FLORIDA!!!!!ALWAYS SUNNY SIDE UP!!!

[Red Banks]

Quote: I followed Chicken Chicks advice, put the hen in a crate off the ground, she was broke in two days. The longer she is broody the longer she will stop laying eggs. Aren't they funny when they get like this? Nothing as determined. Good Luck.

 

[cmom]

Quote: I followed Chicken Chicks advice, put the hen in a crate off the ground, she was broke in two days. The longer she is broody the longer she will stop laying eggs. Aren't they funny when they get like this? Nothing as determined. Good Luck.

I have a super broody right now too. Every day I take her out of a nest box and put her on the floor and if there are any eggs under her I collect them. She is not happy with me and puffs up. Sometimes she will go out of the coop but quite often as soon as I walk out of the coop she hops right back into the same nest box.

 

[poppycock1974]

Okay so my two older girls are 18 weeks tomorrow and I set out a container of Oystershell today. I was worried that my 12 week old chicks would get into it but they only pecked at it for maybe a minute before they walked away. My bigger girls however, cleaned out the whole container which was about a cup of Oyster shell. Is that normal or should I be worried ???

 

[AlHawk]

Okay so my two older girls are 18 weeks tomorrow and I set out a container of Oystershell today. I was worried that my 12 week old chicks would get into it but they only pecked at it for maybe a minute before they walked away. My bigger girls however, cleaned out the whole container which was about a cup of Oyster shell. Is that normal or should I be worried ???

I have just the opposite experience. My 20 week old hens (5 layers, 2 freeloaders) haven't touched the oyster shell I put out a few weeks ago. I guess they're getting what they need from feed.

My question would be do they have access to grit? They'll use oyster shell as grit if nothing available.

 

[poppycock1974]

I have just the opposite experience.  My 20 week old hens (5 layers, 2 freeloaders) haven't touched the oyster shell I put out a few weeks ago.  I guess they're getting what they need from feed.  

My question would be do they have access to grit?  They'll use oyster shell as grit if nothing available.

They have medium grain sand and the dirt that's in their coop. Sometimes I throw extra grit in the run but I thought that was sufficient

 

[Nikkieblue]

After all this rain we are having here in Central Fl my run is a mess, its like a mini swamp that has attracted every fly in Florida! How can I spruce it up for me and my chicks?

 

[poppycock1974]

After all this rain we are having here in Central Fl my run is a mess, its like a mini swamp that has attracted every fly in Florida! How can I spruce it up for me and my chicks?

I just put more sand down on top of the dirt and I use fresh cut Rosemary from our bush to put around the coop and run. No flies ever.

 

[jwtyrcha]

After all this rain we are having here in Central Fl my run is a mess, its like a mini swamp that has attracted every fly in Florida! How can I spruce it up for me and my chicks?

Mine is swampy too, but the girls love all the worms that are coming up!

 

[AlHawk]

My run is also spongey as is my entire yard. The girls love the worms they find but they have torn it up. I put down some hay last night just to keep the mud down a bit. Of course it rained last night again but the ladies are scratching and throwing hay around not mud right now.

I'm looking for a cheap (free) source of wood chips to put down in there. I think that will work very well too.

 

[love laugh farm]

I just put more sand down on top of the dirt and I use fresh cut Rosemary from our bush to put around the coop and run. No flies ever.

After all this rain we are having here in Central Fl my run is a mess, its like a mini swamp that has attracted every fly in Florida! How can I spruce it up for me and my chicks?

poppycock told me about the rosemary and I SWEAR by it now! We were OVERRUN with flies after getting the chickens! and I mean completely overrun! She told me she uses rosemary, I went to Walmart and bought 4 rosemary plants, put them in the backyard and maybe 10 minutes later we had maybe 5 flies! Most days none! I'm Going to plant them everywhere now!