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Velvet Sparrow posted:
Hooray!!!!
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Mar 21, 2024 01:41
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Once on a muddy winter day I put on my nasty, ratty old yard sneakers to go out back and let the chickens out. congratulations! those are some beautiful birds
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Mar 21, 2024 04:23
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Velvet Sparrow posted:EDIT: OMG GOONS ROCK! You know what you did...I'm funded, I'm funded!!! Huge love to you all, including the mods--but especially Tiny Myers for placing the banner ad for me! Congratulations! 🎉👏
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Mar 21, 2024 12:12
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Anyone have a coop they would recommend for 4 chickens? Amazon reviews of every single coop seem... bleak. And every one that's listed as being appropriate for 4 chickens has review after review saying it's too small for 4. The chickens will have access to a 16x8 covered/screened in area, and my plan is to attach the coop to that area.
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Mar 25, 2024 01:00
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Slugworth posted:Anyone have a coop they would recommend for 4 chickens? I have this one: https://www.chickencoopsdirect.com/sussex-chicken-house-with-run And we have four chickens. So far, we haven’t had any predators getting into it, and it’s quite easy to keep clean.
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Mar 25, 2024 08:13
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Has anyone tried these? https://nestera.us/pages/chicken-coops
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Mar 25, 2024 11:51
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Nettle Soup posted:Has anyone tried these? I haven’t but there’s a YouTube channel that I like that has. https://youtu.be/1rcbHhCIO40?si=CGaocuQma64Q-Auc They breed orpingtons, so you can get an idea about how big chickens fit in there. They have mild weather though so their chickens hardly ever have to spend the day in the coop due to storms. Just looking at the coops they don’t have nearly enough ventilation for my liking, but they might be ok with a battery powered fan. Slugworth posted:Anyone have a coop they would recommend for 4 chickens? Amazon reviews of every single coop seem... bleak. And every one that's listed as being appropriate for 4 chickens has review after review saying it's too small for 4. The chickens will have access to a 16x8 covered/screened in area, and my plan is to attach the coop to that area. I have a couple of those tiny store-bought coops and my chickens don’t use them except to lay eggs in. They much prefer the converted sheds. If you can find a used shed or cheap new plastic shed that would be better than most of the coops available and you can cut in as much ventilation as you want. The rule of thumb is no less than 4sqft per chicken in the coop and no less than 10sqft per chicken in the run. I think the coop manufactures spent too much time looking at battery cages and decided their coops were way better than those so that was good enough. Coop size really depends on your climate, your breed/s, and how often you clean them so you can get by with smaller but bigger is better. Also those store bought coops don’t have enough ventilation windows. 1sqft per chicken is the gold standard. Obv if it is always windy or you add fans you can get by with less.
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Mar 25, 2024 14:27
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Had a hawk scare today. Our birds were out foraging when a big ol' red tailed hawk swooped down and landed in the yard. The chickens took off for the little bit of woods we have and my wife ran out to scare the hawk off, but I think we would have had some missing birds if she hadn't been watching right then. So I guess the question is, what do y'all do to deter hawks and such? I've read that hanging shiny things in trees could work and I've got some hard drive platters and CD-Rs I'm gonna hang up but is there anything else I can do?
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Mar 29, 2024 19:45
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Elder Postsman posted:Had a hawk scare today. Our birds were out foraging when a big ol' red tailed hawk swooped down and landed in the yard. The chickens took off for the little bit of woods we have and my wife ran out to scare the hawk off, but I think we would have had some missing birds if she hadn't been watching right then. i feed peanuts to the crows and they chase hawks away not 100% effective as i've had hawks actually perching on our porch railing a few times (thankfully while not free ranging), lazy rear end crows jk i love my crow bros
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Mar 29, 2024 20:27
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Elder Postsman posted:Had a hawk scare today. Our birds were out foraging when a big ol' red tailed hawk swooped down and landed in the yard. The chickens took off for the little bit of woods we have and my wife ran out to scare the hawk off, but I think we would have had some missing birds if she hadn't been watching right then. My rooster is pretty good at alerting if something flies too close overhead and everyone books it for cover. I don't do much except provide some extra shaded areas for them to hide in case an alert is sounded, just some brush piles and bushes.
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Mar 30, 2024 09:09
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hypoallergenic cat breed posted:My rooster is pretty good at alerting if something flies too close overhead and everyone books it for cover. I don't do much except provide some extra shaded areas for them to hide in case an alert is sounded, just some brush piles and bushes. Yeah, roosters help a lot with keeping an eye out. I’ve only lost chickens to hawks when they were foraging off on their own away from the roo. If his main job is watch-roo, you can get one of the cute little bantam dudes. Do you have a dog? You can teach your dog to bark at hawks and the chickens will take notice. It may become an annoying skill when the dog barks at airplanes, etc. but it does work. For safety shelters, you can add some picnic tables to your yard. Get used ones since they will just get pooped on. I can also recommend goats  , just having a large presence around the chickens seems to keep the hawks from trying anything most of the time.
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Mar 30, 2024 10:05
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Ok, well, we're in the city so a rooster won't be happening. We do have a dog, but it's small and probably just as likely to get carried off by a big hawk. During the spring/summer we have a trampoline set up so that'll give them good shelter. Making crow friends is a good idea though, I've always to do that.
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Mar 30, 2024 16:18
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crows absolutely love unsalted peanuts in the shell, i think they like the little puzzle of getting the food out. i've got a group at home and at work that know me as the peanut man and come when i whistle (sometimes)
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Mar 31, 2024 18:15
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Our raptor problem is a bit unusual. There's a bald eagle nest about three houses down. We're right by a tidal creek system, so they seem to get their food there. We do keep an eye open when the girls are out foraging. It's weird seeing this huge bird with a fish in its talons zip down the street, maybe 30 feet up!
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Mar 31, 2024 20:19
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Apr 1, 2024 16:12
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I mean...grass can be a component of a well rounded chicken diet.
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Apr 1, 2024 16:18
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Mr. Joburg was telling a coworker about the chicken eggs we sell and how the chickens are free range, blah blah blah. The coworker asked if they are vegetarian. Mr. Joburg had to explain that chickens are omnivores and since they are free range, they will eat any kind of small animal they can catch. The guy was really surprised that chickens are omnivores. I think most people don’t really grasp that a chicken will at least try to eat pretty much everything.
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Apr 1, 2024 16:36
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Joburg posted:Mr. Joburg was telling a coworker about the chicken eggs we sell and how the chickens are free range, blah blah blah. The coworker asked if they are vegetarian. Mr. Joburg had to explain that chickens are omnivores and since they are free range, they will eat any kind of small animal they can catch. The guy was really surprised that chickens are omnivores. Tell them about feeding chicken to Chickens sometime.
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Apr 1, 2024 16:39
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https://i.imgur.com/mqfruGj.mp4
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Apr 1, 2024 16:48
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Joburg posted:Mr. Joburg was telling a coworker about the chicken eggs we sell and how the chickens are free range, blah blah blah. The coworker asked if they are vegetarian. Mr. Joburg had to explain that chickens are omnivores and since they are free range, they will eat any kind of small animal they can catch. The guy was really surprised that chickens are omnivores. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwy4X4F3mB4
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Apr 2, 2024 01:01
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Welp, my heart valve surgery is scheduled for April 15th! Going by what the valve nurse tells me to expect as far as recovery time... VERY tentatively I'm planning on setting the Chickam eggs in the incubator around Saturday, April 27th, with a hatch (and Chickam broadcast) date of Saturday, May 18th. I won't know for certain until the eggs are cookin' in the ReptiPro, but for now, that's the plan! Also, Elder Postman we discovered that a loud, shrill whistle scares away hawks. The higher pitched, the better. Rather than a regular whistle, we got a couple of plastic 'siren whistles', they make an obnoxious 'Fwee!' sound--I think that's key, maybe it mimics a hawk cry...? At any rate, it scares off Red Tails!
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Apr 2, 2024 01:17
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Welp, my heart valve surgery is scheduled for April 15th! Hooray! I am so glad you were able to get things going for the surgery.
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Apr 2, 2024 05:26
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Welp, my heart valve surgery is scheduled for April 15th! From the throughline of recover to Chickam there, I just had a brief mental image of Alien, but with a bunch of chicks emerging instead. (Seriously though; good luck with your surgery!)
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Apr 2, 2024 05:40
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did anyone else find out about this from the forum ad? I saw it as i was leaving the site and had to come back! Velvet Sparrow, good luck! You take it easy, heart surgery is a lot harder than eggs.
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Apr 4, 2024 14:48
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We had some visitors in our chicken pen tonight… Two (!!) copperhead snakes. They were in the pen at roost time but they were already on their way out when I saw them.  All my chickens are ok (except for one roo that has a foot injury but it happened early this afternoon so I don’t think it’s related). My broody hen was off her nest but she’s been flakey so I don’t know if that’s related either. (Her eggs are safe in the incubator because of the flakey-ness.)
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Apr 10, 2024 02:57
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Copperheads are so beautiful, but I would not be happy to see them in my coop! Glad everyone's okay.
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Apr 11, 2024 17:37
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I have some news.....our impending hatch will be live streamed! I've got a camera hooked up to my Twitch channel here. Nothing yet, but it's due to start any time now this weekend.
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Apr 13, 2024 18:37
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Velvet Sparrow posted:Welp, my heart valve surgery is scheduled for April 15th! Good luck on your surgery tomorrow! I hope you get all the good  BaronVonVaderham posted:I have some news.....our impending hatch will be live streamed! I will be checking in! My broody is officially not broody anymore so her six eggs are now my six eggs  They should hatch Thursday. I’ll post pictures.I’ve been a bit annoyed with my naked neck roosters’ behavior so I’ll be trying a few new breeds to see if I like them any better. I ordered some eggs from Deer Run Farm in MD, they test their flocks for Mycoplasma along with Avian Influenza and Pullorum so that’s really great. I got Delaware and Breeders choice which look like Ameraucana and Marans eggs. They are in the incubator until somehen hopefully goes broody.
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Apr 14, 2024 10:57
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We did a thing yesterday. More specifically, a tunnel thing. Our hens now have a perimeter tunnel that goes around about 1/2 of our backyard fence. Now we can let them sorta range a little bit without them eating the entire garden and plant beds! Pretty pleased with how it turned out, and the ladies seem to be, too:   We'll be planting bunch of things along the edge of the fence to give them some shade, snacks and protection. We have a bunch of big hostas that we can split and transplant. Any recommendations for plants to add? Hostas, lavender, and rosemary are on the short list right now. There is some mint growing in one section already, and I hope they'll help keep it in check. We also moved the coop/run trailer park into a shadier part of the yard. It's been getting hot here and their coop has been in the upper 80s. This is where the tunnel connects to the coop and their current setup:    And a short video. I love their waddle when they hear the worm bag: https://i.imgur.com/5bALwu7.mp4 Next project: solar-powered PC case fans for better airflow in the coop! I have some parts but either my fans need too much power or my solar panel isn't providing enough juice. BaronVonVaderham posted:I have some news.....our impending hatch will be live streamed!
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Apr 14, 2024 17:05
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So far no movement, but tonight is the most probable time for hatching (it's day 18). Hopefully someone starts to pip soon....
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Apr 14, 2024 17:22
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I just saw the egg on far camera left wobble a few times! 
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Apr 14, 2024 18:23
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We've had our first two pips! Rearranged things to move those into the foreground on the stream. Usually once we get one or two to come out, they start jostling the other eggs and they start waking up and things accelerate exponentially, so tonight should be a much more exciting night.
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Apr 14, 2024 21:57
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Egg magic is happening on stream
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Apr 15, 2024 03:04
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Yup, first one popped a few minutes ago! It's one of the gingers.
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Apr 15, 2024 03:16
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They are so tiny!
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Apr 15, 2024 09:49
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Bebbies! And biggest best wishes to Velvet Sparrow for the surgery.
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Apr 15, 2024 11:33
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QUAIL HATCH UPDATE Currently we have TWENTY chicks, all appearing to be perfectly healthy! This is out of 37 eggs purchased from another farm, once again exceeding the "best you can hope for is 50%" guideline. There's one more that is working to get out but is positioned badly and having a tough time with the membrane. We're helping as best we can, but you can only do so much beyond hope. We've started moving them to the brooder as they dry off. Most are just sleeping and eating, but there's one little yellow one we're calling Screamy at the moment because it has been alarm-calling nonstop and sprinting from one end of the brooder to the other. https://i.imgur.com/SSY50Ar.mp4   
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Apr 15, 2024 18:29
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All but 2 chicks are in the brooder. There's one more egg likely to hatch, but we'll give the remainder a while longer to see if we get any movement. Chick 21 hatched earlier. That was the one that was having trouble with the membrane. Little one finally got through it and popped right out....  Given the color and being the 21st hatchling, this one will likely be named Blackjack when they grow up.
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Apr 15, 2024 22:41
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i've been enjoying having the stream open in the background, picture-in-picture style. it's been fun to watch em fluff up and putz around 
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Apr 16, 2024 01:22
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TheDK posted:We did a thing yesterday. More specifically, a tunnel thing. Our hens now have a perimeter tunnel that goes around about 1/2 of our backyard fence. Now we can let them sorta range a little bit without them eating the entire garden and plant beds! Pretty pleased with how it turned out, and the ladies seem to be, too: This looks really great! Depending on your grow zone you might be able to grow kale and collards over the summer. They will do better in a shady spot in the heat of summer than in direct sun. Sweet potatoes grow a ton of foliage and you can train it over the tunnel and sweet potatoes love intense sunshine. If you have room for fruit bushes or dwarf trees in the sunny part you can see what grows well in your area. I have a dwarf Mulberry, wild muscadine grapes, blackberries (very invasive) and blueberries and they love all of those. The Mulberry is everbearing and it’s already producing ripe berries this spring.
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Apr 16, 2024 10:20
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