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Same here, lost 3 of 23 this past winter to illness, each a few weeks apart but in each case there was a clear wheezing and congestion and despite trying a few meds and remedies each was gone within a few days of symptoms starting. They're really good at hiding they aren't well until it's too...

I let articles like this keep me from giving my chickens access to my compost piles, despite the videos posted by Justin Rhodes about chickens feeding off and working with compost systems.... and then I argue with myself while I spend an hour turning my compost heaps over from one bin to the...

I understand the worry about what to do, and the frustration from the neighbor's point of view too if it is really just about a new and unwanted noise issue. I live in a very rural area - one awesome neighbor on 5 acres, one on 30 wooded acres with a house I can barely see through the trees...

Welcome, lots of great advice on here but don't worry, you'll do things the first time you wish you hadn't so you'll do even better when you go back and change it around :) All part of the fun!

Funny enough, when I do this with layer crumbles the consistency my girls seem to prefer is pretty much how I like my oatmeal - slides off a spoon but not runny.

I wonder if it was the result of what type of produce they fed them? I was in the habit of taking just about everything that came from my garden weeding and trimming to the a pile that my flock would peck and scratch through daily, and after losing one bird to what looked to be a digestive...

Same problem here with flipping bowls, so my plan is to make a sort of frame out of spare boards that has holes in the center for the rubber bowls to sit in to make them hopefully flip-proof. Seems when it comes to chickens its a constant back and forth game. I make something, they find a way...

A lot may be dependent on the quality control in the manufacturing, which for something with such a low per unit cost is likely to be minimal. I worked for years in plastic molding factories and can tell you that the slightest issue with a mold or feed line, or smallest variation in the raw...

They're very handy in the winter since you can easily remove ice and then refill with fresh water, and they don't get brittle and break apart in the real cold weather (two plastic ones did for us already and it has another -30 degrees to go before spring returns). The smell will go away as...

I would be shocked to find that "greens are also unnecessary" is actually true. I've seen so many chickens eating whatever greens they can get either from foraging, raiding gardens, or picking what they want from yard and kitchen scraps. I suppose for my own human diet you could say greens are...

First timer here in Adirondack Mtns, upstate NY. Got 21 mixed breed chicks in March. Once they started laying, around August for most, we would get 10-14 eggs daily from the 19 that survived. It was actually shocking as about half were chosen for looks and not egg-laying ability. Pets with...

Funny, I am looking at the same issue. Have a converted 8x8 shed as the coop, inside a fenced 21x21 run with a 7 ft high fence and I am in the midst of completing the peaked metal roof over the whole thing. The one thing I hadn't considered with this DIY redneck construction project (almost...

being that far away complicates things and makes a lot of suggestions not so workable for you - but as far as the bedding I'm using 3-4 inches of dry pine bedding in the 8x8 coop which is on linoleum flooring, and is under a metal roof along with the rest of the run. I try to keep the same...

Just make sure they have a dry coop - damp air or damp bedding is most likely cause of cold issues. Helps if they can drink without dipping sensitive danglies into the water :) And plenty of ventilation to keep the ammonia and moisture from building up in the coop. No need for heating except...

Gotta love it when the weather forecast for your specific town says a low of 43 and you go out to let your girls out into the run in the morning and find it's really 22!!!! They don't seem to mind much as long as I bring their breakfast, but I sure do... Not ready for this yet, it's the big...

Well, I guess things had gone farther than I thought. Just said goodbye to my white rock, she didn't make it through the night. Hope your mom's bird fairs better Jessie, this is one of the not so great things with chickens - they hide how sick they are sometimes.

I'm a recent convert to feeding wet layer crumble, and fermenting when I can. Started doing this after watching the ladies run to the waterer right after filling their crops with the morning feed. After a week I was amazed how much less they eat and drink this way. I try to get the...

Have a very similar situation with one of our ladies (hatched in March) and will be trying the coconut oil and massage in the morning as it hasn't changed in 2 days and is very hard so probably impacted crop.

I'm right there with you OP, we're in the southern Adirondacks up where the mountains funnel some brutal winter winds down and Jan/Feb regularly see -10 to -20 for days at a time. I am sticking with the experienced opinions and not heating anything except the electric water bucket. just...

it's the same as my aquariums for my fish, and greenhouses and fenced gardens for plants - no matter how big you start with you'll wish it was bigger in no time at all :) but sounds like you're right on target, I've got 20 birds (some smaller breeds) in a 21 x 21 enclosure (8x8 coop inside)...