Wattles are about the same size as my other chicks but definitely a bit too pink for my liking.
I guess I could have a rooster. Someone comfort me by telling me how beautiful and good-natured Wyandotte roosters are please lol
I drove way out of my way to get these two chicks because I wanted to add a pair of marans to my flock. I’m pretty sure the first is a blue copper maran as advertised but the one that’s supposed to be a cuckoo maran has a crest, so I’m thinking she’s something else! What do you think?
They are 4 and 5 weeks old. The coop is on the small side (72 sq ft) but the tractor they go out in every day is 120 sq ft. We can add some clutter though there isn't much there now. I can add some photos later today.
I lost most of my flock in a bear attack last winter. I’m down to two hens. I rebuilt my coop and added an enclosed henhouse and hot wire to keep the bears out. This spring we got 10 chicks. I set up their brooder in a converted rabbit hutch and put it in the henhouse, so my two hens have seen...
I know this question has been asked before in various ways, but I couldn't find anything specific to my situation, so I apologize if I'm asking a redundant question. I have 8 chicks that are a little less than 5 weeks old, and two chicks that are a little less than 4 weeks old. The two younger...
Thank you, her vent looks pretty normal. Up until this morning all the poop in the cage looked pretty normal, too. I gave her some Nutri-Drench last night and put it in their water. This morning there was a poop in their cage that was pretty loose and sort of an orangish brown. Not completely...
Thank you, the heating pad is on and warm, but maybe not warm enough? I've felt it and I guess I'm not sure just how warm it's supposed to be. The other chick seems fine with the temperature in their cage, and it's also generally pretty warm in that room.
Thank you, I'm going to pick some of that up today. Yes, she does look like that pretty much all the time, but she also has a full crop, so I don't get it. I didn't think a sick chick would still have a hearty appetite. Hopefully the Nutri-Drench will sort her out.
We got eight chicks just over two weeks ago. A week after that, we got a pair of maran chicks. One is a cuckoo maran and the other is a blue copper maran. They are much smaller than the other chicks so we're keeping them indoors for a couple of weeks until they catch up to the rowdy and spazzy...
Given that we've had exactly one in four years, I was thinking giving them new things to draw them in might not be a great idea ... maybe if we had a perimeter fence but I'm attaching this one to the coop itself.
Good to know, I'm going shed shopping!
One more question for the group in general ... do you think a prefab shed would work? I don't know if I trust the metal ones, but maybe a resin or wood one?
I thought about that, too ... I don't really have an enclosed coop for them and wasn't sure if attaching a shed would be a good idea or not. I originally did not add one because we have very hot summers and I wasn't sure keeping them shut in a shed in August would be a great idea. But this...
I lost plenty of chickens to foxes and coyotes (during the day!) when I free-ranged, so I'm not sure having them loose at night is a great idea, either. There probably wouldn't be any massacres, but I'd probably lose a lot more of them in the long run.
Okay in my head the bear was a lot bigger than this, I guess that's what dramatic experiences do to your brain, lol. It really doesn't look that huge in this picture anymore (I've actually avoided looking at it since this all happened). Anyway, there it is with my doomed chickens clearly visible...
I think I'll add a floodlight to my coop. The bear almost certainly came from the opposite side where my neighbor's house is, so I bet I could rig a light so it won't bother the neighbors. Thanks again!