My neighbor really wants to have a few chickens in her backyard but unfortunately lost her job and can't pay for a pre-made coop.
Last year I made a coop for my backyard but I used my own plans and frankly spent far too much on it but I figured I could probably make her one if I could find...
I have some red silkie chicks that are about four days old now.
This morning when I was checking in on them I noticed one had something on his head.
It appears like a small scab but is black and not red. It was not there yesterday.
Could it have been caused by a peck from one of the adult...
Yesterday I bought some day-old Red Silkie chicks and last night I slipped them under my broody BO hen.
Yesterday while I was waiting for the sun to go down the chicks were eating and drinking a lot in their little cardboard box but today I've noticed they hardly ever come out from under their...
So today is the 21st day my BO hen has been broody.
Unfortunately I was out of town when this started so I wasn't able to get any fertile eggs under her.
But at my local feed store this morning they had 24 hour old Red Silkies from Ideal Poultry and since today is when fertile eggs WOULD...
So I some Buff Orpingtons and an Easter Egger and one of the BOs just started laying.
I know that the size of the eggs will slowly increase although the current size isn't nearly as small as I was expecting.
How long until the eggs are the size they'll always be?
Does winter affect the...
So it seems my chickens have Fowl Pox. Not nearly as bad as some of the pictures I've seen but still I want to treat it so they are as comfortable as possible.
The recommended course of action seems to be using a cotton ball or qtip to apply some iodine to the lesions.
What I can't find is...
I am brand new to chickens so I am not even sure if this is a problem but it sure doesn't LOOK normal to me.
I have three chickens. Two Buff Orpingtons and an Easter Egger.
There are these black marks on both of my BOs that I just noticed. The EE does not have them.
Here are some pics...
I have three chickens in a tractor with a "coop" that is 4x4 and has a roost going from one side to the other.
Their whole lives they've always piled up together on one side but lately I've been noticing the "boss" is by herself on one side and the other two snuggle up together way on the...
I have some areas around my house that I just can't get to grow anything that I would want to eat but it occurred to me that there might be some type of ground cover or Cover Crop that I could feed my chickens.
Does anyone know of some plants that grow well in deep shade that chickens like to eat?
So I have two 12x12x12 nesting boxes for my three hens and I am not sure just how much hay to put in.
The rest of the coop has rice hulls in it so I put a thin layer of that down and just kind of tossed a little hay on top and made it "nest shaped".
Is there some kind of formula for how much...
There is lots of info about when to expect eggs and when it is safe for chicks to go outside but I'm curious at what point Buff Orpingtons stop growing completely.
My understanding is that they continue to put on weight even after starting to lay eggs so when are they considered "full grown"?
I have two Buff Orpingtons and one Easter Egger that are 18 weeks old.
I have never once seen them actually fight or even seriously peck at each other. After some of the horror stories I've read here I'm convinced I have the most well behaved chickens in the world.
Inside their 10 x 4...
The most popular time of year to raise chicks seems to be in the spring but as long as you keep them inside until they feather out it seems like many people continue to hatch throughout the summer.
What I was wondering is at what point in the year should you NOT start raising chicks?
I...
I have seen large amounts of info on EXACTLY what nutrients, carbs, and proteins are found in various feeds but never this information on grass.
I have read that even when provided free choice layer feed a chicken will get up to 30% of its calories from fresh grass if available.
So I am...
I have seen numerous threads talking about different ways to prevent algae buildup in waterers but I can't seem to find any information on why.
What is it about algae that is so dangerous to chickens?
From everything I have read flocks do better when there are only a few roosters to many hens but half of all chickens that hatch are male.
In captivity people tend to eat the surplus roos but what about feral/wild chickens and Red Fowl?
Are wild flocks composed of half males? Do the...
I have been searching through the archives and have noticed that quite a few people recommend putting ACV in their chickens water.
Although there is no doubt in my mind that changing the PH of the water will reduce algae build up some of the other claims are more....dubious.
I do not wish to...
It seems a lot of people feed their chickens table scraps to prevent waste and maybe even save a little money on feed but they are always cautioned to make sure that the bulk of the chickens food is a properly balanced feed mix.
That got me to thinking. Is there a type of human food that...