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Chido posted:I'm worried about my pullets. Roostroyer has been trying to mate with them, and he's a very tall cockerel, and 6 lbs of weight. The two pullets he harrasses the most are a bit more than 2 lbs (bantam mixes after all, I really hoped they'd grow more ), and they aren't interested in mating yet, so there's a lot of rough surprise sex and chasing. I know he'll calm down eventually, but I think I'm gonna have to get one or two more standard size hens for him to give the smaller pullets a break. At least your pullets don't have big combs. I had to get rid of my rooster because he was just tearing my pullets combs apart.
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Aug 20, 2011 20:47
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 02:04 |
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Most of my chickens are different breeds and I haven't had a problem as long as they were raised together. Even then, the only big problem was my silkie. His fluffy head freaked out all of my other chickens and they tried to pull out his feathers.  I think it was because when chickens fight their neck feathers stand up like tiny dinosaurs so they thought he was picking a fight.
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Aug 22, 2011 00:15
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In my experience red chickens usually croak really loudly about mid-day. I've had Rhode Island Reds, New Hampshires, and Red Stars and they all shared that characteristic. I don't know why it would only be reds, but they're known for it.
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Nov 20, 2011 00:45
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Yeah , they get rid of them pretty early, around 18 months while hens can keep laying until 5-6 years. The only difference is that instead of laying 6-7 eggs a week they might lay 4-5 eggs.
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Jan 6, 2012 23:06
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I have a Jersey Giant in Louisiana and she does just fine. They are hardy birds, even in heat. I too would recommend Easter Eggers though. They come in so many different colors and have fuzzy beards/ear muffs.
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Feb 2, 2012 00:58
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marauderthirty posted:New backyard chicken keeper reporting! I'm not so sure she's a sex link as most sex links have brown on their chest. As for advice on chick raising, make sure you get a heat lamp as chicks are supposed to be kept at 90ish degrees for the first week, 85 for the second week, and so on. Once they are fully feathered you can put them outside. You may want to introduce them to the older hen slowly though as she might pick on them.
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Feb 6, 2012 06:36
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Sometimes they just squish them on accident and decide to taste them. The guy at the feed store told me what to do whenever you have an egg eater. You take an egg, poke it with a needle, get all the yolk out, and fill it full of mustard. You then put it back in the egg-box. (He also said to mix the mustard with pepper but birds can't taste spicy so I didn't do that.) I know it sounds crazy but it's worked twice for me. Oh, and $25 for a chicken is definitely too much if it's just a yard bird. hypoallergenic cat breed fucked around with this message at 23:14 on Feb 7, 2012 |
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Feb 7, 2012 23:11
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If your getting only six chicks I'd recommend MyPetChicken as a hatchery. They do small orders, unlike most hatcheries, though their shipping may be a bit pricey since they include a heating pad. Faverolles, Delawares, and Sussexes are all cold hardy good laying breeds. I think Faverolles in particular are really cute with their beards.
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Feb 19, 2012 04:18
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Zeta Buttforce posted:Hilda the chicken is beyond cute! You might want to switch out the leghorns for anconas. Leghorns don't do very well in the cold as they are "light" and their combs get quite large. This makes their combs more prone to frostbite. While the ancona is just as light as the leghorn they have smaller combs that don't require special care in freezing temps. They both lay white eggs though. hypoallergenic cat breed fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Apr 6, 2012 |
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Apr 6, 2012 04:16
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luloo123 posted:This chicken has the most beautiful feathers. I must have stared at that pattern for a good two minutes. Does anyone know what kind of chicken she is? It's an Easter Egger. I have chicken the exact same color and pattern named Hawkie.
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Apr 21, 2012 04:12
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I'm pretty sure that's a rooster. You could try to give it away on craigslist if you don't want it.
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Jun 5, 2012 19:01
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Beardless posted:How do chickens get along with cats? I have an outdoor cat who s always grining in birds and rodents. I assume that full grown chickens wouldn't be in much danger but what about chicks? I would be careful with little chicks, they're defenceless. Then again, it all depends on your cat's personality. My full grown chickens terrify my cat and will run after her if she gets too close but my baby chicks really interest her. I just keep them in a enclosed run until they're big enough.
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Jul 24, 2012 23:56
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Who wants to see some pictures of my cocks? (and hens too) Here's my golden laced Wyandotte roo, he's the lowest on the totem pole since he's so sweet. His name is Goku thanks to my little brothers.  This is the head roo, Grubby. He's 3 years old and a Maran. He is exceedingly selfish, and will even peck his ladies if they've got a treat he wants.  This is my dark Cornish hen, she was an extra in a chick order. She's surprisingly heavy and muscular. She doesn't have a name, we just call her the meatie, as she our only non-layer.  This is Red, the oldest chicken I have and the first chicken I ever raised. She's about five, and I bought her at the auction barn around here for  as a started pullet. She's starting to show her age as she only lays 2-3 eggs per week as opposed to the others who lay everyday (minus the Cornish). I'll keep her around even if she stops laying all together though, because she's my favourite. This is my light Brahma. Her name is Rosemary and she's my second favourite because she rides on my shoulder like a parrot.  This is Lucy, a roo, though he doesn't look like it currently as he lost his tail feathers to a dog while protecting the rest of the flock. He walks with a limp now but is just as fast as all the others. I currently have ten babies separated from the older chickens in a chicken tractor that I built myself.  It took forever to build, but it's useful whenever I have a injured or picked on chicken. Lucy lived in it for a month after the dog attack.   Easter Eggers!  My Cochin, who bonded to me and now thinks I'm it's mother. I ordered a black Cochin but she's definitely barred.  My white Leghorn, AKA the flightiest chicken ever. She is scared of everything and was terrified of my phone when I was taking her picture.  My buff Orphington and Ancona roo. The Ancona is already crowing, though it really sounds like someone's strangling a chick.
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Aug 10, 2012 20:06
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Chido posted:
I'm sure it will grow back. Grubby, my roo, had the same problem, his spur got knocked off somehow and he was bleeding profusely. However, I stopped it with flour (I didn't have any real stuff). It would occasionally get bumped and start bleeding again but he's fine now and his spurs grew back though his spurs are shorter and darker now.
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Aug 23, 2012 04:01
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Does anyone else have guineas? My dad picked some up at a poultry auction and gave them to me. I'm just treating them like chickens for now but I really have no clue what to do with them. What are they even used for? My dad said gumbo.  They're weird looking creatures. Bonus chicken stinkeye 
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Nov 17, 2012 23:22
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Yeah, it has to be something like mustard.
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Jan 3, 2013 13:22
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The fat rear end in the front has feathered feet, Cochin most likely. The feet themselves don't usually have feathers for a while. Easter eggers will have olive or bluish colored legs. Any with feathery or blue/green legs?
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Feb 28, 2013 02:53
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We had a neighbor who used to do the same thing. For some reason that must be the standard "set up". The barrels have a hole in them and are for the roosters to sleep in. They are chained to the barrels. It's a pretty lovely life for those cocks.
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Mar 18, 2013 00:49
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Sorry if I offended. I've only seen those barrels used to keep fighting birds, though I can understand how they might be an easy way to keep breeding cocks from tearing each other up. It's just something I feel really strongly about. I live in Louisiana. Cockfighting was banned only about 4-5 years ago. That doesn't really stop people though; its still pretty common in smaller towns. There's a real large abandoned ring around here that was big business back in the day and a huge blue barrel operation close to the local high school.
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Mar 18, 2013 04:30
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The black chicks with brown chests are definitely Black Sex Links.
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Mar 28, 2013 23:08
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Red hens in general are pretty loud. Every red hen I've ever had would constantly cackle and bwak to themselves.
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Mar 30, 2013 05:25
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peanut posted:CROW'S EGG HELP! It's most likely dead if the mom was sitting on it and then abandoned it for more than 30-40 minutes. It would have cooled down too much. Also if you're in the US I'm pretty sure keeping wild native birds, even ones you've hatched or rescued, is illegal.
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Apr 4, 2013 13:23
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I'm so excited! I have a broody, my big fat Buff Orpington Butterscotch, and I just candled her eggs and 8 out of 9 were good. I've never had a broody who stayed on her clutch this long. Usually they abandon them the second or third day. I've got three olive egger eggs, two Cochin eggs, and three barnyard mixes. They're due to hatch on the 19th.
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Apr 6, 2013 05:37
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Greycious posted:I see It stops completely. Everything else kind of slows down, even their poop. I have a broody on a clutch and she only poops every 3 days but when she does... you better be upwind.
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Apr 13, 2013 20:47
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I raise broilers in addition to egg layers, and competed in livestock shows with them in high school, so I have butchered/ate more than a few of my chickens. Broilers only though. We just butchered the remaining 25 from our order of 50 in November last week. Broilers are big ol fatties with little to no personality so I don't get attached to them like I do with my layer hens. Also, if you don't eat them by a certain age it is typical for them to keel over from heartattacks so even if one is sweet, I can't really keep it. Exception to the no layer rule: I had a pair of mean roosters who would gang up on hens and rough em up pretty badly. I decided to cull them when they scalped one of my bantam cochins. I wasn't gonna let them go to waste though so they became dinner. Edit: If anyone has any questions about the meat side of raising chickens feel free to ask. I've processed maybe 200ish. hypoallergenic cat breed fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Apr 16, 2013 |
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Apr 16, 2013 21:37
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One of my eggs just pipped under my broody! An olive egg. This is my first time hatching chicks so I'm super excited. It's peeping in the egg! Too bad it's really late, I'm going to sleep and when I wake up (hopefully) chicks and chick pics.
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Apr 20, 2013 06:06
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unprofessional posted:
The first is a silver Campine pullet. The brown one is a Speckled Sussex pullet. I don't know for sure what the one in the background is but I suspect that it's a Golden Laced Wyandotte rooster. hypoallergenic cat breed fucked around with this message at 03:57 on Apr 28, 2013 |
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Apr 28, 2013 03:55
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Hmm, it looks like an Easter Egger but it's legs are yellow which is atypical. I can't really tell from the picture but if it has a beard it's a EE for sure.
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Apr 28, 2013 14:22
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You could also try Meyer Hatchery, they ship out three bantams while MPC ships out more than three bantams. Keep in mind however that bantams are usually unsexed which means that many or even all, could be roosters.
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May 9, 2013 05:04
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A Bantam Cochin roo would be the best of both worlds then. Tame, fluffy, and sweet but not too big. They come in so many colors too. I am kind of biased though since the best rooster I ever had was a Partridge Bantam Cochin. He was eaten by a dog a year ago and every time my mean-rear end Sex-link Rooster attacks me I miss him.
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May 28, 2013 05:39
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My chickens definitely have lice. What is the best way to fight them? A lot of people say Sevin or DE but what do you guys use? Also, my situation is kind of different than most. My chickens are freerangers and sleep in the rafters of a very large barn and it would be very expensive to dust/spray the entire barn. I can treat the beams, egg boxes and the chickens but would that be enough? Edit: They're for sure lice, not mites. hypoallergenic cat breed fucked around with this message at 01:10 on Jul 10, 2013 |
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Jul 10, 2013 00:58
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Sounds like Avian Encephalomyelitis. There's not much you can do to treat AE, you just have to wait it out.
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Jul 30, 2013 07:33
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Mypetchicken just started selling an anti-crow device recently. It seems pretty safe. I don't know how well it works, I personally have never used it, but they have a video of it in action on the site.
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Oct 28, 2014 19:08
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I'm not quite sure what treatment you should pursue, I live in Louisiana, where we maybe get 1-5 below freezing days a year so I've never dealt with the issue. However, I have heard from various sources that to prevent frostbite you can apply Vaseline or bag balm to combs. Hopefully that helps.
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Feb 22, 2015 03:33
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Even broodies sometimes go crazy and attack their own chicks. We had a Orpington who killed half her just hatched brood before we could do anything about it. We had to remove the rest and raise them ourselves. She was still puffed up and broody for a week afterwords. We never let her sit on eggs again. Just be super careful with anything involving chicks and adults. Remember chickens are naturally cannibals.
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Mar 13, 2015 04:31
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Bean.
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May 15, 2019 18:18
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Darkrenown posted:Hello chicken friends, we are hopefully moving to a house with a garden soon and my bf wants to get chickens. He has this question: The deep litter method works pretty great in colder environments, you do have to watch ammonia levels though. If you can smell it it's probably too high and can cause eye and respiratory issues in the birds. I'd be more concerned about foxes or other predators though with the greenhouse idea. Foxes will just go buck wild and decimate a whole flock even if they aren't hungry anymore.
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Sep 6, 2020 13:14
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stealie72 posted:I got home and cleaned her off and have a much better shot now. Not sure if it is any more helpful though. May be a mild yolk sac infection, keep it clean and wipe it with iodine. If she's eating and drinking and not lethargic there's a good chance she'll be alright.
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Sep 8, 2020 21:56
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Scientastic posted:My escape artist chicken was snatched by a fox at the weekend, and we are on the lookout for a new one. As much as I loved Sarah, she was a very, very noisy Warren and our neighbours were starting to get seriously pissed off. I've read that Orpington's are reliable egg-layers that are quite quiet, but I am struggling to find any near me... Are there any other good options to look for? I agree that my small bodied hens are loudest. My leghorns and polish are quite screechy but my brahma, cochins, and speckled sussex are quiet. It ultimately depends on the individual hen but as far as generalizations go it's pretty reliable.
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Apr 5, 2023 16:47
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 02:04 |
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I live on the gulf coast and it's been very hot recently. The combination of humidity and temperature makes the "real feel" temp around 108°. My chickens have been having trouble adjusting and I had one of my largest hens pass away yesterday due to heat stroke. They have plenty of shade and I ensure they have water at all times. I've also given the remaining hens a little container of standing water for them to splash in and have been adding ice to their waterer in the morning. Occasionally I'll give them some frozen veggies too. I see mixed reports about misting/soaking being effective for cooling chickens but I'm not sure what else I can do to help them out. Does anyone have any advice?
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Jun 15, 2023 00:04
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