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If I put small gravel and then sand in my covered coop (in central NC), how long could I expect them to live mud-free? Right now, the coop has hardware cloth sides and a metal roof. Sitting on a bit of a slope next to another coop, so all the rain that runs off one coop roof runs into the...

I have two flocks of chickens, one behind the barn on L side of yard, and 3 chicken tractors on the R side of the yard. For years, I've had one rooster in each flock. They can talk back and forth, but they've understood the imaginary boundary. Now one rooster has decided to try to kill the...

I'm having the hardest time making this decision. I have 4 older hens in a large pen, and I have a group of six 6-month-olds in a too-small pen (5 pullets & young rooster). Option A: cull the 4 older hens (hatch dates 6/21 & 5/20) and give the youngsters the whole pen Option B: put the 10 in...

I heard about this somewhere, but now I'm wondering if it'll be a problem to have a decomposing creature inside a fenced garden. Will plants growing on the upper layer of soil have a problem? I usually rake the surface smooth and then stick seeds in a tiny trench to plant my garden--I don't...

I had 5 6-mo-old BR pullets living in a mobile tractor. They were fine when I closed the pen at night. In the morning, one was on the ground by the edge of the coop with part of her headless neck poking out from under the pen. The other 4 were fine. It was chilly for here in NC-about 24* in...

We have a mouse issue. I know our coops are full of mice and I half-heartedly try to reduce that population there sometimes. However today's problem is in our garage where I store my cured garden produce. We've removed all the grass seed, the original attractant. Tried live trap boxes with...

3-month old, Barred Rock mix with Cochin & idk what else. I think it's a boy--I think I see saddle feathers. Coming here to confirm.

Our weather here is 70s for high and 50s for low this week. The only pen I have with a heat lamp option is occupied by 8 adult birds. I could put them in a wire pen inside this coop so they'd be protected from the others, but these chicks are getting big. The longer I wait with them in the...

I harvested a pesky rabbit last night, butchered it, and offered the meat to my chickens and dogs. I left the neck-to-tail carcass in the chicken pen last night in case they could learn to eat the meat, etc. I just went in the coop now and there's no carcass left. I only found the legs/feet. In...

There's no sign of anyone being broody. No sign of eating their eggs. Just suddenly no eggs. Wondering about snakes or mice taking their eggs.... I know there are mice around. Has this happened to you?

My broody mama, a buff orp, is raising her 6 chicks currently & they're getting big at 6 weeks old. I want one of my hens to raise more chicks before fall. What are the odds of this mama taking new chicks when her big ones are 6wks? OR would I have better luck giving babies to a hen who has...

My favorite rooster is 7 or 8 years old. I gave my last broody eggs from both of my rooster flocks (1 rooster per 7-9 hens) and only 2 eggs of the 11 were fertile. Is it safe to surmise that the older rooster is not fertile now? Or is it just chance that 2yo rooster and old rooster didn't get...

She's a small Rhode Island Red hen, about 2 yrs old, and she's had a bald spot on the front of her neck for a while but now it's the length of her neck. Her sister looks similar; the rest of the hens in the flock are fine. Ideas?

This 4-month-old mix is a bully to the other three teenagers in the pen. He (?) won't let them down to the ground so the others roost all day. Ugh. If he's a rooster, I'd like to know because I cannot house any more males. Thoughts? Additional comment: I hatched the 4 of them together here.

One 4yo hen of mine keeps having trouble. She's the one who mounts the other hens in her pen, so the rooster has been picking on her. She ended up with a wound on her wing so I put her in her own pen for safety. Now she roosts all day, is molting, her beak is too long, and her toenails are too...

I'm striking out on craigslist. How do I locate those who are selling steers?

I have sold all my pigeons, and the buyer is arriving at 7:30 in the morning. I have two heavy-weight cardboard boxes that I plan to cut vent Xs in. My main question: If I catch them at night when they're calmer and box them 10 to a large box (3'x2.5'x 1'), will they be OK until 7:30 am pick up...

Would this be foolish? This flock has a rooster and 12 other hens, and I let them out every afternoon. Would I need to stay nearby and see if another bird attacks the chicks? Or let them do their natural thing?

This mama hatched 4 healthy chicks yesterday. She has 4 more eggs under her. She left the top level of the coop which had food, water, soaked food, nest with eggs and her chicks, and went down to the grass. I can't figure why she is staying down there. I can't quite reach her with my hand to see...

We raise steers and this is the first year that one guy routinely stands in the trough. Amusing for a moment and now it's annoying. I can't offer cleanish water if he's always putting his muddy feet in there. 1. Anyone know why he does this? beyond just cooling off? 2. Any way to prevent this...