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4kidsandafarm said:
Poconos
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400
 
stake said:
howdy from chester co....bunch of good folk who have a bunch a chick savy....what do you have and what are you looking for?
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Hello!
New to chickens about 10 weeks now.
We have 2 buff orphingtons hens
2 Rhode Island hens
2 New Hampshire hens
2 barred rocks hens
And our newest addition 2 buff Brahmas that are 5 weeks old

We have 4 Pekin ducks that are 5 weeks old- we are only keeping 2, looking for homes did the other two

And 5 barred rock roosters that were sent as "packing peanuts" so looking for homes for them. We unfortunately can't have roosters, we only have an acre and need 2.

I am looking for jersey giants and not sure what else!! It's addicting!! Love our buff brahmas so sweet!
 
GM all:

My second Marans has gone broody and pushed the other Marans off the clutch of eggs....should be hatching in a few days...broody #1 is sitting in the nest box next to broody #2....kind of interesting because Broody #2 used to force broody #1 out of the box to lay an egg then leave.....

Didn't think Marans were the broody types...if its not chicken math its chicken drama...(maybe a reality show for animal planet?)
 
stake said:
GM all:

My second Marans has gone broody and pushed the other Marans off the clutch of eggs....should be hatching in a few days...broody #1 is sitting in the nest box next to broody #2....kind of interesting because Broody #2 used to force broody #1 out of the box to lay an egg then leave.....

Didn't think Marans were the broody types...if its not chicken math its chicken drama...(maybe a reality show for animal planet?)
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Huh. I thought they were. Still wondering why with all my broodies last year, I didn't have any this year. Perhaps too many changes in the coop. The sick hen did die.
 
I candled my eggs this morning while turning without taking them out of the incubator. Don't was to disturb them much this time. 7/10 are developing. The other 3 I am not sure. I will candle again either day 7 or day 10, then again at day 18 before lock down.

I will be setting another 6-8 egg on Friday. Just ordered my silkie eggs lastnight!
I heard silkies are very broody so hopefully this will be the last year that I have to borrow the incubator.
 
kada6305 said:
I really like that idea. Definitely something I am going to do. So you use sand for the entire coop? We are using pine shavings and it's not working so well. How do you like the sand on the floor vs others you have used? We used sand for the brooder and I loved it. Not sure why we didn't keep using it when we switched to the coop/
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Sand makes for an awesome floor if you have two things....
1) It has to be dry! My coop is elevated so there is NO ground moisture seeping in.... if you have any moisture source (other than the rare tipped waterer) then sand will be miserable.
2) Much, much better if floor is insulated, sand is a very poor insulator and will radiate the cold and it can be harder to keep things thawed in the winter... my floors have R19 basement type insulation in them since the coop was designed as an elevated platform. With an insulated floor there is a much better chance that the sand exposed to sunlight through windows will warm up and be an inviting environment for the birds... the insulated floor isn't an absolute, but it makes a big difference in general comfort level in temps. I believe the sand would work great over a cement floor also.

our set up allows the birds a place to dust bath on even the most horrible days of the year....

During winter months, and once in a while during the summer, I will add ashes from our coal/wood stove into the sand in the coop, dusting parties soon ensue! LOL... The hay you see around the edges is what the hens tend to throw out of their nest boxes through the week. I rake the floor twice a week during the winter because they spend more time inside and mess it up quicker, through the summer it only needs sifted about once every 2 weeks to keep it nice.



a bit of a wider view of one of the shelf systems, you can see the ramps going up in the back to allow the birds multiple access points to the top shelf... it also provides multiple escape routes when rowdy teens irritate the older hens! LOL

the sand floors mean broodies can hatch chicks year round in the coop and be comfortable with just a simple basket or pile of hay for their 'nest' area and then have most of the rest of the area for teaching the little ones how to scratch and forage, even when it is 10* outside. These chicks are about 2 days old and it is early march and about 20* outside.. coop was a balmy 28-30* but the little ones are out running around.

the hens giving early scratching lessons

I don't medicate our chicks... they are raised on the floor with the same sand that all of the other birds are in and are exposed from day one to whatever germs may be around....

... so in conclusion... I love our sand floors, and sand shelves.... but they may not work for everyone's set up...
 
Avlana said:
I'm so sad
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I left my guard down today and one of my hens got killed by a hawk. I feel really really guilty. She was one of my favorites and not just one of the other chickens whom I don't grow attached to. She was just dust bathing outside and I look out the window, and find a hawk on top of her body eating her
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Here's the Coopers Hawk that killed her...



Be careful everyone because raptor kills are higher at this time of the year since they're migrating south. Most of the songbirds have left already so raptors will catch what they can find on their way down. I thought she was safe out in my yard as I was outside often. But she wasn't. They seem pretty bold and determined.
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so sorry to hear this.....................and it would be so sad to see that situation too! yuck! one thing I guess we have to remind ourselves is that this is natures way...................we all live on this planet and need to eat..................so there is the natural food chain..............and if our gals were truly on their own in the wild .............they would eat stuff and get eaten..........natures way...........

this still does not totally work for me because I too get rather attached.................but I have been reminding myself of this.................generally our hens are much more protected and live comfortable lives with us than if they were on their own...................working on looking at the positive side of things..............
 

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