One of my barred rocks, Gertie, was looking really rough yesterday with her crop all puffed up and she wasn't eating. I remembered someone on here mentioning a warm towel wrap for shock, so I grabbed a clean bath towel, wet it with warm water, and wrapped her up in a cardboard box with it for about an hour. She perked right up after that and started pecking at some scrambled egg this morning. Has anyone else tried the towel trick for other chicken problems like bumblefoot?
I was reading this poultry science blog last night because my Buff Orpington hen Betty has been acting weird around my neighbor. Turns out she just doesnt like him. The article said chickens remember who was nice or mean to them for months. So when Betty hisses at the mailman shes actually holding a grudge. Has anyone else noticed their chickens acting different around specific people?
I've had my Rhode Island Reds for about 8 months now. Their eggs started out as a nice medium brown, but around month 4, they got noticeably paler, more tan than brown. I thought it was just age or stress, but then I switched my feed from a generic store brand to a higher-protein layer feed three weeks ago. Now the eggs are back to that rich, dark brown color, almost like when they first started laying. It's wild how much the feed seems to impact shell color. Has anyone else seen their egg shades shift after a feed change?
I used to think chickens just needed a quiet dark spot to lay, but my neighbor Mary from down the street pointed out my boxes were like little caves. She said hens prefer a bit of light so they can see where they're going. I cut a small window in each box lid and covered it with clear plastic, nothing fancy. Now I'm getting eggs more often and they're cleaner too since they're not all huddled in one corner. Anybody else try brightening up their boxes and notice a difference?
I spent months scooping out wet bedding with a pitchfork every weekend, and it took forever. Then this crazy squirrel kept stealing bits of straw from my compost pile, and I noticed the pile was breaking down way faster. So I tried tossing the dirty bedding straight into a separate bin with some grass clippings and letting it sit for 3 weeks. Now I just swap out the bin once a month and the compost is ready by spring. Has anyone else had random animal behavior accidentally fix a chore for them?
For two years I scrubbed every egg with soap and water before putting them in the fridge, thinking I was being clean. Then my neighbor in Boise told me that removes the natural bloom and actually makes them go bad faster. Has anyone else tried leaving the dirt on and just wiping them dry before cracking?
Bought this automatic coop door off Amazon because I was tired of getting up at dawn to let them out. Seller had great reviews, said it was heavy duty and weather sealed. Second big rainstorm we had, the slides got all gunked up with mud and it wouldn't shut. Came home to find all three hens sleeping in the run overnight, and a raccoon had dug under the side. Nobody got hurt luckily, but I had to manually override it every night after that until I just took the thing down. Has anyone else had better luck with a specific brand of automatic door that actually holds up?
I kept wondering why my eggs were going bad after just a week in the fridge. Turns out that natural coating (the bloom) keeps them fresh for weeks on the counter. I used to scrub em clean right away like a dummy. Now I just brush off dirt with a dry paper towel and leave em unwashed until I'm ready to cook. Been storing them on the counter for 2 months now with ZERO issues. Anyone else make this mistake?
Bought a plastic heated waterer from Tractor Supply in January and it split right down the seam during the first hard freeze. Has anyone else had better luck with metal ones or am I just picking the wrong brand?
Everyone talks about getting more eggs like it's the ultimate goal, but when I collected 12 in one day from my 6 hens last Tuesday I freaked out a little. My barred rock, Mabel, was laying almost one every 24 hours and I worried she was overworked or stressed. I checked her for mites, adjusted their feed to add more calcium, and even skipped giving them treats for two days. Turns out she's just a beast of a layer now that she's a year old, but I'm still paranoid something's off. Has anyone else had a hen hit a weird high count and then crash hard?
I went out to collect eggs last Tuesday and came back with 14 eggs from only 8 birds. That's way over what you'd expect on a normal day and I honestly thought I was losing it. Two of my hens are young layers, just started about 3 weeks ago, so they might be pumping them out fast. But still, 14 felt like winning some weird chicken lottery. I checked the coop three times to make sure I wasn't grabbing doubles from yesterday. Has anyone else had a crazy day where your hens just went full production mode for no reason?
Last month at Tractor Supply in Springfield, a woman in her 70s saw me buying layer pellets and told me to switch to fermented feed. She said her hens have laid bigger eggs and had way fewer health issues since she started doing it 3 years ago. Has anyone else tried fermenting their feed and seen a real difference?
That old wooden nesting box I built back in 2017 finally split right down the side last Tuesday. A hen was sitting in there and the whole thing just collapsed under her... she was not happy about it. I grabbed some scrap plywood from the garage and patched it up temporary, but it's got me thinking about switching to plastic ones. Has anyone else had luck with those molded plastic nesting boxes holding up better than wood?
I got this fancy heated dog bowl for the chicken coop back in December because I was tired of breaking ice every morning. Cost me $40 at the farm supply store. Worked great for about two weeks until the heating element just quit on a 15 degree night. Came out to find the water frozen solid and the bowl cracked from ice expansion. Has anyone found a heated waterer that actually lasts more than a single season?
I bought one of those treadle feeders last spring thinking it would stop the squirrels and rats from stealing my layer feed. The thing cost me $80 and my hens just stared at it for two weeks. They're used to scratching in the dirt for food, not stepping on a metal pedal. Ended up giving it to my neighbor and went back to a basic hanging feeder for $15. Anyone else wasted money on something that sounded good on paper but your flock just ignored?
I thought my coop was secure but that raccoon just popped the latch on the run door like it was nothing. Woke up to feathers everywhere and four of my best layers gone. Anyone else had a predator figure out a latch they thought was safe?
I was at Tractor Supply in Austin last weekend and saw a whole display of those red heat bulbs right next to a pile of pine shavings and hay bales, and I swear nobody stops to think how many coops burn down each winter because of those things honestly.
I got one of those solar powered automatic chicken doors off Amazon back in March. Looked great in the reviews and I loved the idea of not having to rush home before dark to lock up the hens. For the first maybe 6 weeks it worked perfectly. Then one rainy week the sensor started acting up. Door would open at 2am or close at noon. Cost me about $40 plus shipping. One morning I found one of my hens just standing outside the coop looking confused because the door never opened. I took the thing apart and the circuit board had visible moisture damage. Took it back to basics and now I just use a simple timer on a light inside the coop. Has anyone else had bad luck with the solar door openers or did I just pick a dud brand?
I was grabbing some layer pellets at Tractor Supply last Saturday and this guy in his 70s started chatting me up. He said he's had chickens for 40 years and never once bought a heat lamp, just uses deep bedding and lets them huddle up. It hit me different because I've been stressing over my coop's wiring and bulb placement every winter since I started 3 years ago.
My girls kick up so much dust in the run. Tried straw, pine shavings, sand. Nothing worked. Then I shoved an old half-sheet pan under their roost. Catches all the droppings and dust. Wipe it out every morning. Took me 3 months to find that fix. Got any weird hacks that actually work?
So I'm out back last Tuesday morning giving the girls their scratch and I hear this commotion. My neighbor's lab mix had dug under the fence and was running circles around the coop. I had 8 hens out free ranging and they just went ballistic, flying every which way. My best layer, a buff Orpington I call Butter, bolted straight for the road. I was panicking, chasing the dog with a broom while trying to round up chickens. Ended up grabbing the hose and spraying the dog to get him to leave, but by then three hens were hiding under the porch and two had flown over the back fence into the woods. It took me almost 45 minutes to coax them all back with mealworms and a lot of clucking. The dog's owner was real sorry and offered to pay for better fence repairs, but I'm stuck wondering if I should just keep them cooped up more or try to train them to stick closer. Has anyone else dealt with a loose dog like this, and did you find a way to keep your birds from scattering so bad?
I kept wondering why my hens were laying weird soft shells and some were getting aggressive with each other. Took them to the vet last month and she asked what I was feeding them. I was giving them a 26% protein feed because I thought more protein meant better eggs. She told me that's way too high for most backyard flocks unless you have roosters or meat birds. Switched to a 16% layer feed and within a week the shells got harder and the pecking order calmed down. Anyone else get bad advice from the feed store guy who just wants to sell the expensive stuff?
I got that fancy heated waterer off Amazon thinking it'd save me from chipping ice every morning this winter. Woke up last week to find my hens had pecked a hole in the side and were drinking from the frozen puddle underneath it instead. Now I'm back to using a rubber pan and a brick, cost me like $10 total and works way better. Has anyone else had their chickens reject a perfectly good gadget for the cheap option?
I spent $60 on a heated chicken waterer last winter thinking it would solve my frozen water issues. Worked great for about a week. Then the heating element just stopped. Chickens had ice for two days before I noticed. My neighbor swears by just wrapping a $15 heat tape around a regular bucket instead. Says his setup has lasted 3 years now. So which is the real savings? Pay upfront for the fancy waterer that might break. Or rig something yourself and risk a fire or short. I'm leaning towards the DIY route now but worried about safety. What do you all use when temps drop below freezing?
I've been keeping chickens for about 4 years now, ever since I moved to a little place outside Austin. Last spring I lost two chicks to coccidiosis because I listened to a forum post saying medicated feed was a waste of money. Why are people so quick to ditch something that's been working for decades?