoop]

IME, fermenting and heat don't mix. If room temp went over 70°, we moved stuff to the basement (if it wasn't already there).

 

[ronott1]

IME, fermenting and heat don't mix. If room temp went over 70°, we moved stuff to the basement (if it wasn't already there).

Good information!

Redding is much hotter than that this time of year.

 

[Kaylish]

IME, fermenting and heat don't mix. If room temp went over 70°, we moved stuff to the basement (if it wasn't already there).

What I wouldn't give for a basement!

 

[ronott1]

What I wouldn't give for a basement!

A lot of places in California have water tables that are too low. Basements did not work out well for that, especially in the winter.