Oregon

[Adair Peeps]

Went outside last night to secure the coop (small since we only have three chickens) and found slugs all over their feeder. And then it looked like the ground around it was alive. Earwigs everywhere! Ack! I hate earwigs. I grew up in FL and earwigs remind me of cockroaches. Yuck! Guess I'll be picking up their feeder at night from now on.

My girls (Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, and Sicilian Buttercup) have had their beaks open and let their wings droop on hot days. We've tried the water hose on the mist setting but they won't go near it. I put ice in their extra water dish and then throw in grapes for them to go after. It might be time to buy a watermelon.

 

[iwiw60]

Do you lay your feeder on the ground?? If so try hanging it and you won't have that slug problem hopefully.

As for your chickens overheating. What I do is run my sprinkler on low so it just hits inside their run area by about a foot or so. After awhile I move it to a new 'spot' and as soon as I do they all run over to play in the muck and even lay in it...works!

 

[Adair Peeps]

Do you lay your feeder on the ground?? If so try hanging it and you won't have that slug problem hopefully.

As for your chickens overheating. What I do is run my sprinkler on low so it just hits inside their run area by about a foot or so. After awhile I move it to a new 'spot' and as soon as I do they all run over to play in the muck and even lay in it...works!

We usually leave the feeder on the ground in their small run. I think it's actually for chicks - plastic with no way to hang it.

I'll try moving the hose and see if they gravitate to that spot. During the day they are loose in the yard and thankfully we have plenty of shade.

We live in the Willamette Valley so we rarely experience thunder. Yesterday we had some good rumbling going on. It was a hoot to watch the chickens trying to take cover. We were all so thankful for the much cooler weather.

 

[iwiw60]

Yes it was thankfully cooler yesterday, but today? Today over here we're right back in the mid 90's again...With that feeder put it up on a cinder block or just wood blocks of sorts..that might still help some.

 

[hundleychickens]

what is the earliest your pullets started laying?

we got a tiny egg today i just say its a "fart" egg from the older hens but my grandma was insisting that it was from the babies since that is what they do at first. we have six 12 week old 2 EEs and 4 leghorns we can rule out the leghorns.

 

[SmileChicks]

For beat the heat treats.. I take a bundt pan,throw in some frozen berries or peas or other food scraps..add water and freeze. Just a quick upside down rinse under warm water loosens the frozen treat ring. They have fun pecking at it, and it helps keep them cool.

I also soak their run during the hottest part of the day...they walk through and scratch in the wet dirt. ( think how cool grass feels to your feet).

 

[farmgirlroots]

I do diatomaceous earth in the feed once every 4 mos as scheduled worming preventative.

I only use wormers when there are actual worms present, since eggs are not edible during that time. there are different worming products for different types of worms, so it is important to identify what type of worm your birds have before selecting a product.. have you seen worms?

Yes. Just in two ladies I bought a few days ago...which I now believe is appropriate to say I rescued (long story)...though I don't know enough about worms to say what they were. It just made me start to wonder what others use. I did one round treating for roundworm cuz that's all my feed store had for chickens, but I'm thinking I need to follow up with Safeguard or something as I did some reading on here and that is one that I understand kills additional types. ??!

 

[BlueJayFarm]

what is the earliest your pullets started laying?

we got a tiny egg today i just say its a "fart" egg from the older hens but my grandma was insisting that it was from the babies since that is what they do at first. we have six 12 week old 2 EEs and 4 leghorns we can rule out the leghorns.

I would say your grandma is right. That definitely looks like a pullet egg. Our Australorps start laying around 4 months, but 12 weeks sure sounds early. More like 16 weeks is normal. Do the suspected birds have red combs and wattles?

 

[hundleychickens]

 

[hundleychickens]

these two are the suspects we have a black and white one I'm pretty sure it's a roo. His tail feathers swoop down and have green in them