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So a few weeks ago, two of my hens went broody. I don’t have any fertile eggs to give them, haven’t had a rooster in about a year now. So I picked up some young birds (<5 day old, small babies with as few feathers as I can find) from my local feed store. From the limited selection in the...

This morning a video showed up on my social media feed of a little dog stealing eggs from the coop. The comments on it were absolutely wild saying how the dog should be shot, that the dog will escalate to killing the birds, etc. And like- seriously? That’s a bit of an overreaction right? Not...

Found a funny little fellow mixed in with my store’s buff Orpington straight run bin. Hatchery mix up rather than my coworkers this time. They were out back for two days before I brought them out when we had room. All came from the same box. Maybe a mix breed? Definitely not a pure buff. Not...

This winter has not been kind. Between weasels, record low temperatures, the wear and tear on my chicken enclosure, and finally a pair of foxes taking off with the rest of our chickens yesterday morning. We’re still figuring out where to go from here. We had/have plans for a new setup we want...

So I had 10 6-week old ducks in the barn. I carried them in using a dog crate so they could enjoy swimming in the tub for a bit while I cleaned out their pen. I’d been using wood pellets, but today I went with a straw and resolved to just switch it out sooner instead. Usually I do half and half...

The house cat of the rodent world. So adorable, so deadly. My poor birds. Why I think it’s weasels; Enclosure is raccoon & fox proof, no obvious gaps or openings. Attacks were mostly done to the neck, some were partially eaten, some were just killed. In one case I found a mostly eaten bird...

I love my grandpa, I really do. But man. I am screaming inside right now. My grandad was over for a visit earlier this week. He left yesterday. I got home from thanksgiving at my other grandparent's house and found something open on the office desktop. An order confirmation for a variety pack...

It was only a matter of time before all the silkie hens went broody and ganged up on me to stop me taking the eggs. Hatch day is upon us and I’m curious to know what colors are possible with this group. Rooster; white Hens; 4 black (or dark grey possibly), 1 white, 1 paint The pretty babies...

Waiting is hard. I’m anxious for so many reasons. Last time I contacted the post office and they still almost tried to deliver to my house. (Luckily I was on top of tracking and called them again when I knew they had them to tell them I was on my way) This time they don’t even have a number I...

Did I need more chicks? No, especially not when I’ve got a shipment of 20 coming in a few weeks. Did I want them? Heck yeah This group comes with a story; I started working at tractor supply last year. We’ve been getting chicks each week for the past month. Last night someone messed up and a...

So still trying to figure out a more permanent brooder build. Sketched a bit to figure out what I might do building one from scratch. Very much a novice at this and would appreciate any input. Are there aspects about this that probably wouldn't work or things I could do to make my life a...

So I've been using plastic totes as my brooder setup. Fill it with shavings, prop up food/water, give them a brooder plat and cover it all in chicken wire to keep the cats out. I've been considering replacing this with something else though. Rabbit hutches can be pretty cute and would...

It's the dead of night and I hear my numerous roosters crowing. They're such funny guys, but I doubt my neighbors think so. I've been having less and less time to handle things myself so thought I'd try and figure out a new method of butchering. I finally ordered a restraint cone, have been...

This is my favorite silkie, hatched August 1st Baby picture; ~7 weeks Front Now, do you thing she’ll be a hen or a roo? I’ve got one the same age who’s starting to get a big comb, and a couple others but I’m not too sure either way on this one.

One of my appenzeller spitzhauben hens decided to make a secret nest and go broody. We'd thought we lost her for a while until I see her hop out of the well to help herself to food and water one morning. The well is just a wooden decorative one with a spout in the middle. No water or anything at...

Last night, I had to move my latest clutch of bantams to a cooler area. Even with an air conditioner on, the barn upstairs was far too hot for them, reaching around 104 - 105 f. Not sure how long they were like that, but I still hoped I’d get a few survivors. I left them on a folding table...

Why are my hens so much drama? This is likely due to my own countless mistakes keeping up with my birds. But at least it makes for an interesting story. I hope you find it less horrifying to read than I did experiencing it. I found a stash of eggs and was cleaning them up. But then I hear...

1st up; Tyrant - probably a porcelain d’uccle 2nd; Tsar, old English game bantam 3rd; Monarch, gold sebright 4th; pharaoh, gold sebright 5th; Emperor, gold sebright Some were definitely easier to get pictures of than others. If I had to guess, I’d say Tsar is a cockerel and...

My little buddy Tyrant seems a bit battered today. Nothing too bad, but her wing has a bit of blood. (Also looking at her now it seems her toe got pecked a bit too.) So she and the other bantams were in a brooder together and the isa browns were in another. For 20 minutes while I cleaned out...

My next hatch, I want to incubate some silkie and some appenzeller silkie mixes. The silkie Roos are all still young, they’re roughly around 9-10 months now. But there are four of them in a pen with seven girls. I’ve seen one mounting the silkie hens, but I’m not sure about the appenzellers...