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  1. EmmaDonovan

    Still making a mess with port feeders

    I switched to port feeders and pellets to try to cut down on waste but a lot of pellets still end up on the ground. Is there any other way to prevent this? It wastes food and attracts critters.
  2. EmmaDonovan

    Why would someone remove drywall from inside a closet?

    I was just cleaning out a closet and found that someone had removed part of the drywall inside the closet. There's about an inch removed from the sides above the uppermost shelf, and a 3" section lengthwise removed from the top. Those sections are open to the interior house frame. I'm trying to...
  3. EmmaDonovan

    Harris hawks - what else can we do?

    There's a Harris hawk or several (they live in groups of 2-7) nearby, we've seen them in the yard twice. This morning one was 3' from the hens. Our chicken coop is a permanent structure and it is predator proof. Our flock does not get along so only 6 hens live in the coop. The other 6 hens...
  4. EmmaDonovan

    How important is direct sunlight to chicken health?

    I don't know if chickens need sunlight to make vitamin D the way we do or if they need it for some other health reason. We're in the desert so our runs and pens are covered to keep the sun off of the hens. They only have direct sunlight as it peeks through the sides of the runs in early morning...
  5. EmmaDonovan

    How would you make this opening predator proof?

    The chickens will be sleeping in there and the gaps on the top, bottom and sides of the door are obviously way too big to keep predators out. If we replaced this door with one that's predator proof, what kind of door would that be? I'd prefer something metal that we didn't have to build.
  6. EmmaDonovan

    Two questions about 1/2" hardware cloth

    1) What's the most secure way to attach 1/2" hardware cloth to itself, with overlapping sections of about 4"? Hog rings were my first choice but the pliers are too big to use with 1/2" hardware cloth. 2) We're using the hardware cloth to cover a run like this one. On the curved sections where...
  7. EmmaDonovan

    Rant

    End rant.
  8. EmmaDonovan

    How much pecking is too much? Flock re-integration questions.

    We are going to attempt an integration in a few weeks of a flock of 4 with a flock of 5. They grew up together but were separated due to conflict and bullying. They are all 21 months old. Right now the 4 and 5 are getting accustomed to each other again across 1/2" hardware cloth on neutral...
  9. EmmaDonovan

    ISO Easter Egger, Arizona

    Looking for a young, smallish, sweet tempered laying hen who looks like this. Can be an Easter Egger or an Ameraucana or a mixed breed. One year old or younger and laying regularly. The egg color doesn't matter but her appearance and temperament do. She must look like this and be...
  10. EmmaDonovan

    Do they stop singing the egg song at some point?

    We get very few eggs these days, 0-3 per day from 12 hens, all 21 months old. Sometimes they eat the eggs before we can get outside to collect them (there's no reason for them to do that, they have plenty of feed and protein and treats and oyster shell, lots of space and clutter in the run)...
  11. EmmaDonovan

    Possible causes of thin hen?

    One of our black Australorps is skinny. The flock just went through a hard molt and foul pox at the same time. The pox is waning and everyone is doing fine. She is the only one who is thin. She is 1 yr 8 months old, moves fine, eyes bright and alert, eats, drinks, crop is empty in the morning...
  12. EmmaDonovan

    Chick’n Aid Chicken Supplement in 90-100F - throw it out?

    I just found three bags of this stored where they shouldn't have been. That means they have been baking in 90-100F temps for many months. The package says to store it below 70F. Should I throw them out? Do high temps render this dangerous or just less effective?
  13. EmmaDonovan

    Bad molt and fowl pox at the same time

    Our chickens are going through the worst molt I've seen and we discovered yesterday that several are also infected with dry fowl pox. Due to the pox they're eating less and we're only getting a few eggs here and there. We're providing extra protein (grubs, sardines, tuna) and Chick’n Aid...
  14. EmmaDonovan

    How deep to bury hardware cloth in a run?

    How deep should we bury hardware cloth so that the chickens don't dig down to it?
  15. EmmaDonovan

    Cleaning out a hoarder house: any helpful tips?

    My friend inherited a hoarder house located about 20 minutes from where I live. She asked if I would help her clean it out, she's overwhelmed, I said sure. There aren't piles of trash or animal feces or anything like that. The utilities are on and working. It's just packed with stuff like a...
  16. EmmaDonovan

    How often do you remove a hen saddle?

    If you have hens who wear them full time how often do you remove them or do you just leave them on?
  17. EmmaDonovan

    Digging out a run

    Need to dig out about 16 cubic yards of dirt and then put it back. I am not a construction person so I'm not sure how best to do this. It's level ground, no landscaping, no plants/rocks/gravel, just desert dirt, and no objects to dig around. It's not compacted as I can dig down at least a foot...
  18. EmmaDonovan

    I'm at the end of my rope.

    I do not know how we ended up with a flock that hates each other. I didn't even know that was possible. It's awful. I'm about done. We have built a larger, relocated run. It is brand new/neutral ground/toys/clutter for all of them. This is the 4th run we have built for them in 13 months. There...
  19. EmmaDonovan

    Do pinless peepers work with port feeders and RentACoop water cups?

    I'm guessing no but has anyone tried it? Some of the material about using pinless peepers say you need to have open pans of feed and water and we can't do that here because of squirrels.
  20. EmmaDonovan

    Reintroducing a split up flock

    I have all but given up on trying to get our flock to get along. Mixed flock of twelve, one year old, all grew up together. They are bullying, egg eating, and feather pulling. They're currently split into three groups: eight, three, and one. We just completed a new run in a different part of...
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