The Buckeye chicks are 21 weeks old now; and are starting to look like real chickens. We ordered 25 day-old chicks, received 30, lost two within the first three days; and the remaining 28 prospered. I wrote about how we intended to raise them when they first arrived (see Raising Day-Old Chicks); but we learned a few things along the way. Temperature For the first five weeks, the chicks were under a red, infrared lamp continuously to keep them warm. But, because fall temperatures ... continue reading...
Feather Picking Chickens
After successfully raising the six Red Comet chicks to laying age and twenty eight Buckeye chicks through the first twelve weeks this year, we thought it was going to be smooth sailing. But no, things never go quite as planned….. As the Buckeye’s were moving into week 13, they abruptly started picking the feathers off of each other’s back and eating them. Within two days, some of them were beginning to show bare backs where all the feathers had been picked away. Naturally, we were anxious ... continue reading...
Farm Fencing
Before we could get goats, we had to fence some pasture area; but in addition to keeping the goats in, we wanted a fenced area for the chickens, the predators needed to be kept out, and the garden needed fencing to keep out deer (the garden was being completely devastated!). Since fencing is a long term investment, it pays to do some homework and make sure it’s done right the first time. So,we had several fencing companies review the work, make suggestions, and submit bids. In the end, we went ... continue reading...
Vaccinating Chickens Against Infectious Bronchitis/Newcastle Disease
In addition to practicing Biosecurity to protect chickens from disease, vaccination is an effective way to prevent or reduce specific diseases in poultry. Since we’ve had issues with Infectious Bronchitis (IB) in the past and it’s extremely contagious for poultry, we decided to vaccinate our chickens against it. Although we plan to maintain a small-closed flock thereby minimizing possible exposure, IB can “jump” relatively large distances, so we decided to vaccinate anyway. Anyone who ... continue reading...
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Deep Litter & Healthy Chickens?
Ok, this post may be a bit “deep” (sorry for the pun), but I’ve been researching chicken litter management. For the past couple of years, our chickens were either housed in an Eglu (with a pull-out shelf for dropping removal), or in a barn stall, where we could shovel dirt and bedding in and out as necessary for sanitary control. However, now that we’ve got the new coop (see New Coop), I’ve been investigating the “deep litter” management method. What Is It? The “deep litter” technique ... continue reading...