NY chicken lover!!!!

[Lynzi777]

Ugh I know it's awful. I'm still thinking I should take a bunch of bedding out today and replace it so when it does start freezing again the inside of the coop doesn't freeze as well. It's terrible.

I hope your egg hatches! I'm starting to get the hatching bug...uh oh

Just went out there and since its raining yet again I decided to just get a shovel in there and turn everything over since the ducks don't really "kick" around at shavings like chickens do. Hopefully that'll work for now. At least I was able to get a shovel at it!

 

[JLaw]

Just went out there and since its raining yet again I decided to just get a shovel in there and turn everything over since the ducks don't really "kick" around at shavings like chickens do. Hopefully that'll work for now. At least I was able to get a shovel at it!

See my chickens must be weird cause I never see them kick shavings around unless I do a full change of the bedding. Like I added new shavings the other day and nothing got kicked around its just sitting on top of the old shavings. Maybe my chickens are part duck. hmmm....

 

[Metella]

Yeah, that is weird -as even if mine gets damp - I dump fresh on top and they deal with it - it is spread all over and fluffed up by the next day.

and mine are well fed - not starving ??? I don't know what could be the difference ... I have mixed breeds and sizes.

 

[AQHAchick22]

I dumped some more shavings in yesterday and then this morning I left them locked up and threw a bunch of scratch into the coop hoping they will scratch it up some more. They are driving me nuts with their laziness!

 

[Aria]

Morning all,
Candled my lone Orp egg this morning and it's still doing really well! Lockdown is in 3 more days. I guess raising the humidity helped. Just wish I had more than one in there. Owell, I still have the smallest EE chick I can place it with. The little one she threw in for free. It had that spraddle/slayed leg thing going on but she's 100% fixed now! That one actually turned out to be my favorite. It's a yellow chick with just few black spots on it here and there. I wonder if they'll stay...

I'm going to attempt to clean the duck house today. Not sure how far I'll get. Last time I tried I couldn't because everything was frozen in there. Hoping the last two days of 60+ degree weather was enough to thaw it out so I can shovel it out. It's disgusting. I'm contemplating removing the floor/tray all together and just throwing a bunch of hay in there on the ground. Then when I go to clean all I have to do is tip the house and rake it. 

Good luck with your hatch. When we had Call Ducks we used hay and just kept adding hay (over the mess) and more hay all Winter. Then we removed all the hay and used as a mulch.

Lept the coop clean as possible and made wonder cover for my flower gardens. But, Ducks
are MESSY. I prefer Silkie Chickens. Carolos (the rooster) is doing fine. Regards, Aria

 

[rancher hicks]

Two more chicks have hatched.

One a BR but having a large blob of something hanging off. It hatched with little trouble and quickly enough. I would be surprised if it survives though it seems okay now.

The other a BR egg but clearly NOT a BR. I kept these eggs separate in the incubator of course and marked each.

One other BR egg pipped but upside down. I quickly opened the incu and laid it on it's side.

All the eggs are in the un-working turner and tilted. I turned each several times a day a quarter turn.

I might be upset over the non BR chick but I'm giving great consideration to getting rid of all the chickens. It's too much money and work for little return. I must confess the mud and water are just to much. I dread and avoid going out any more than I have to.

At the very least I'll cut back drastically. I am tired.

 

[Lynzi777]

I hear ya Rancher, I do not taking care of the chickens, ducks and rabbits in this weather and mud! Although, the ducks need very little attention, it's really just the chickens and rabbits that I go out there for. I'm seriously contemplating downsizing in the spring - getting rid of at least two silkies and just keeping my lavender pair (this way if I hatch any I can keep some offspring) and going down to three Orps, keeping Stella, Gru and my Blue Pullet so I can focus on hatching purebred orps. If anything I'd add more ducks. I love the ducks so much more than the chickens at this point. LOL I must be the only one who has messier chickens than ducks. My birds all have this ginormous area to roam around in within their chicken yard, and where to do they stand all day? RIGHT in front of the "door" next to their coop. So that area is absolutely disgusting! The rest of the chicken yard is clean and just grassy because they don't venture anywhere. Drives me crazy. If I had known thats all they were going to do I wouldn't have put that coop there and dealt with hauling their food/water up the hill every day.


I think I'm done with the bantam breed. I just can't seem to do well with those birds. Lost my black frizzle today. Have no idea what could have caused her death. I go out every single day to make sure there is food/unfrozen water in that coop. I am constantly throwing new shavings in there. I witnessed her eating and drinking. I don't get it. First my splash, and now her. I really don't understand what I am doing wrong with those little ones. I'm wondering if she could have been depressed after I removed her from the big coop and she didn't have "pal" the blue Orp pullet. I was just worried since Gru has been back at it with the girls that if he tried anything with her he would have done some serious damage. Other than that, I really don't know what could have gone wrong.

 

[AQHAchick22]

So I spoke too soon about my hen that showed up this morning. I guess she has a nest she's hiding somewhere because she didn't come back tonight. Best case scenario is she shows up with chicks in a couple weeks, worst is she never comes back. I'm hoping she comes back again tomorrow or Christmas day and I can grab her and put her in a crate. I'm very frustrated...

 

[AQHAchick22]

I think I'm done with the bantam breed. I just can't seem to do well with those birds. Lost my black frizzle today. Have no idea what could have caused her death. I go out every single day to make sure there is food/unfrozen water in that coop. I am constantly throwing new shavings in there. I witnessed her eating and drinking. I don't get it. First my splash, and now her. I really don't understand what I am doing wrong with those little ones. I'm wondering if she could have been depressed after I removed her from the big coop and she didn't have "pal" the blue Orp pullet. I was just worried since Gru has been back at it with the girls that if he tried anything with her he would have done some serious damage. Other than that, I really don't know what could have gone wrong.

Sorry Lynzi that sucks

I have terrible luck with bantam's as well. I had 7 bantams at one point and now I'm down to 1...I just don't think they fit in well. I would get more if I was only dealing with bantams. I'm thinking I may downsize in the spring as well and get some more silkies and pick another breed or two to concentrate on.

 

[Lynzi777]

So I spoke too soon about my hen that showed up this morning. I guess she has a nest she's hiding somewhere because she didn't come back tonight. Best case scenario is she shows up with chicks in a couple weeks, worst is she never comes back. I'm hoping she comes back again tomorrow or Christmas day and I can grab her and put her in a crate. I'm very frustrated...

That stinks

Do you think she's sitting on those eggs you found in the woods? Or was that another spot that other hens were laying them?