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Vaga42Bond posted:I'm tempted to suggest they get some Transylvanian Naked Necks... That would be the best suggestion, Naked Necks are quite adorable in their way. e: A picture for those of you who haven't seen the breed: 
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Feb 10, 2012 02:30
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Geokinesis posted:That would be the best suggestion, Naked Necks are quite adorable in their way. The only appropriate reaction to most breeds of chickens is to giggle like a maniac.
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Feb 10, 2012 03:38
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They look like... red dicks attached to a fluffy football?
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Feb 10, 2012 05:32
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c355n4 posted:They look like... red dicks attached to a fluffy football? Thats pretty much what we came up with in chat last year on the CamChat. 
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Feb 10, 2012 11:06
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Geokinesis posted:That would be the best suggestion, Naked Necks are quite adorable in their way.  ... but she's feathering up nicely now. 
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Feb 10, 2012 21:40
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spookygonk posted:We got one like that: Awww pokey hen has poop on her foot, she looks so indignant about it 
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Feb 11, 2012 07:56
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spookygonk posted:We got one like that: I really can't believe how much they've improved in the short time that you have had them. When they first arrived they looked so rough: few feathers and droopy, pale combs. They look so much better. Do they trust you enough for cuddles (although with those feathers coming in they probably don't want to be touched at all)? Or does their previous life preclude any touching?
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Feb 11, 2012 15:01
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luloo123 posted:I really can't believe how much they've improved in the short time that you have had them. When they first arrived they looked so rough: few feathers and droopy, pale combs. They look so much better. *one has managed to get on top of the run without us seeing and leave a large poop to show off her achievement. luloo123 posted:Do they trust you enough for cuddles (although with those feathers coming in they probably don't want to be touched at all)? Or does their previous life preclude any touching?
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Feb 11, 2012 18:51
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I have a question about coops. I went to home depot the other day and there were some decent sized metal and plastic sheds that would make nice coops and were not that pricey. The current coop I have is small and I never lock any of the chickens in it during the day and I never lock the coop in daytime, they only go there to sleep or lay eggs. Could I use a plastic shed as a coop? I live in Southern California in LA county, so the summer is hot here, but the area where we put our current coop and the run is under some trees we have, so the new shed would be partially under a shade.
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Feb 12, 2012 07:28
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Chido posted:I have a question about coops. I went to home depot the other day and there were some decent sized metal and plastic sheds that would make nice coops and were not that pricey. The current coop I have is small and I never lock any of the chickens in it during the day and I never lock the coop in daytime, they only go there to sleep or lay eggs. Could I use a plastic shed as a coop? Doesn't metal/plastic get pretty hot in the sun? I mean if it's partially covered by the shade that could help. Maybe tossing something like a tarp over the top? Also I didn't know you were in L.A as well, I wanna meet your chickens.
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Feb 12, 2012 07:56
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I would think a premade shed should work ok, but you may need to cut in some extra ventilation.
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Feb 12, 2012 08:35
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I found this in the coop this morning. Yay! First egg! It had poop stuck to it. How do I wash the stain off?
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Feb 12, 2012 17:36
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I live in the UK and I've been thinking about adopting some ex battery hens, or raising a small group... So I'm sorry if this is a lot of questions. I'm curious how much space they need outside of a decent coop? I have a fenced back garden, one half is paved, the other is grass. I would like 3 or 4 hens, unless they shouldn't be kept in a small group. I used to keep rabbits and we would move their wood and wire run from the flags to the grass during the day, so they had grass to eat but could also wear down their claws on the flags. Would chickens appreciate something similar? It was a wooden frame but we also had fine mesh underneath (only when on the grass), so the rabbits could not dig out under it. My neighbours work nights and get on my case about immensely stupid things like my gate rattling in the wind, and a cardboard box that was blowing around in the yard... Would chickens make enough noise for them to have a valid/legal complaint? (I would never get chickens purely to troll my neighbours)
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Feb 13, 2012 19:06
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Hens do make noise, especially when alarmed. Mine fit up when a dog strolls by or a bird flies overhead, sometimes for no discernable reason at all. Some hens will sqwawk loudly after laying an egg. Chickens love grass and they will scratch it up, dig holes for dusting, destroy/eat flowers and generally turn it into a mud pit. the mesh on the bottom may prevent some of the damage. They'll need grit to digest their food. Some people do well with moveable coops -I'm too lazy to keep dragging it around all day, moving it back into the shade as the sun moves. I have a fenced in run attached to the coop and move the fencing when they've torn up the grass to give them a new patch and reseed the old one.
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Feb 13, 2012 19:39
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I would probably have to keep the run as detachable from the coop, unless hens need constant access to their coops? That way I could move it away in bad weather and clean by moving it when the hens are asleep. Are hens as noisy as dogs? Do they make fuss at night, usually?
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Feb 13, 2012 20:04
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They make no noise at night at all in my experience and during the day it's a quiet sort of mumbling. You don't need a rooster so there's no cockadoodledo to worry about.
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Feb 13, 2012 20:19
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Bogwoppit posted:Are hens as noisy as dogs? Do they make fuss at night, usually? Actually they are really quiet at night. My chickens go to sleep on their own as soon as the sun goes down, and unless there is a light that hits their coop and wakes them up or something scares them at night, they don't utter a peep until the next day, right before dawn. also hens aren't that noisy unless they are laying an egg, and that is just for about half an hour for each hen. Now, I have a rooster and roosters crow at any given time of the day, but Roostroyer crows mostly in the morning and here and there thoughout the day, but it isn't constant.
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Feb 13, 2012 20:22
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They don't need constant access to their coop, but they will need water at all times and somewhere to lay eggs. A box on it's side will do if you put some straw inside.
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Feb 14, 2012 14:51
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Well, that seals that... I rang and asked about keeping a coop in the spring and my landlord has told me I shouldn't have them because of a high number of foxes in the area. He said that there used to be fox crap in my garden pretty much nightly and he couldn't in good conscience let me keep chickens.
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Feb 14, 2012 17:21
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Well as long as you build a coop with a lock on the door, I think it would still be fine.
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Feb 14, 2012 17:37
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I'd have to keep an eye on the back garden all the time though, and I'm not convinced that foxes wouldn't be able to find some way in. One killed my aunt's chickens and she had a very impressed coop that padlocked at night. I guess I'll have to have a think about critter proofing.
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Feb 14, 2012 17:52
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Bogwoppit posted:Well, that seals that... I rang and asked about keeping a coop in the spring and my landlord has told me I shouldn't have them because of a high number of foxes in the area. Well to his credit, that seems like a pretty reasonable reason to not allow chickens. I mean, sure it's too bad that you can't have them, but at least your landlord isn't dead set against them. And I'd hate to see you get some chickens and them lose them! 
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Feb 14, 2012 20:35
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Beardless posted:Well to his credit, that seems like a pretty reasonable reason to not allow chickens. I mean, sure it's too bad that you can't have them, but at least your landlord isn't dead set against them. And I'd hate to see you get some chickens and them lose them! It's sad but I think he's right. I have seen the fox poop myself, he's not just making excuses. Last year I also had a face to face argument with a fox over who my trash bag belonged to. They're cocky little things.
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Feb 14, 2012 20:47
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Does anybody have any good ideas on some kind of temporary fencing? Our back yard isn't sectioned off from the front, and we are going to want to keep them in the back when it starts to get warmer and the plants start coming in. There is a really thin gap with a thick bush that she doesn't seem to be able to get through on the one side, on the other I think the ideal spot to section would be from the coop to the fence as it's the smallest distance, but it's still about 10 feet. Maybe just get a roll of chicken wire and unroll it when I let them out of the coop? We've gotten the egg eating problem under control. Actually, it only happened the one time. It was definitely a calcium deficiency. The first egg she laid after eating the one was really pale and had an extremely thin shell. I hard boiled the egg and the shell practically dissolved when I cracked it. Anyway she got some cheese and spinach, and we got oyster shells the next day and everything is all good again. Egg shells are dark and strong, and she hasn't tried eating any!
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Feb 14, 2012 22:05
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marauderthirty posted:Does anybody have any good ideas on some kind of temporary fencing? Our back yard isn't sectioned off from the front, and we are going to want to keep them in the back when it starts to get warmer and the plants start coming in. There is a really thin gap with a thick bush that she doesn't seem to be able to get through on the one side, on the other I think the ideal spot to section would be from the coop to the fence as it's the smallest distance, but it's still about 10 feet. Maybe just get a roll of chicken wire and unroll it when I let them out of the coop? Stacked concrete bricks, a big "baby gate" by using a piece of lattice fencing from Home Depot?
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Feb 14, 2012 22:30
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Remember to clip their wings too if you haven't already.
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Feb 14, 2012 23:54
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I went to a chicken show on Saturday with some people I met on Backyard Chickens, and had a great time. There were a ton of chickens, it was really cool to get to see breeds in person that I'd only seen in pictures before. I also got to see a couple of the biggest cocks that I've ever seen. Don't look at me like that! There was a Buff Orphington and a Australorp who had to be at close to two feet tall, and must have weighed over twelve pounds. Other highlights included watching the people getting their chickens ready for the judges. The amount of preening and grooming was kind of hilarious. I got to hold and pet a silkie chicken, which was kind of odd, since the feathers felt like really soft fur. There were a pair of Coronation Sussex there, which was neat to see, they are very striking in person. The other highlight was the Sumatras, which are totally black, including their skin, although the feathers had really beautiful green, blue and purple iridescence. There were also a ton of bantams at the show, which were very, very cute, especially the males, who sounded like pissed off squeaky toys when they crowed. And then, after the show, I came home to my fuzzy butts. I've currently got ten chicks in the brooder. I got six Easter Eggers from a friend and when I went to the feed store to get chick feed, they'd just gotten in a shipment of chicks. and I'd been thinking about getting another Rhode Island Red, and I've been wanting to try a Buff Orphington for awhile.....so I ended up buying four more chicks. My current plan is to raise them until they are about to lay, and then sell off the ones I don't like. Probably along with a couple of my current flock, since I don't want two white Leghorns, and the Silver Laced Wyandotte, while pretty, is a poor layer and lacks personality.
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Feb 15, 2012 05:00
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Hey I have an account in Backyard Chickens too, I use the same username from here  .
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Feb 15, 2012 07:42
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'Sup, BYC buddy?  My username is AZKat, lately I've mainly been posting in the Arizona thread, otherwise I lurk.
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Feb 15, 2012 16:09
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Man both chickens are now squatting whenever I touch them. Makes me feel...weird. At least they're easier to catch now.
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Feb 15, 2012 22:27
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Maximusi posted:Man both chickens are now squatting whenever I touch them. Makes me feel...weird. At least they're easier to catch now. You gotta post pictures of them being all petulant when you say things like that. There's something about the way chickens just act out that makes them so goofy charming.
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Feb 15, 2012 22:34
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Also how come my chickens won't lay in the brood boxes? They keep scattering the hay I put in the boxes for them.
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Feb 16, 2012 00:55
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Maximusi posted:Also how come my chickens won't lay in the brood boxes? They keep scattering the hay I put in the boxes for them. That's chickens for you. one of my hens looooves to lay her egg on top of some boxed chair in the back shed when she has nests available. @_@
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Feb 16, 2012 04:32
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One of my chickens loves to lay in our dog's house. 
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Feb 16, 2012 04:52
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My chickens ignored the nest boxes and lay in one corner of the coop. I don't argue with them, I figure they know more about laying eggs than I do.
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Feb 16, 2012 05:30
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At least mine lay in the nest. The same nest. I put up three boxes, girls. You don't all have to share the same one.
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Feb 16, 2012 07:47
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RabbitMage posted:At least mine lay in the nest. The same nest. I put up three boxes, girls. You don't all have to share the same one.
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Feb 16, 2012 08:11
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Ugh, my leghorn pullet got into a fight with another hen and she got a cut on her comb, which bled a lot and stained her head feathers. I had to run some errands and my brother in law left all the hens in the run with Roo outside (he was trying to woo the two stray hens that were hanging out with him in the backyard), so nobody was home for the hour or so that the chickens were alone, and my nieces were scared of seeing one of their chickens bleeding. I've been keeping two pullets and my bared rock locked in the run because they are missing back feathers and Roo had been leaving some scratches on them and the barred rock is really afraid of him, but I think I'm gonna start leaving everybody together again and see if I can find something to make some aprons for the hens. Chicken drama never ends
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Feb 16, 2012 08:15
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Chido posted:Ugh, my leghorn pullet got into a fight with another hen and she got a cut on her comb, which bled a lot and stained her head feathers. I had to run some errands and my brother in law left all the hens in the run with Roo outside (he was trying to woo the two stray hens that were hanging out with him in the backyard), so nobody was home for the hour or so that the chickens were alone, and my nieces were scared of seeing one of their chickens bleeding. Do you have a leghorn named Foghorn? you should. Until I read this thread I had no idea that leghorn was an actual breed, and not just the name of a cartoon chicken  btw you're gonna have to post pictures of your chickens in aprons. Maybe make them little bonnets too?
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Feb 16, 2012 08:22
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Chido posted:I've been keeping two pullets and my bared rock locked in the run because they are missing back feathers and Roo had been leaving some scratches on them and the barred rock is really afraid of him, but I think I'm gonna start leaving everybody together again and see if I can find something to make some aprons for the hens. Chicken drama never ends Chido, could you get some quilted potholders from the dollar store and use those to make back aprons out of? You could sew some sort of sturdy ribbons onto the aprons to tie them to the chickens.
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Feb 16, 2012 09:34
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