Recent content by jspeese

I'd like to check it out in or right after a rain storm (for potential leaks) before I committed myself to buying it. You yourself raise a very good point....disinfection. I would like to know what was raised in it beforehand, when (how long ago) and if there were ever any problems. After...

I know it's illegal for the PO to handover someone else's mail to another person (I've seen Miracle on 34th Street several times!) and that any PO employee who did so would potentially be in a lot of trouble, but I agree that in this particular case it sucks. I don't know how much authority or...

Our feed store got fall chicks and I now have 6 blue-laced red Wyandottes and 2 Olive Eggers (going on 3 weeks old). I hadn't originally intended to get more, but I lost almost half of the Sapphire Gems that I ordered this past spring within 24 hours because of the bad treatment they received in...

I don't blame you one bit. I did the same thing when a neighbor's (not a near one even, lived a mile away) dog killed my quail. And a few years ago when some dogs tore into the wood and turkey wire fence around our pasture and killed a bunch of chickens. Aggressive dogs are varmints just like...

This past Friday I got 6 blue-laced red Wyandotte pullet chicks from our local feed store to go with my 6 point-of-lay Sapphire Gems. I had ordered 10 Sapphire Gems, but the post office beat them up so bad that only 6 made it. The 6 that made it are beautiful, but all in all it wasn't one of my...

I'd go with everyone else's advice and build a completely new one. I've heard more cons than pros about prefab coops. Most of the ones I've seen at places like Tractor Supply look pretty cheesy, probably made in communist China (and I don't want anything from communist China if I can help it...

While I don't exactly use a poop hammock, I think any way of collecting nighttime poop under the roosting area so that it can be easily removed is good. I feel that sanitation is the best way to prevent vermin infestations and disease. It's been my experience that very few vets are able to...

My coop is 8 x 8 with an attached 320 sq ft run with a top. At the moment I have 14 hens. I built a droppings pit-type roost, which works quite well and is easy to clean out through a trap door on the outside. I rigged a tarp over the nesting boxes that I can simply lower at night to keep hens...

My coop is 8 x 8 with an attached 320 sq ft run with a top. At the moment I have 14 hens. I built a droppings pit-type roost, which works quite well and is easy to clean out through a trap door on the outside. I rigged a tarp over the nesting boxes that I can simply lower at night to keep hens...

A lot of good tips. But not all of them are practical for everyone everywhere. I too used to get some feed from a local mill, but where we live now there isn't one. Bulk isn't practical for me either because I don't know any other poultry keepers nearby and I wouldn't be able to use it fast...

I guess there is some confusion as to which is a Blue Plymouth Rock and which is a Sapphire Gem. I think sometimes the terms are used interchangeably, although not necessarily accurately. It is my understanding that the Sapphire Gem is a sex-link hybrid created by crossing an Andalusian (not...

As a rule I prefer breeds to sex-link hybrids for the very same reasons shared by many of you all, namely intense egg production for 2 years followed by burn-out, but this year I broke my own rule and got some Sapphire Gems because I think they are so pretty (and they are!). They are just...

I've done it before too and as long as they are all very close in age, it isn't usually a problem. In fact I debated about doing it this year after only 6 of my 10 Sapphire Gems from Jenk's survived after being manhandled by the post office (one DOA and the rest dying within 24 hrs). Our local...

I'm with you on that. I get a lot of supplies from Tractor Supply but have heard too many negative stories about buying anything live from them. Plus as we've discussed already, I've seen too many batches of chicks that just didn't look healthy. And the fact that ducklings have had health issues...

Good read, thanks. The only thing I'd question is about marking eggs under a broody hen with a pencil to distinguish them from other eggs laid later in the nest. I've heard of doing this before. But in my experience, it has never worked. When other hens use the same nest, eggs often get pushed...