Colorado

[wattsjadajoe]

DON"T use plastic!

Use one of the big Holiday cookie tins and cut it down.

Yea...the cookie tins at Sams that are out this time of year work great!! And the girls will love the cookies!!!
You can also use the popcorn tins...but they are taller and will need cut down.

Joe

 

[WendyGeisler]

so today... one of my smaller chickies didn't want to come out of the coop... I thought that was strange at 8:30 because all of the other girls were out, but then I came home at checked at 1:00 and she was still in the coop. Is this something I should worry about? I would say Butterscotch is sort of the low bird on the totem pole, but she has 3 other younger chickies that she hangs out with. I took her out of the coop and she immediately went and hung out with her little group. She wasn't hurt that I could tell, nothing I could see was wrong. And it's nice out today... almost 50 degrees here. Any ideas?

Also... while I was outside checking the flock dynamics I decided to clean the coop too. My 3 older girls would not stay out. The more I tried to clean, the more in the way they got. Ugh!!!

 

[Mtn Margie]

Hey, fowl pox can also give the birds black spots. It is pretty common and almost never serious, but occasionally it can get bad. Frostbite usually turns the ends (points) of the combs black.

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Ok, I need someone who knows something about squirrels.  For the last couple weeks I have been getting only 1 or 2 eggs a day.  I put this down to both a reaction to the dog attack that killed a couple of their coop mates, and just the normal fall shutdown because of short days.

Today, I wandered into my coop to collect today's egg.  To my surprise, there was a squirrel inside my coop, which RAPIIDLY exited.  So, he was probably only there after the food pellets.  But, would squirrels steal/eat eggs???

I must say I'm disappointed that my birds allowed a squirrel into the run, which it had to have been in in order to get into the coop.  

BAD BIRDS.

I seem to remember a post a while back about a squirrel steeling eggs. The more winter sets in the more desperate they will become.

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

so today... one of my smaller chickies didn't want to come out of the coop... I thought that was strange at 8:30 because all of the other girls were out, but then I came home at checked at 1:00 and she was still in the coop. Is this something I should worry about? I would say Butterscotch is sort of the low bird on the totem pole, but she has 3 other younger chickies that she hangs out with. I took her out of the coop and she immediately went and hung out with her little group. She wasn't hurt that I could tell, nothing I could see was wrong. And it's nice out today... almost 50 degrees here. Any ideas?

Also... while I was outside checking the flock dynamics I decided to clean the coop too. My 3 older girls would not stay out. The more I tried to clean, the more in the way they got. Ugh!!!

 

It's good that she is out and about now. The only time I have had a bird refuse to leave the coop for that long of a period she turned out to be very ill. Just from my experience I would give her a thorough check for if she is loosing weight or has strange bumps anywhere. Of course, she could just be an odd ball.

 

[WendyGeisler]

time for a photo session!

 

[dennarahl]

My girls' combs are so dry that I've been putting on Bag Balm for the last couple months. I read that it keeps them moisturized, is mildly antiseptic, protects from cold, and also tastes bad so they won't peck each other on the head as often. So far so good but they hate it when I apply to their little noggins. They look so pretty after it's done though.
Hey Wendell, I really liked your water heater design. I'm waffling between building something similar or just buying a premade one. What would you recommend that I use since I don't have access to a hydraulic fluid can? I was thinking a 5 gallon bucket if the bulb isn't too hot, but heat+plastic always makes me concerned.

Ive seen other people use the really big cookie tins or the popcorn tins. This is an easy time of year to find them too!

 

[dennarahl]

I LOVE 4-H!!! I grew up in 4-H. Not only do they get the skills that we need as adults & young adults they also have amazing benefits. Some of them are traveling (fully paid) and scholarships for college that only 4-H members are eligible for.
Which 4-H group is this one? Several years ago even before my kids I went to a 4-H group to volunteer and just wondered if its the same one. I live in Strasburg. It would be nice to start with someone I know even if its someone I met online.

It might be.. We're in Antelope Crossing.

 

[dennarahl]

How did you get involved in 4-H as a volunteer? I looked into it over the summer and I couldn't find any groups with information about volunteering other than getting your kids involved, and I don't have any children. I really love what 4-H does for the next generation.

I'd talk to the organizational leader of the clubs nearest you and see if they have need for someone. I'm sure they do. We have a few adults without children who lead some projects. There kids may have went through the club before, I'm not sure.

 

[dennarahl]

so today... one of my smaller chickies didn't want to come out of the coop... I thought that was strange at 8:30 because all of the other girls were out, but then I came home at checked at 1:00 and she was still in the coop. Is this something I should worry about? I would say Butterscotch is sort of the low bird on the totem pole, but she has 3 other younger chickies that she hangs out with. I took her out of the coop and she immediately went and hung out with her little group. She wasn't hurt that I could tell, nothing I could see was wrong. And it's nice out today... almost 50 degrees here. Any ideas?

Also... while I was outside checking the flock dynamics I decided to clean the coop too. My 3 older girls would not stay out. The more I tried to clean, the more in the way they got. Ugh!!!

I've only had that happen once. I did the same as you and took her out and she ran around. I was outside for a while and saw her go in and start her egg song. Turns out she needed to lay a BIG egg (It was even big for a double yolker). She was probably hurting enough that she didn't want to jump off the roost.