I have no idea what I am doing

[Steven Mazzo]

I can't take them. My loves

 

[Steven Mazzo]

She is tired from all that housework.

 

[Steven Mazzo]

Good morning BYC family I need advice once again. Flynn seems to be showing more aggression towards Lucky. What Ive noticed recently is that he is blocking her from eating. When she is approaching the food he walks in front of her and chases her away. He does not do this when I am present I only see this happening on the camera. This morning I brought out breakfast and noticed him not letting her eat. I had to go out there and she ran right over to me with the food and then she was able to eat because I stayed right there. Is there anything I can do to stop this or prevent it from getting worse?

 

[SueT]

I put out extra bowls for my chickens to help w this. Would providing Lucky her own bowl help?

 

[biophiliac]

Hi How is Lucky doing? and Flynn? Separate bowls?

 

[Steven Mazzo]

What are your thoughts on straw vs hay for bedding? We mistakenly started out with hay for their bedding which we loved. So easy to keep clean and their coop was inside another building without food or water. We then switched to straw because we read it was best to avoid mold but we hate It. It smells terrible and I personally think it always feels damp and gross. Is it ok to use hay? I think they prefer it as well. Seems More comfortable for them too. I pick out their poop from the evening every morning when we let them out and they rarely go in it during the day. Then we do a complete change about one a month and steam clean the linoleum before putting down new bedding. Keep in mind we only have two ducks and maintain a very clean coop but I do not want to risk getting them sick by changing back to hay if it's not good

 

[CayugaJana]

Isn’t the main reason people don’t use hay the price? I believe it’s more expensive than straw correct? I would be interested in hearing why it molds faster than straw if that’s the case.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

What are your thoughts on straw vs hay for bedding? We mistakenly started out with hay for their bedding which we loved. So easy to keep clean and their coop was inside another building without food or water. We then switched to straw because we read it was best to avoid mold but we hate It. It smells terrible and I personally think it always feels damp and gross. Is it ok to use hay? I think they prefer it as well. Seems More comfortable for them too. I pick out their poop from the evening every morning when we let them out and they rarely go in it during the day. Then we do a complete change about one a month and steam clean the linoleum before putting down new bedding. Keep in mind we only have two ducks and maintain a very clean coop but I do not want to risk getting them sick by changing back to hay if it's not good

Steven. . are you positive you don't have that backwards? It seems to me that hay would be the more damp smelly stuff? Where did you buy your straw?

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I saw that because hay is smelly to me I can't be around hay too much it makes my sinuses in crazy. I would say as clean as you guys keep your place use whatever you like!
http://www.differencebetween.info/difference-between-straw-and-hay

 

[Steven Mazzo]

Steven. . are you positive you don't have that backwards? It seems to me that hay would be the more damp smelly stuff? Where did you buy your straw?

We used hay when we started the coop in August and used hay until around December and never noticed any odor. Then when we read an article I got nervous and switched. Now it smells like a barn all the time. I hate it