speaking of treats - ooh if anyone uses amazon (US) the black soldier fly larvae 5lb are a great price right now. I sent some to a friend! I find it usually hard to find them for under 0.50/oz
Do a specific call and give them a treat. My girls come running/flying from wherever they are when I say, “ladiessssss” and want some “wormies!” and they get a mealworm or two :)
Exciting stuff! Here are my recommendations. I am not sure where you live, but where I live gets very cold in winter, and very hot and humid in the summer.
For cooling in summer - along with good ventilation in the coop, I have a small solar powered fan (this one) near the roost to help pull...
Make sure your coop, where they sleep overnight, is fortified. No holes, no easy access into it. I use two locks on the door, including a caribeener. Same on egg box. Keep them safe! I see raccoons stalking the coop some summer nights but they do move on unless they find a way in. Check your...
I was very concerned about this when I first got my girls too, but I have found that they really don’t snack on anything that is dangerous. Maybe a tiny taste when they first discover, but they spit it out in disgust hah! They’re smart little things. Of course, there’s always an exception - if...
Look into plants that are native to your region~ they will grow best and many of them won’t be tasty for the chickens to devour, and some will be snacks. Here’s a local native plant nursery https://www.portlandnursery.com/natives
Red osier dogwood is a nice barrier, has great little berries...
The first year mine laid all winter as they only started that November. But the second and third winters they take about 5 weeks off over the darkest days. Enjoy your eggies!
The ones I found helpful and infomative, and fun, when getting started were:
- The Storey Guide to Chicken Keeping
- Gardening with Free Range Chickens
- Let’s All Keep Chickens
oh they’ve got lots of ventilation, far more than the 1sf per bird 24/7 rule. I have some blocked off for snow/winter wind but they still have enough currently. In the summer it’s open all along the roofline and their window is open too :)
Okay well - update! I set the door to close even later after sunset and they went in on their own last night. Maybe they were just having a blip? I checked for mites at night with a light, no signs. So good news! I’ll see if they continue to put themselves away over the next few days. Thanks for...