Hello,
I've been exploring the BYChicken Website for several months now, and finally decided to join. I purchased 4 baby chicks, just before Easter, with great expectations for eggs. I was surprised how much I enjoyed my girls, and kept them indoors for the first 2 months. Loved how they would eat meal worms out of my hands and follow me around. After the heartbreak of losing two girls to hawks (after reading inconsistent discussions on whether Hawks would be an issue)--I thought they were big enough--my girls were almost full size by the time I let them free range all day. Anyway, now I let them out in the early morning for 1-3 hours, and keep my eyes on the skies. I did replace my lost ones with two others of the same age. I thought 2 was too few. One of my original "girls" turned into a rooster though.
My latest heartache is Stanley's limping. It is getting worse, but my husband won't let me take her to a vet. The unfortunate thing is that they roost in the rafter of the coop! I can't even reach them to get them down. They fly down, but are hitting the walls. I am considering building a ladder/ramp, but don't know how to do it. I picked up Stanley, tried to touch her thighs, but she seemed unphased. So I though it might not be not a fracture or break. However, she does not like to get down from the regular roost either. She was much worse today.
I look forward to hearing and participating with you all.
Trumanda
I've been exploring the BYChicken Website for several months now, and finally decided to join. I purchased 4 baby chicks, just before Easter, with great expectations for eggs. I was surprised how much I enjoyed my girls, and kept them indoors for the first 2 months. Loved how they would eat meal worms out of my hands and follow me around. After the heartbreak of losing two girls to hawks (after reading inconsistent discussions on whether Hawks would be an issue)--I thought they were big enough--my girls were almost full size by the time I let them free range all day. Anyway, now I let them out in the early morning for 1-3 hours, and keep my eyes on the skies. I did replace my lost ones with two others of the same age. I thought 2 was too few. One of my original "girls" turned into a rooster though.
My latest heartache is Stanley's limping. It is getting worse, but my husband won't let me take her to a vet. The unfortunate thing is that they roost in the rafter of the coop! I can't even reach them to get them down. They fly down, but are hitting the walls. I am considering building a ladder/ramp, but don't know how to do it. I picked up Stanley, tried to touch her thighs, but she seemed unphased. So I though it might not be not a fracture or break. However, she does not like to get down from the regular roost either. She was much worse today.
I look forward to hearing and participating with you all.
Trumanda
