I'm about to begin raising another flock of hens and have searched high and low for someone who can vent sex chicks right after hatching. The Poultry House is the best that I can find in the Nashville area---actually the ONLY ones who sex them with good accuracy. A boy may slip through on...
In spring of 2013, I'd like to find two Cochin or Wyandotte bantams, but may end up adding two large birds if I can't find the little ones. Does anyone within a day's drive from Nashville breed bantams? If not, the large breeds that I'm interested in are Orpingtons (specifically a blue)...
Chris---I hope very much that you're correct, as my yard is full of this stuff. Everything I read said that the bulbs are the most toxic part, but perhaps, as you say, this is not so for poultry. They don't generally have great access to the bulbs, but I've been digging to alter water runoff...
Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum) used to be a pretty bedding plant, but has now gotten into yards and is all but impossible to kill. Besides multiplying like crazy, the problem with it is that all parts of the plant and bulb are toxic. The leaves look a lot like wild onions (but no...
I recently went through the same exact thing, but had to euthanize her myself. It was the hardest thing I've ever done---I still cry over it. The only vet that will treat laying hens in my area was closed that day and she was in such distress, I couldn't stand to watch her struggle and...
Amen to this post! The poop is a great byproduct, but there's SO much more! I forgot to add the nighttime rituals to my post, but I love watching it. My friends are equally charmed, but most think that it's too much work. Boy, are they wrong!
I've loved chickens since I was a child, but back then my father culled those that I'd named and loved. Now I'm in charge and no one will die until nature takes them. My sweetest hen is named Sassafras, or Sassy for short. She loves to be picked up, and when I pet her she closes her eyes and...
I'm sorry for what you've gone through with your girls, and totally understand being a chicken person who can't imagine culling... I had to put a hen down who was less than a year old down last week and am still crying over it. She couldn't breathe, and I couldn't let her suffocate. The vet...
Biggest mistake was building the laying boxes in an area where they walk below their night roost to get into the nests. I have to clean a dropping board every morning or I'll get dirty eggs.
Chicken wire is a good idea for new beds, but I've got 14 years worth of well established shrubs and perennials in the beds. Not sure how easy it would be to put wire around or between these plants, but I'll give it some thought. Thanks!