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I had a hell of problem with them this past late winter/early spring for the first time in years. I used a powder Poultry Dust product from TSC that has Pyrethrin as the pesticide and it has eradicated them for the most part with a few stragglers remaining in a couple of smaller coops. I just...

I would be more worried about predators from the sky with bantams.

Sounds like some type of Alpha predator is stirring about that has them on edge. Or a red mite infestation can cause strange behaviors. And I am speaking from experience regarding the latter as I have had a hell of a time dealing with them over the winter, maybe due to the above average...

Quality feed, plenty of greens, fresh water and fresh air. Since this original post, I have lost one of the Buff Orpingtons, one Crele bantam, one of the RI bantams, and the Dominique bantam over the winter. And amazingly, two of the Cuckoo Marans and the one Austra White have begun laying...

And I also heard chicks peeping when I dropped off mail at the local post office this morning... my wife is thankful I already have 15 turkey poults ordered from Porter's Heritage Turkeys with an arrival date of mid-June. I had promised her that those would suffice for this year but this...

As a fellow citizen of the Commonwealth of Virginia, this is the time of the year I see a great deal more hawks. I feel sure many are just passing through while migrating. If possible, I would recommend confining your poultry for a few weeks. Speaking of hawks and other birds of prey, back in...

My Black Australorps have handled both hot and cold weather with no problems and I have lived in the foothills of NC, the mountains of SW VA, and now along the central VA/NC border with them in my flocks.

In my experiences with them, the hens are very good layers with little to no tendency for broodiness. In flocks of mixed breeds hens, they have tended to be higher up the pecking order as well due to their dominant personalities. The BA roosters I have had through the years skewed towards...

The phrase "feisty as a banty rooster" exists for a reason.

I believe Privett Hatchery is actually in Portales, NM. I have 5 very pretty Buff Rock hens from them that I picked up as week old baby chicks last spring from a local feed store in Danville, VA. They have been very hardy from the start and have laid eggs almost every day this winter but maybe...

My current thinking is to start out on a small scale with a heritage breed (Blue Slate or Royal Palm) that are medium sized and maybe expand from there. As I stated previously, I also have chickens and plan to keep on raising them as well. I also have to convince my wife because she is already...

Not that I'm aware of.

What kind do you raise? My biggest concern is the potential risk of disease transmission (blackhead) from my chickens to them. I do plan on keeping them separated from each other though.

I too am strongly considering raising some turkeys for the first time after having only chickens for most of the past 55 years. Who are the resident turkey subject matter experts on BYC because I'm sure I will have many questions if I proceed.

This thread continues to be my favorite one on BYC. Love all the photos and there is a lot of knowledge being shared.

Given that you are only brooding 6 chicks, I recommend something like a 100 gallon Rubbermaid Structural Foam Stock Tank. I have used one with my last two smaller broods and it worked great... easy to clean up afterward. By the way, I used a brooder plate as well.

Trust me, he senses your being nervous. I have never had a human aggressive game rooster. But Old English Game Bantams are another story. I had one fly up and hit me in the temple a year or so ago when I was reaching into his coop and it felt like a blow from a hammer... damn near knocked me out.

Cackle Hatchery in Lebanon, MO offers a sexed mixed bantam pullet assortment but they are not cheap... I still have 12 of 17 hens that I got back in the spring of 2019 from them and they arrived just fine here in Southside VA on a 24 degrees F late March morning. The remaining hens are still...

I don't recall my Pa Shook and dad who got me started in raising chickens ever kissing or cuddling them, a practice that I have continued to this day. There are far too many diseases on both sides of the ledger that can be shared.