safety

Hi! I just recently finished building a couple coops and purchased my first pair of chickens. The rooster is half Easter Egger and half Copper Maran, the hen is a silkie. They’ve been with me for about a week and are already quite comfortable with me. They get along very well and eat from my...

Goal: Bring electricity to my barn via extension chords as safely as possible (which I know is not the safest, but it's what we must do for now) Information you may need to know before I start asking my questions: Last winter we ran 2-3 extension chords from our garage to our barn. Distance...

So we have been working on a nice 84 sq feet chicken run for our 5 hens. Right now we are using those wimpy green posts and fencing with strawberry netting over the top to keep out a hawk that has taken to perching on the top of our coop once and a while. (we actually had a near loss, I was...

Hello members, I am a city chick turned homebound rural animal care provider. The older I get the more my home life represents that of an earlier century. Originally, I adopted 6 hens from a client who sold her home to go into assisted living care almost 9 years ago now. Then I tried out my...

Does anyone free range their peas? Do you build a structure for them? If so, would you share a picture? (I really want to thank everyone at backyard chickens! What an amazing and helpful group! I wasn't anticipating being a pea mom and couldn't have done it without all of the wonderful info and...

I've had my three city girls for about 4 years now. We started raising them solely because I'm a huge bird person- and I was in a really dark place at the time, and they were the perfect therapy. My babies have been adults for quite awhile now- and they've been laying steadily their whole lives...

Hello everyone! So I'm new to this whole chicken hatching business but I've made the leap and it's happening! I'm getting my eggs April 1. I have my incubator all set up and ready to go. My question is regarding the brooder. Ive been trying to find the most cost effective (and safe) brooder as...

Hi all, this morning I woke up to find scattered feathers on the ground and the head of the victim on the other side of the yard. She was a young black bantam but robust fast and feisty. Her "sister", a silkie is now lonely and scared. It's my only remaining chicken. The gardner thinks the...

Ive heard about chicken tutus. I am debating if I should buy one for my hens. What do you guys think of chickens tutus. Are that safe? Do chickens like them(well at least don’t mind them)? Should I buy one? Thanks!

Hi all, My town has recently tested positive for triple E, a mosquito - born virus that can easily kill people. To combat it, they’ve decided to aerial spray our town and many towns around us. We know when they’re doing it, but we want to make sure out Quail are safe when we do so. What would...

Hi all!! I have 8, 10 month old chickens. I give them fresh produce and scraps daily (all chicken safe). I have a metal dish I put on top of a tree stump. They always seem to jump up on it or knock it down. When they knock it down the food winds up coming in contact with their poop. Is this...

Hello, Does anyone know if Elector PSP is safe to use on my baby chicks? The chicks are only a day or two old but the flock has a nasty mite infestation. Thanks in advance!

Hello. I am a first time duck owner. I have six beautiful goofy 10wk old ducks. Ine of my ducks seems to be crooked which I suspect to me a birth defect. It wasn't noticable when she was little and I am worried it may be getting worse. Being ther paranoid crazy duck mom I am making an...

I have 3 quails and today there was 2 butcher birds chasing them up and down their run. Only one went up into its coop but I was lucky enough to scare the birds away before any damage was done. I put an extra barrier of wire sloping out to the birds can’t get to them but I’m still worried about...

Here's the scenario: .My husband sprays the weeds that grow in the gravel with Round Up. My chickens don't free ranch, but I move them to a different area during the day and they walk pass the sprayed area. Anyway, here's the question... They have recently, not sure how much really, probably...

So I’ve been thinking about maybe line breeding some of my chickens, but not the usual kind of line breeding. I want to line breed two chickens of different breeds. Possibly a silkie and a mottled Cochin or silkie and a Mille fleur D’uccle, but I was wondering if it’s safe to line breed like...

OH MY GOODNESS! Sooooo .. a friend of mine that raises all sorts of birds, said she had invested in cameras to put out on her coops for security purposes - so obviously my first thought was "no way I can afford that - and technology is not my friend, so too much of a pain to even think about...

We adopted our flock from the previous property owner. He had way too many chickens and no early months special feeding regimen. We hatched our first eggs last winter and did very well caring for them. I did not lose a single hatchling. Our birds are huge compared to their parents. But this...

I live in the very rural Ozarks with many predators. At this time I have my second flock after Coons picked off my ladies one by one no matter how I strengthened their coop. They even ripped the screen in my back porch and killed one I was nursing back to health from predator attack. Now I have...

I see some people use it as a preventative, some use it only after their chickens have already gotten lice. I've read that it can be dangerous for people with asthma and not to use it around children. So whats the dealio? Should I be using this in my chickens dust baths or not? It seems like a...