Reviews by feathermaid

I can tell quite a lot of thought and mathematical study went into the making of this article and I love your creative interpretations for calculating accurate flock size. Thank you for the detailed lessons and examples.

Since all my birds are different breeds and lay different color eggs and also have names, I just learned that my flock has been justifiably reduced down to one! I can't keep a poor lone chicken so it must be time to add more!







(A tiny suggestion for improving your article legibility would be to make the font size for each Proof # Title much bigger to help set apart each main section from the other bold text)

I'm a strong believer in natural animal husbandry and even before I found your method I just knew there was something wrong with using a heat lamp. I felt so terrible about it I made a crude (MHP) version using a shallow cardboard box and a heating pad for my very first chicks to use at night because I just couldn't bear the light glaring on them all night. It was a hassle switching it out every day but I didn't know better then. It wasn't until after those chicks were grown that I actually discovered MHP hiding behind "normal" advice here on BYC and I jumped for joy! I wasn't wrong, woot!

This method is actually more normal and natural than that old-fashioned-heat-lamp-garbage, so thank you so much for putting your experience out there! I've now successfully raised and integrated two more small batches of chicks using all your advice and common sense and also refer your articles and threads to new members whenever I can.

I even built my new coop with a built-in brooder and their own run to make integration easier. Using ideas from you (and others) I made my own portal system and switch from HWC to that at about 3-4 weeks... I call it my Picket Fence Safety Divider. I've also brought the chicks out often to free range with the older girls with never an incident. Your ideas have greatly increased my own confidence in chicken keeping. Thank you so much!

I've successfully raised and integrated two batches of chicks and can't thank you enough for giving me confidence! I've been referring this article to many new members and can't believe I haven't reviewed your article yet. This has been a life saver!

You have given me the confidence to let my babies go outside and mingle with my older birds way sooner than I would have thought if I just listened to all the other "regular" advice. Two successful EASY seamless integrations so far!!

I am so happy to see a better heat option for ducklings! I've used MHP for my chicks and love it, but heard many folks say it wouldn't/doesn't work well for ducks because of their "messy, wet" factor. But here I see this version doesn't have to make actual contact with the birds, so doesn't have to be adjusted at all... and can be easily cleaned. I love it! Thank you sharing your experience!

What a nice way to repurpose something special to your heart.

I love this method of brooding and integrating! I used a similar method with my tiny brood of 3 chicks. It's amazing how those little birdies at only 4 or 5 weeks old are just naturally running around and roosting safely with the big girls so quickly and peacefully.

Your little rooster just sounds amazing! Oh my goodness, you did a wonderful job nursing him back to health... and the MomPom... adorable! I didn't know chickens could get so emotionally attached to an object like that. Curious to see if he ever ends up joining a flock.

I would like to know what kind of misters you have, where you got them and how you've hooked them up. I can't really tell from the pictures what's going on with your setup and I'm really interested. I only have a mister that I got at Coastal Farms that looks like this:
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It's an Orbit Cobra Misting Stand but there doesn't seem to be a way I can connect more than one. Your system looks more effective... if a bit complicated. Please show your process... maybe it's easy. A description by each photo would be super helpful.

Beautiful... you should be proud! I think there's plenty of info here to replicate this design. This is one of my favorites and I even used this page for ideas in building my own coop.

Nice idea for being able to watch your chicks grow!

Great foundation idea for a large feeder. I think with a couple modifications it could be better. Maybe a deeper pan to hold food, and raised up off the ground quite a bit more. Appreciate the step by step photos!

This is a great feeder idea. Yes, I can figure it out by looking at the pictures, but a little more description and maybe a photo/diagram of the labeled pieces in order of assembly would be nice. Should also include the word "Chick" in the title of the article.

That looks like the coolest feeder I've seen! I love the contraption at the opening to keep it rainproof. Did you buy it or modify other materials? This article doesn't actually include any useful information. Sorry for the low rating, but I come to backyardchickens.com because I trust it and I don't want to have to visit another site and give my email just to see if I may or may not be able to build this thing.
I think including a link to where I can buy certain materials would be fine, I just don't want to leave this site for the directions. Maybe this "article" should be moved to member pages.

A lot can be learned in this article if you're unfamiliar with the importance of ventilation. Clearly written and full of useful material. I just wish the author was still active.

Enjoyed reading this short article on the history of the site, but was also looking forward to learning a little more about the other people who contribute on a daily basis... like the staff, moderators, greeters and especially @NiftyChicken. If this isn't the place, then a link would be awesome.

So this article is just a list of other articles about chickens from all over the internet? At least a sentence or two explaining what I'm looking at would be helpful. But this long list isn't even divided into categories and many of the links don't even work or they've expired.

Article is a little sparse, sticking to pretty much the old traditional basics... which is fine, and basically helpful. But times are changing and it would be nice to expand and offer even more information. I'd like to see reference to:
-Alternative heat sources such as heating plates or MHP with links
-Other common problems in chicks and what to do
-Essentials to keep handy in a first aid kit
-When and how to move chicks to the coop, or at least a link for what to do after 60 days
I do remember reading this article before I got chicks for myself and it only barely got me started.

Starting with a shed is great shortcut... and looks like you've protected it on the inside pretty well. interesting idea for the swinging roosts. Love your progress timeline by date. Glad you fixed the roof. I wonder how the window fan ventilation is working out. Do you have a humidity thermometer inside?

At first I didn't think the coop had a front door, then I realized it was glass. Interesting idea! Wish there was more info on the building process. Five nest boxes might be a little much for that size of coop, but chickens seem to like it.