Recent content by CrystalAnon

  1. CrystalAnon

    Do you leave broody hens in the coop or separate?

    Oh! And the broody mamma is the Alchemist Blue. She hatched two of her own eggs & one each from our two French Black Copper Marans.
  2. CrystalAnon

    Do you leave broody hens in the coop or separate?

    We got 4 chicks yesterday, into last night!! 🥰 I’m in love!! One was not viable- chick soup with a huge air bubble. Gonna have to figure out the logistics going forward, navigating the flock dynamics & predators. I’m gonna have to figure it out along the way. For now I’m just trying to make...
  3. CrystalAnon

    Do you leave broody hens in the coop or separate?

    How long did you keep mamma & babies in the kennel? Did you have them pip in the coop, or elsewhere, and then put them in the kennel? How big was the kennel? I have that setup now, although I need to add the hardware cloth. Did you ever have ant problems after they pipped? That’s my main concern...
  4. CrystalAnon

    Rooster attacking broody hen

    I’m wondering, will she be treated differently by the other hens when she has chicks? I let her out when the other chickens were out today & one of our hens attacked her. 🤔 She put up a fight but she is one of my smallest hens.
  5. CrystalAnon

    Rooster attacking broody hen

    I LOVE this!! I saw her today, chasing off squirrels! I always wondered why our chickens were fine with squirrels eating their scratch. Today she was not okay with it. I pulled her off the nest to make sure she drank, ate, pooped & bathed today. She was especially spicy! I love it. She has...
  6. CrystalAnon

    Broody Hen with no eggs, can I give her store bought?

    I saved these eggs indoors & switched them out for fresh eggs, until we had a broody hen.
  7. CrystalAnon

    Broody Hen with no eggs, can I give her store bought?

    Yes! Any eggs not hatching after 21 days should be suspect. I have 5 eggs right now under our broody. They are all the same development because I put 9 eggs under her at the same time. Any new eggs, I removed. You have to mark them, so you know which eggs are your hatching eggs & which ones are...
  8. CrystalAnon

    Strange marks on eggs under a broody

    Update: I candled the eggs for the second time last night. These two eggs were definitely not developing further. One did for prob a couple days more. I got rid of both eggs. One stank & the other did not. I think it was the thin egg shell that was the problem. The 5 eggs that are left are...
  9. CrystalAnon

    One year since we got chickens (our stats)

    Wow!! Great setup!! Happy chooks! 😃🙌🏻❤
  10. CrystalAnon

    Protecting fruit trees from your chickens

    It’s why I don’t like using pesticides. I only use Neem oil. And I use BT on our citrus, and cucumbers if it gets bad with worm-holes in the fruit.
  11. CrystalAnon

    Protecting fruit trees from your chickens

    Yes!! I’ve seen black racer snakes in our garden, but we really don’t have snails or slugs here, that I’ve seen. We had a ton in California. Any natural garden pest eater is a friend of mine. 🙏🏻❤️🥰
  12. CrystalAnon

    Protecting fruit trees from your chickens

    Exactly what I was thinking. Plus, I’ve noticed the wood attracts other predators of pests, like frogs & lizards. Our garden enclosure is full of frogs & lizards. I can only imagine how many pests all those little guys eat in our garden. I have to watch for frogs when I’m harvesting greens. They...
  13. CrystalAnon

    Protecting fruit trees from your chickens

    Thank you! Definitely good to keep in mind. They were foraging for perlite & fruit tree fertilizer before. 😁 I might remove the wood once the young trees are big enough. They still forage around the bottom of the trees, but they can’t scratch up the mulch to reveal the soil & young roots now.
  14. CrystalAnon

    Protecting fruit trees from your chickens

    We live in Florida. I counted about 10 different pollinators last year! Bees of all different sizes, shapes & colors, and butterflies (although, depending on the plant, the butterflies & moths can be quite destructive). It’s a good idea! For some plants I would certainly consider this! 👍🏻❤️
  15. CrystalAnon

    Protecting fruit trees from your chickens

    Yes!! 👍🏻 A large wood pile could def attract rodents. But I think the way I set them up, they would be a bit too exposed for their liking… To rain, sun & my cat! 😋 Plus we water once a week when it’s not raining. So it’s likely not dry enough for them either.
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