Recent content by DonyaQuick

  1. DonyaQuick

    Growing my little flock

    It's not an age issue; all birds are old enough to be outside if the winter was like the last few years. It's a combination of the sheer duration of the negative temperatures each cycle and also partly my paranoia after realizing that I have a bunch of birds that clearly aren't nearly as cold...
  2. DonyaQuick

    Growing my little flock

    Had another night-day-night cycle of everybody in the house. The Ameraucanas actually seemed kind of into it this time. House time means they get rare varieties of snacks like crackers and the odd bit of cereal Most were able to go out again this morning; I'm only keeping in a few today that...
  3. DonyaQuick

    Growing my little flock

    I have 35 chickens in my house! And they have officially been in the house for over 24h straight now. Outside temps were ugly, windy, negative numbers Fahrenheit for over 18 hours, and then it only explored above zero for a bit today while it was still light out. Brief plunges into negative...
  4. DonyaQuick

    2026 Chick Thread!

    Last month I put in an order for at Cackle for a few exhibition buff orpington chicks mid-April. My very first chickens were 6 feed store BOs. Almost five years later, I only have 2 of them left. Nevermind the fact that I have 33 other chickens at the moment...I just have a need for a minimum...
  5. DonyaQuick

    Skipped molts - trying to figure out why

    I honestly thought my next post in this thread would be reporting two dead birds. Miraculously though, they have both bounced almost completely back to normal. Well, perhaps it's not that miraculous...they have both been house chickens since I discovered the problems and I have very aggressively...
  6. DonyaQuick

    Skipped molts - trying to figure out why

    Well, these two hens are not out of the woods yet. Metabolic issues continue and I may yet lose both of them to it if I can't get it in check, since it's really bad this time. The past couple weeks, one gained weight rapidly above her normal range and the other is headed towards being emaciated...
  7. DonyaQuick

    Main rooster letting his son mate all his hens

    I have one rooster like this; he runs his flock with his brother. He is absolutely in charge, there's no doubt about it with all the other interactions, although the two will happily sit together and preen each other. The alpha roo just has little/no reaction to seeing another rooster mating...
  8. DonyaQuick

    Crowing Rooster ..all night long

    Pitch black darkness shouldn't be necessary for birds to roost and be quiet. One of my coops sometimes gets very bright moonlight and there is no issue. I also have had house roosters for extended periods of time for various reasons and they always get a night light in their room so that they...
  9. DonyaQuick

    Those Almost-Good Photos...

    This one pullet of mine seems to attract weird background stuff that I don't notice until much later...this is the same girl as in my first photo in this thread, just quite a bit older now. I have thought for a week that there were surely two cochins doing some weird head-merging thing in the...
  10. DonyaQuick

    My rooster is eye pinning when i say his name

    It's not that easy to see with a lot of chickens unless they're right up in your face with the eye pointed right at you. Darker iris colors also make it very hard to spot eye pinning even with the chicken in your face.
  11. DonyaQuick

    My rooster is eye pinning when i say his name

    Personally I wouldn't use parrots as a model for chickens in much of any behaviors. Eye pinning in parrots can be very specific to the individual bird. For example, my parents had multiple parrots and there was one where it was only ever a warning and the only warning you'd get before he bit...
  12. DonyaQuick

    Official BYC Poll: How Many Chickens Do You Have?

    My original goal was to keep a single, small flock of 4-6 chickens. So naturally, a few years later, I currently have 4 flocks and 35 chickens total. But apparently this number is “about 20” when my husband was recently asked how many we had. 🤣
  13. DonyaQuick

    Jason's being a goblin

    Where is your hand when he bites? Does he just nip and release or bite and hold? When the hormones start to hit, certain hand approaches and approaching too fast can trigger the same bite-and-grab as a submitting hen's comb. Be cautious about moving hands too quickly around the area directly in...
  14. DonyaQuick

    Need some ideas/suggestions!

    This may be stupid of me, but just to check on the dash...you mean positive 20F, above zero right? 20F without a heater and mostly birds should be fine. But -20F below zero with 40mph winds is a whole 'nother beast even for birds with good thick feather coats.
  15. DonyaQuick

    Cat territory question

    Indeed, from the various replies here I'm crossing it off my list of possibilities. This is not something I'm willing to do with the current population. I already got sent on a visit to the hospital due to a recent encounter with one to be checked out for disease risk; it's just fortunate I was...
See more
Back
Top Bottom