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You can sprout grains and they won't take any space away from your run.

I do not raise my sprouts to the fodder state. Simply keep them close to the kitchen sink, and rinse them several times/day. They are best to be fed out before the blade of "grass" emerges. I feed mine when the sprout part is ideally less than an inch long. The day before I feed them, I set...

Winter rye? Looked into sprouts or fodder?

I don't know why it wouldn't. Pretty pricey though, if you don't already have an old one kicking around. I think I'd put the hole in the middle, so the birds could use each end for nesting. (Go in the door, and turn left or right) You might also need to weight it down b/c when they stand on...

My first group of Doms were very friendly. They would always be between my feet if I was out in the yard. They LOVED a facial massage. When ever I was in the coop, one would jump up on the perch, and lean into me for a facial massage. I'm finding that one of my PBR pullets is equally...

Quoting Leah's Mom: I want to try Dominiques as one of my breeds. I've met some and they were a vary enjoyable personality. I have wanted a broody breed. That has made me want to try a couple of Buff Orpingtons. They would also be dual as they are large enough. I mostly want them...

Most likely.

Yes, it would work for you to raise up your first generation of pullets, then add a hatched cockrel. The cockrel would have to work his way up through the ranks to earn breeding rights. It won't be pretty. Chicken dating is never pretty, but it would be much more desirable than the roo drama...

I'm glad you're taking the time to think this through, and developing your plan BEFORE you get your birds! Roosters can add a new dimension to flock keeping, but they also require some extra considerations: If you start with chicks, and there is a cockrel in the mix, he is more likely to be...

There are so many variables related to hatch, including incubator reliability, ability of the poultry owner to assess air cell size, and adjust humidity to compensate, even time of year when eggs are collected plays into the grand scheme of things. It would be hard for the small flock owner to...

Just curious, how often do you hatch, and have you done any comparison between your hatch rate with washed eggs and unwashed eggs? My hatch rate often runs at 95%, after elimination of infertile eggs. I do not ever wash my hatching eggs. I believe the industry standard hatch rate is 80%. And...

This is done with commercial incubation, but not typically done with home incubation. I would not bother to do so. But, it might be interesting to see a side by side study comparing results.

If I left any time someone disagreed with me... I'd have left the first week! As many breeds of chickens as there are... there are (I'm guessing) twice as many opinions about how best to take care of them. Your input sparks conversation, Papyrus, and that's what keeps these threads alive!

I agree with you Old Hen. I won't even buy organic food for myself, unless I happen to be at the health food store, or stop at a small road side stand. I am focused on growing as much of my family's food as possible, and after that, I simply buy what's on sale. My chickens get the cheapest...

Remember days of old when they used to throw confetti at weddings? Then, they switched to rice as it would be a dual purpose, bio-degradeable, bird feed style of confetti. Since then, I think that some folks throw bird seed.

Old wive's tale. Raw rice is no more dangerous than any other uncooked grain. We've all heard the warning: don't feed rice to birds or don't throw rice at weddings because birds will eat it. Fact is, rice cooked or uncooked won't hurt wild birds at all. The rumor is that uncooked rice hits...

Howdy.

Um... that would be a NO! Emphatically, NO! I had a client once who was fixated on his bowels. He would wax poetic about his last BM, or lament the one he had not yet had today. He was a crusty old codger, and always had a story to tell. One day, he told me that if he wasn't able to achieve...

I'm guessing there are lots of natural minerals in that water.

I agree with PP that if you put anything in your water (ACV, herbs) it's important to offer plain water as well... unless they have a mud puddle that they can drink from, which they seem to prefer anyways!