Welcome to The BackyardChickens.com Forum! + Newsletter Archive

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Coop Page Contest Ends Soon

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Did you enter the Coop Page Contest? Add your simple or complex coop design to our huge database of chicken coops, and you could win a $20 BYC Store gift certificate! Grab your cameras and start snapping. Hurry, our contest ends on August 13.
Growing Up So Fast - Two Contests

Remember when your hens were little eggs? Like chickens, BYC is feathering out fast. To celebrate our growth, we have two number-guessing contests. Guess the day and hour we hit 150,000 members or 9 million posts, and you'll win massive coop cred and a BYC membership! Contest ends in a few days.
What to Know When You're Expecting

You took the plunge and got chickens, but where to go from there? What supplies will you need? How will you protect your flock? Read the article How To Raise a Chicken As a Family Pet, written by a BYC community member, and find information to make a happy home for your first hatch.

 

[BYC Support]

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BYC Cookbook, Coop Ventilation, and More
August 28, 2012​

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New BYC Community Cookbook

It's eggsploitation time! Back and updated by popular demand, our wonderful cookbook features over 450 recipes submitted by our amazing community members. We asked for your favorite recipes and, boy, did we get them! Enjoy over 200 pages of mouth-wateringideas from your best friends on BYC.


Clucks Unspoken Now Ring True

What did you just say? Check out this hilarious thread where we share the crazy things we hear ourselves saying now that we raise chickens. You'll laugh, you'll remember uttering something similar, and hopefully you'll share your favorites and bloopers with our groups.


Cut More Holes In Your Coop

Coop ventilation should be an important part of any coop design and setup. No matter the season or climate you live in, make sure your coop has adequate and proper air, humidity, and ammonia circulation and escape at all times. Learn the basics in this article, and then get ready to poke some holes in your coop.

 

[BYC Support]

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Take a Picture and Win a Month of Fame!
September 27, 2012​

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BYC 2013 Calendar Contest

Yes, we're already preparing for 2013! We want to have plenty of time to choose pictures for next year's BYC Calendar, so get your cameras ready. Check out our submission thread for some of the world's best pictures of backyard chickens and then send in your own. Who knows, your favorite bird could win one month of worldwide fame!

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Chicken & Gardens - Can't we just get along?

Have you ever wondered about gardening with chickens? We love our flocks, but their voracious and diverse appetites can have some unfriendly effects on our gardens. Here is a list of plants from one of our community member's garden where they have had success with maintaining a friendly co-existence between their flock and their garden.

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Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

Did you start building your coop thinking you had the world's best plan only to feel slighted by all the amazing chicken coops on BYC? If you could give your hen house an extreme makeover, what would you change? Share your experiences and wishful thinking in our dedicated thread "Coop Builders - What would you have changed or done differently?"

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October 23, 2012​

Cluck About It! Great New Features On BYC​

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Building A Better BYC!

BackYardChickens.com is one of the fastest growing communities on the interwebs! We’re always working hard to improve the ability for our millions of visitors to share and enjoy everything related to raising chickens. Here are just a few of the exciting updates and changes to BYC that you should check out:

• New Feature: Re-Insert / Re-Embed Recent Images
  
• Announcing the new BYC Reputation System: Ovations
  
• New Image Viewing Features! - Thread Image View & Recent Images Module

Worst Chicken Molt Picture Contest

We often celebrate our beautiful flock members. In fact, many of our threads on BYC are full of hundreds of beautiful chicken pictures. But once a year we celebrate the beauty of our chickens' insides (sometimes almost too literally). Check out this year’s worst chicken molt picture contest!

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Why Do We Love Our Chickens So Much?

It’s just something that people without chickens won’t really fully appreciate - the myriad of reasons why we love our feathered friends. Come read and share a few of your favorite reasons for why you love your chickens!

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Purina Makes The Difference

By enrolling in the Purina Difference

Rewards program, you can earn coupons and discounts as well as information on the latest happenings at Purina. Get information about the latest products coming from the company and a sneak peak at the newest Purina videos, newsletters and other exclusive content.

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[BYC Support]

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November 2012​

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4th Annual New Year’s Day Hatch – Fun & Prizes!

It’s that time of year again! Dust off those incubators and join our community in hatching hundreds of fluffy little chicks. Read more about the New Year's Day Hatch, brought to you by our good friends at Brinsea and Big Ole Bird. We’ve got a bunch of really fun contests with amazing prizes - don't miss out!

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BYC 2013 Calendar Pre-Orders

It wasn’t an easy job taking hundreds of amazing pictures and picking the ones for the 2013 calendar, but with the help of our members we’ve been able to come up with a terrific 2013 Calendar! Supplies are limited, so make sure you get your pre-order in ASAP!

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Chicken Article Writing Contest

Back by popular demand, we’re doing another article writing contest. This time we have even more prizes to give away!

Come share your experience and love of raising chickens with the world!

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Purina Promotions!

By enrolling in the Purina Difference

Rewards program, you can earn coupons and discounts as well as information on the latest happenings at Purina. Get information about the latest products coming from the company and a sneak peak at the newest Purina videos, newsletters and other exclusive content.

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Hot Topics on BYC

• Think it's too cold for your chickens? Think again.​
• Are chickens pets?​
• Buying bulk grains at the grocery store​
• A mixed flock or a single breed and why?​
• Growing fodder for chickens​
• What is this chicken thinking?​
• Cookie Tin water heater​

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[BYC Support]

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December 2012​

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BYC Cookbook & 2013 Calendar

Hurry and order a BYC Calendar, BYC Cookbook, or a discounted combo pack in the next few days to ensure that it gets delivered before time (or the offers) run out!

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Announcing BYC Mobile!

After many months of development, it's finally here! No app download needed, simply visit BYC on your mobile device and you should instantly be taken to the new mobile version of the site. Check it out and cluck about it with the community!

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The Cold Coop - What to do (and not do!)

Brrr… it’s getting cold outside for many of us, but what about our beloved feathered friends? Is your flock protected from severe cold temps? We’ve got some great information at BYC on how to learn about keeping your coop warm.

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3 Contests To Show Off Your Creativity!

We’re always impressed by our members' ingenuity and creativity! If you’re one of these members, please post your pictures, plans, and builds of each of the following:

• Homemade Incubators​
• Homemade Brooders​
• Homemade Feeders & Waterers​

Give Your Chickens Nutrition With NatureWise®

Nutrena

poultry feeds offer exceptional nutrition for every stage of flock care. Choose NatureWise

Poultry Feeds, a premium, natural feed program, or the Country Feeds

line of poultry products designed to offer balanced nutrition at a great value. Talk to your expert Nutrena brand dealer or visit us atwww.NutrenaPoultryFeed.com.

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[BYC Support]

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January 2013​

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Composting With Chickens

Chickens and compost are a match made in heaven! Check out this new article from one of our BYC community members to learn more about how to put your girls to work at a job they will love!

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Fun New Contests!

• Guess when BYC will hit 10 Million Posts and win a $25 Amazon gift card!​
• BYC chicken article writing contest! Win $30 Amazon gift card!​
• 170,000 BYC Members? Guess the DAY & HOUR and Win!​

The Broodiness in Your Hens

Your hens are born with amazing natural mothering instincts (well, most of them anyway) and you may want to either encourage or discourage this behavior. Read this great article from one of your fellow BYC members to learn more about the broody hen.

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Hot Topics on BYC

• Frostbite prevention and treatment
• The Natural Chicken Keeping thread
• Thinking about ordering some meat birds...
• Free ranging in snow
• Curious incubation method - toaster oven?
• What is this chicken thinking?
• Freezing eggs?

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[BYC Support]

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February 2013​

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4th Annual Easter Hatch-A-Long

We’re carrying on with an amazing tradition and this year it’s going to be bigger than ever! Join the fun with hundreds of other BYC members from around the world as they work together to hatch out thousands of baby chicks all on the same day - March 30th, the day before Easter. Make sure to check out our Buy Sell Trade section for hatching eggs so you can get them in time to set on March 9th. To top it off, we're throwing in some awesome contests to celebrate the Hatch-A-Long, so check them out!

• The main “4th Annual Easter Hatch-A-Long” thread​
• The “Short Story” Contest – Win free feed from Nutrena!​
• The “Cutest Baby Fowl Picture” Contest – Win a free Brooder from Brinsea!​

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BYC's "Chicken Health For Dummies"

With the amazing success of “Raising Chickens For Dummies” and “Building Chicken Coops For Dummies”, we’ve decided to add to the list of official books of BYC with the BRAND NEW Chicken Health For Dummies! If you’re determined to be an expert at caring for all your chicken’s health needs, this is definitely the book for you! BONUS: For a limited time, every “Dummies” book purchase made in our store will include a free BYC 2013 Calendar (while supplies last)!

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Hot Topics on BYC

• New BYC 6 Year Club - Six Year Active Member Award
• 1 thing I wish I knew when I was starting out...
• Fire Safety in your Chicken Coop & Barn - IMPORTANT!
• Post pics of your chicks thread!
• How best to package eggs for shipping
• Baby chicks and snacks?
• Roosters in the nest box
• DIY Thread - Let's see your "Inventions"
• What to feed chickens to lay more eggs

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[BYC Support]

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March 2013​

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New BYC Gallery & Tab

We’re always anxiously working to improve BYC and make the process of sharing and discovering great stuff even easier. Hopefully you’ve seen our updated Gallery section of BYC. If not, we encourage you to come check it out… but be careful, you may find that hours of time have slipped by as you browse thousands of beautiful and fun pics!

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Contests Ending Soon

You still have time to enter some great contests running on BYC, such as:

• Coop Page Design Contest​
• Article Writing Contest​
• Various contests in the 4th Annual Easter Hatch-A-Long​

So come on over and join in before it's too late!





100 Pictures of Our Flocks

Our members have put together an AMAZING & super fun project to gather 100 various pictures of flocks. Come look at the tons already posted and add your own!

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The Power Plucker

If you're a regular to our Meat Birds forum, then check out The Power Plucker. It's perfect for homesteaders and small scale farmers. Remove feathers in a flash for not a lot of cash! Family owned and operated by Eli & Vanessa Bruton.

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Hot Topics on BYC

• Harlem Shake- Chicken Version! (Video)
• Alternatives to wood shavings?
• FOGHORN LEGHORN~ "Lookit here son, I say, I say son, did ya see that hawk after those hens?"
• My simple laundry sink fodder growing setup.
• Please help me understand meat eaters not wanting to process a chicken!
• Dealing with bird mites; my home, my hens, my itchiness!
• Tips for newbies. Everyone join in!
• Chicken "mutt" club!!!
• Incubating Eggs of different ages

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[BYC Support]

April 2013​

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Incubators Anonymous
Attention hatchaholics: the first step in the process is admitting you have an addiction. If you’re one of the thousands addicted to incubating and hatching cute little chicks, you owe it to yourself, your friends, and your family to read and participate in this thread. Remember, it’s never too late to get help!





BYC Sister Sites

If you love BYC, then you should sign up at some of our sister sites! Check these out:

• BackYardHerds.com​
• Sufficientself.com​
• TheEasyGarden.com​

Best Treats for Your Chickens

Our members have put together an AMAZING & super fun project to gather 100 various pictures of flocks. Come look at the tons already posted and add your own!





The ChickHouse Peepstakes!

There's a lot at stake in the Nutrena ChickHouse Peepstakes (win a chicken coop?! Yes please!). But there's only a few weeks left to enter so make sure you're signed up!



Hot Topics on BYC

• Second Annual Cinco de Mayo Turkey Hatchathon (all poultry welcome!)
• When to switch from starter feed?
• Are your dogs and chicken friends
• Rainwater: good or not?
• Look at this! Egg inside of an egg!
• Pastoral Poultry, Traditional Farming For A Modern Era
• Need advice on using a covering for plywood floor of coop
• Have you used chicken nipples?
• Better to buy or build?
• Switched to sand in brooder