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  1. MapleLaurelFarms

    Pine pellets for coop bedding??? Does it work?? I'm curious....

    Thank you! I raise medium sized breeds and they've always learned to use them pretty quickly from my older girls when I put them into the coop at about 5 weeks. I'm going to try them in the brooder now. We'll see what age they can start, because I absolutely hate the mess of traditional waterers!
  2. MapleLaurelFarms

    Pine pellets for coop bedding??? Does it work?? I'm curious....

    Where are you located? I'm just curious about your climate. That tends to make a difference with bedding preferences.
  3. MapleLaurelFarms

    Pine pellets for coop bedding??? Does it work?? I'm curious....

    I've never used nipple waterers with chicks this young, but I can't believe I haven't tried it yet. (Hand hits forehead.) What age do they start to use the horizontal ones? And is it because they don't have enough strength to tap it effectively until then?
  4. MapleLaurelFarms

    What did you do in the garden today?

    It's a very Southern thing. Sort of... I was born, raised, and spent half my adult life in Alabama. I'd have a full garden in by the end of March. Miss those days and that long growing season! But not the bugs. :) Now we're in the NC mountains at 3600' and I never plant annuals until June...
  5. MapleLaurelFarms

    What did you do in the garden today?

    Ugh hairy bittercrest is everywhere this year! I swear we brought it onto our land in a nursery pot and it has made itself at home. Well at least it's edible. Someone can come have a feast at my house.
  6. MapleLaurelFarms

    Okay. You Have Chickens. What Else?

    The *house* animals are more work and cost more than all my others combined. After owning dogs and cats all our lives, we've decided that these two are our last. We do all of the gardening things you mentioned (fruit trees, berries, annuals, grapes etc) and I mentioned those because they...
  7. MapleLaurelFarms

    Confused order switched what breeds are these bitties?

    x3 Edited to add... I've always loved the variety that I get with EEs. Its always a surprise what they'll look like and what color the eggs will be. Such gentle dispositions also. Wouldn't want a coop without them!
  8. MapleLaurelFarms

    Okay. You Have Chickens. What Else?

    We do layers and meat birds which I adore and always want more. We have a goofy 100-lb LSG dog who I've had since she was 5 weeks old (she's now 6) but I still threaten to re-home that gorgeous, pig-headed thing every single day. Also a very sweet but troublesome mouser cat who has been with us...
  9. MapleLaurelFarms

    Research You Ignored And Wished You Hadn't

    You are such an amazing enabler. 😂
  10. MapleLaurelFarms

    Chicken mama from CA here!

    Welcome!
  11. MapleLaurelFarms

    Quicktent chicken run reviews?

    Gotcha. Those eglu coops are interesting. Folks seem to either absolutely love them or absolutely hate them. I've only known one person who had one and, as I mentioned above, it didn't end well. But we live very rurally with some massive black bears that tend to do a lot of destruction when they...
  12. MapleLaurelFarms

    Quicktent chicken run reviews?

    I live in VERY active bear country and we also have ALL the predators, and I agree with @nuthatched that the eglu coops are NOT predator proof, especially with bears. A friend tried it and a black bear tossed it over like he was opening a fast food box of chicken nuggets. If you're dealing with...
  13. MapleLaurelFarms

    Advice on upgrading our Run

    I've done nearly the same thing as the others who responded have. My chickens were quickly digging around the edges of my run to nearly the bottom of my 2' buried HWC. I banished all chickens for the day, raked all the dirt back into place and added more to fill in any low areas, covered the...
  14. MapleLaurelFarms

    Need advice for the best vines and plants for in a chicken run!

    😂😂😂😂😂
  15. MapleLaurelFarms

    Broody sign or no?

    Years ago when I first started keeping hens, we had to constantly break broodiness. I'm not sure what's changed but IMO I think broodiness may be being bred out of them because I usually buy the same breeds every year and I haven't had one go broody in a long time, maybe 3+ years? And these are...
  16. MapleLaurelFarms

    Broody sign or no?

    Every hen is different, but I've never had a problem with fake eggs causing broodiness and l keep them in the nesting boxes year around. What you've described in your post seems normal, especially when they first start laying and are young. They often don't know what's happening so they hang out...
  17. MapleLaurelFarms

    Chickens vs. Barn Cats - Looking for Suggestions

    You are greatly outnumbered. At this point, I'd just forget the meeting and instead choreograph a mob flash dance. Maybe that will keep the chickens busy rehearsing so the food is forgotten and the kitties can eat, but maybe not.
  18. MapleLaurelFarms

    Need advice for the best vines and plants for in a chicken run!

    Yeah we have entire areas overrun with it and it chokes out the trees like kudzu. Good point that *invasive* can definitely depend on the area!
  19. MapleLaurelFarms

    Chickens have picked the area inside the run bare

    I'll often put last year's garden's leftover seeds down in the run (and also in raised beds in the run) and cover those areas temporarily with 2x4 welded wire scraps so the hens can't scratch around in there. As the seed begins to sprout, they eat that but can't decimate the area. It's fun and a...
  20. MapleLaurelFarms

    Need advice for the best vines and plants for in a chicken run!

    Very nice area for the chicks! I'm in the NC mountains and for a brief moment was jealous of your flat land lol! How easy that must be, dang it! 😂
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