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Bit of a sad day here today, 3x 15 week cockerels off to their date with dinner. I've kept one, in the hopes we move to our larger property before 2 roosters on a smallish property becomes an issue. That's the outcome of hatching chickens though, and they go to feed a family. The entire flock...

Your numbers sound about right for the ages of your hens. I've got 6 sexually mature hens, call it 7 with the neighbor's hen. Right now in winter I'm getting 2-3 eggs per day. Sometimes only 1. Mine are between 10 months and 2.5 years old, so still in their peak years. They're pretty dang...

Agree about horse poop BUT horse poop laid out over the winter with chickens scratching through it = pure gold as the chickens suck out most of the weeds. I also put horse poop through my worm farm and they adore the stuff.

Here at least, you can buy it in bales just like hay or oat/wheat straw. It's literally the pea vines, dried and baled. My hens go nuts for it because it's full of peas the harvester missed.

My tax! This is the 'back coop', a covered area at the end of their run. They spend their days here if it's raining. God forbid you suggest they sleep here though. Chicken logic :confused: It does however make an excellent trap pen for catching them. My broody pullet has doubled down and...

I've not had any plants burned by chicken poop but I don't put it on anything I'm actually actively trying to grow. Regular farm-store feed for layer was $32 for 20kg last I got a bag from around the corner on saturday. I usually buy a particular brand I have to drive a ways to get which is...

I do, but my bedding is pea straw for this exact reason. I'm not sure if the shavings would break down quickly enough but they could be scraped back for planting. All my bedding goes directly into all the gardens over the winter, and then into whatever area I am working on for future gardens...

Hahaha this broody conversation is prophetic, I should have knocked on wood. Just went out to collect eggs and what do I find but a broody pullet savagely resisting me. She has been hiffed out and the coop shut up for the rest of the day. Goodness me, it is quite literally the middle of winter.

Tax! I stuck the camera through the pop door to get this. They had knocked off the lowest roosting bar arguing over the nest boxes.

I love my broodies and babies. I haven't been successful in breaking any yet. I generally leave them to it, but my routine is to remove them from their nests every morning. If I catch them early enough and am around I can sometimes interrupt them going full broody by getting them off the nest...

This was a great read. I haven't fully finished it yet but I will. Need coffee... I'm fairly up-to-speed on pastures and pasture management due to experience with cows/sheep/horses but it's good to get chicken-specific info. I could only see one place that red clover was referenced specifically...

Nitrate poisoning is caused by an animal consuming something either contaminated with nitrates (usually from leaching of nitrogen fertilizer into a water source) or by consuming a plant that is in a 'nitrogen flush' such as bright green fast growing grass in the springtime. Humans are usually...

There are 3 cats at my place (they are not my cats personally) plus some from the neighbors. They are all absolutely and completely terrified of broody hens. I've watched each of the cats being whomped by the hens. They only take a beating once and then stay well away. I was worried by my...

I have one hen who roosts on the roof of the main coop. She has to fly to the back fence then up onto the roof, which is tin. I attempted to convince her she would rather sleep inside but she's not having it. So I attached an old woolen blanket over the top of it for her to sit on because it's...

I've been reading along but been a bit too busy to jump in on any conversation. They've been very interesting! Today is a public holiday here, Matariki, which is essentially our New Year. I'm off soon to chop and stack some firewood, then bake some pies, but just wanted to say hello and give my tax.

I If it was me I wouldn't worry, you've said they have access to feed all the time? I trust my chickens to eat what they need. And they don't always have feed available, I put out each day what I think they should be eating (i weighed my scoop) split into a morning and an afternoon feeder top...

I cannot get my head around house chickens. In my mind that's like having a house sheep. I do understand it's hard to find a different relationship with animals when they've only been companions. At the end of the day for me, chickens are chickens and they're what they've always been. Highly...

Yes some clarification on 'American way'. I keep my chickens much like we always did growing up. Large run + coop, with everyone getting let out every afternoon. I do however still have the traditional semi-rural 1/3 acre section, and am in fact still living in one of my childhood houses. My...

Tax from me... I'm not sure if I owe it but it can be credited for future transgressions. Wooden coops are ultimately still my favorite, but they have their downsides. The biggest downside being I'm no builder and neither is my husband, thus making the process either hideously expensive...

I am a huge fan of plastic coops. Not many available here (pretty much just eglu) but I think they have many advantages. Yes it does matter what sort of plastic is used, and I've yet to see if the eglu (polypropylene I believe) will hold up to New Zealand UV (one of the nastiest UV in the...