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Excellent advice. I let giant kale grow wild near my run and coops. It provides shade, greens, and bugs. Right now the kale that overwintered is buzzing with bees and providing shelter for nests of the little finches too. Win-win for all of us.

I made the mistake of making our enclosed run out of 4”x2” galvanized welded wire. It worked fine for a few years until rats discovered the run. We have now had to completely enclose the welded wire with 1/2” hardware cloth because the 2” openings are big enough for rats to squeeze through, also...

Excellent information. New chicken keepers may assume a hen is egg bound when that isn’t always the case. One other note, I have found keeping a 5-gallon bucket for their spa baths is handy. Just the right size to stuff a normal sized hen in the water and keep their behind in the warm water. I...

Excellent article with great photographs of variations on eggs. Wish I seen this a few years ago. Over my time of raising chickens I think I’ve seen most of these. Very informative.

Almost 6 years ago my stepdaughter got tired of being an urban farmer and rehomed her flock of 4. None of those original girls remain but I now have a flock of 9 varying ages. I got chicks at the beginning of pandemic and added some when my girls went broody. Chicken math!

I don’t have guineas but my next door neighbor raises them along with their chicken flock and they don’t seem to have a problem. They’re reasoning was the guineas would serve as protection for the chickens and deter predators. I can attest to the fact that they are LOUD so you might want to...

I have a white rock who didn’t go broody until she was 2 years old. Is it worth giving them a bit more time to mature?

Agree with Rosemarythyme above. Let the littles get bigger and closer in size before combining. They’re just too small and vulnerable at that age and they can’t compete with the bigger ones for food.

Oh, another bonus of the enclosed run, is I no longer have the awful job of needing to clip a wing to keep them from flying away. They know where home and safety are!

My hens used to free range in our large backyard which is fenced. After neighborhood cat attacks plus hunting grounds for raccoons, we decided to build a large enclosed run with two smaller coops, one at each end. One is their bedroom with space for all, the other is a smaller coop which works...

Some breeds have huge floppy combs with long wattles like the Leghorn while others have tiny combs resembling a little rosebud like Americaunas. Size of comb and type of comb totally depends upon what breed of chicken they are.

I wonder if you used a different brand or type. I removed mine and neither hen had any damage.

We have what we thought was a secure run with an apron and wire roof with polycarbonate panels to deflect the rain. For the first time in years I now have a rat problem and you’re right. The rats dig outside my perimeter apron and are coming up inside the run and coop. We are getting ready to...

Mrs K, totally agree. Peace in the flock is essential!

My chickens are my pets and they get the best care I can give them and high quality feed. I would echo what someone else said earlier, breeding is hugely important. I bought 10 in an assortment from Hoover Hatchery through Tractor Supply. Never again. I’ve lost my Orpington, my White Rock, and...

I would separate the bully to see if that changes her attitude. I had two meanies that just wouldn’t stop. I’m one of those people who swore I would never use Pinless Peepers, but I finally did. It was down to having to rehome or cull the bullies who were both excellent layers. Pinless Peepers...

I have a pair of Olive Eggers from Murray McMurray Hatchery. Apparently they are a cross between the Cream Legbar and the Welsummer. Both my girls truly lay olive green eggs but they look nothing like my other Easter Egger or my Americauna who does have the tufts and beard. When my day old Olive...

So glad to hear she’s okay! Keep watch on her though. My girl who got hit by fowl pox was blind in one eye, then both, then it cleared up with meds. Now I’m pretty sure she’s blind to stay now. Makes me wonder about the damage done to her eyes with the original problem.

Another thing I’ve done for my blind girl, is teach her to listen for me to tap on the dish. Her food is in a ceramic bowl and when I change her feed and water I tap a few times on the dish to let her know it’s ready. Needless to say everything stays in the exact same position in her coop. She’s...

There’s another thread current about dealing with a blind chicken. You can read my responses there since I’m dealing with that situation.