Recent content by springvalley123

  1. springvalley123

    Integrating lone pullet

    The next step after a while of look but don't touch is to do a reverse integration---pick the lowest of the older pullets and put it in with the lone younger pullet. then the next one, etc. Depending on the age of the lone pullet and cockerel (if they were the same age) I'd keep it around a...
  2. springvalley123

    Almost had a heart attack tucking the girls in last night!!

    I actually had that happen to my dog once. He was "spinning" in circles and caught his toenail in between the slats of the wooden deck/ramp. I'd look for any areas where two pieces of wood come together (perch/wall connections), screws sticking up/not flush, or old screw holes from where you had...
  3. springvalley123

    Renovation of Old Shed for a New Coop

    First, I'm a little concerned about that tree growing apparently right up next to the shed---it could sway and damage the shed roof. What is that floor--is it concrete that's cracking? The space between the floor and the walls needs to be closed off somehow because rodents and predators can get...
  4. springvalley123

    Cream legbar, 6 weeks old. Hen or Roo?

    I agree. I once had a legbar-based cross, and the salmon breast was obvious by four weeks. #1 boy, #2 girl.
  5. springvalley123

    Help chickens keep pecking me

    If they're the Cornish-X that are ready to process by 7-8 weeks, they do need the 24 % protein starter instead of the regular 20% starter. Though everything seems to have less protein these days, maybe it's down to 22% now. Anyway they need more protein, but if they're already 6 weeks I wouldn't...
  6. springvalley123

    Help me adapt my nesting boxes.

    You can use some makeshift pieces of cardboard, with concrete blocks or the feed tub helping prop up the division boards. Or a rubbermaid tub on its side with some hay/straw/shavings in it, partially hidden by a cardboard/piece of plywood. Or a sterilite tub with lid on, with a big hole cut in...
  7. springvalley123

    How to advise a friend on their chicken care

    I wonder if you could move that "temporary" structure a bit closer to your birds (next to it) and then pull one of your birds into the temporary enclosure, etc..... and maybe the neighbors will forget all about the hen? I was going to suggest secretly rehoming her and her "boyfriend" but word...
  8. springvalley123

    How long do I have to wait?

    I had that happen with leghorns I bought as day olds in July. They started laying during January. And Andalusians that hatched in August, started laying in Feb-March. The increasing daylight is a factor, depending on breeds/ages, and how much sunlight you get. I'm in Arizona, was north of Phoenix.
  9. springvalley123

    Blocking off areas

    Depending on how high the rest of your fence is, and how wide the "exits" are, you could look for used gates on Craigslist, or scraps of wire/field fencing. A span of fencing like 2/4inch 5 ft tall no climb could be zip tied or bungied to your existing fence or even to your house wall or a tree...
  10. springvalley123

    Arizona Chickens

    OK, here's a possible sollution: Oleanders. Can you grow a hedge of giant oleanders without permission? Within a few years they'll be at least 5 feet high. In the meantime it sounds like you can just reinforce what you've got. Or even put up a hoop coop that's no taller or wider than what you...
  11. springvalley123

    Arizona Chickens

    The shredded tarps may have saved the frame of the coop (gave their lives so to speak). If you do metal or anything stronger than tarp, the frame might not be able to take the force of the wind. Twisted frame, or blow-over of the structure. I forget--is this a flat top, or does it have a peak...
  12. springvalley123

    Pullets And Cockerel Sleeping the nesting box.

    How old are these young birds, and is there a picture? Birds will naturally roost/sleep where they're used to, so they're simply trying to sleep in their usual spot, which for some crazy reason, the mean human blocked off...
  13. springvalley123

    Overhead protection netting question

    Technically the OP is not doing a 24 ft long slope and putting the 8 foot pole at one end. But, they're doing a 12 foot run and a 2 foot rise. so take the square root of (144 + 4) and double that. It's twice as steep of an angle. Yet, they get two hypotenuses, each 12.17, which is somehow...
  14. springvalley123

    Hot summer, over 100F. Okay for chicken brooder?

    It's probably already in this thread, but baby chicks can't tolerate ANY amount of hotter than the target. For day olds, they can't handle the heat. Remember they only need to be able to get AS WARM AS for as long as they want, they must be able to get much cooler. I once hoped my Andalusians...
  15. springvalley123

    Male runner ducks pecking each others necks

    It's mating season. There must be a duck (which is a female) around, maybe nearby. Even if you are sure there isn't a female nearby that you're aware of, you need to separate them or it'll keep happening.
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