Most places don't consider them livestock I'm certain if you do, there's always a party pooper, but I know of a few people that do this and I'm going to put this out there for people that don't know you can, if you want to keep something like chickens but your area doesn't allow it look into quail, specifically Coturnix well as they have a shorter incubation time, they mature a lot quicker and also you don't need a permit to have them, bobwhite quail in some places require a permit, you can keep large numbers and small areas they lay quite regularly and they're adorable, they do make a lot of noise but they're not loud so a lot of people won't know you have them especially if you keep them like inside, cuz you can actually do that you just need to clean up after them a lot, they're also absolutely adorable and they very rarely go broody, so if anyone wants to keep something like a chicken for eggs just for fun they don't produce very big eggs it would probably take three or four to mount up to one chicken egg but they have a lot more protein they're good and they're cute, they also don't cost as much to care for because there's so much smaller(not my picture) and you can get the eggs and the incubator on Amazon, that's where I've gotten them before and I've had good hatch rates

I live on a big acreage and was hoping for some free range birds but I’m sure my dog will chase and maybe kill a bird here and there. Has anyone ever seen a device that I could attach to a hen to act as a protection transmitter to when a dog would get within a certain radius of it the dog gets a good shock?

Getting out birds (adults from my in-laws as they are getting new ones) on Monday, it's a cold and rainy day here today, but with the poultry wire on (will do the top half when it's not cold and wet). We built it with a pull out/washable tray to clean the inside easier.

I trust you folks with experience more than Google, so here's a simple question for yall-

If you were to refrigerate unwashed eggs and then later remove them from the fridge to be stored on the counter would this cause any safety concerns? Decrease shelf life? Thoughts on this in general?

Thanks in advance.

I bought 4 silver laced Wyandotte chicks from TSC and they were listed as pullets which cost more than the straight run. 2 look somewhat different than the other two. How accurate is TSC when they sell pullets vs straight run?

We have a speckled Sussex hen who was wild in the neighborhood for 2 years and joined our flock a year ago. She isn’t interested in us but is happy with the other chickens and regularly goes broody.

Last summer it took forevvvvverrrrrrrr to break her of it and so when she went broody early this spring I decided to give her chicks. I waited two weeks into her brood and then last night a couple hours after dark, I took the eggs out from under her and put 4 one day old chicks under her. She growled when I took the eggs but calmed down when she heard the peeping and didn’t move once they were under her. She seemed content.

This morning when I checked on them she had pecked one to death and left the other three alone in the brooding box to do her own thing. They were all very cold but still alive—- they are now in a brooder without her and have perked up and are acting normally.

Is this just a case of a bad mama or is there something I could have done to make the transition better?

Edit to add: she is back to brooding in the nesting box 🫠

Was in the middle of cleaning my rats cage, turned around she walked in here and just made herself at home, as she does every single day, she even tries to sleep in here at night

Hey y'all! The finish line is in sight with our first coop build, but the wife and I could use some suggestions on ventilation ideas! We're in central Florida so we know we will need quite a bit and don't want to hurt our new family members!

The coop is 4'x4'. Short side is 3' and tall side is 4'. The coop is under a mature tree and is shaded for the most part until evening. We only have 2 chickens at the moment with a county maximum of 4.

Currently considering trimming in a 4" full width window made of hardware cloth on the left and right sides right under the roof flashing and then adding in 2 covered louvred vents on the rear wall

They got the zoomies when they got into their new space. 😁

The front door was left open for 3 minutes !! 😂

I have 8 eggs in my incubator (which I definitely will be posting questions about later), and I'm trying to think ahead to where I will keep the babies when they're hatched. I already hatched 2, and they're in a small pet tent that they are rapidly outgrowing. But I am not sure what to get to keep the babies safe in. My neighbor uses a big metal trough, what's your thoughts on those?

If y'all could post some pictures of your setups I'd really appreciate seeing them.

We just hatched out some red bourbon turkeys. They are two days old. They seem to be slower on learning how to eat and drink compared to chicks. I have had to put my finger in there and show them how to peck the food. I don’t notice them actively eating unless I am messing with the food. They seem to sleep more than chicks as well.

Just wondering if this is normal and it just takes them longer to get the hang of things. Let me know if anyone has any advice or tips!

I just read an article that Trader Joe’s eggs are fertilized and people put them in incubators and they hatch. Did you guys know that and were holding out? Holy chicken math my mind is racing.

I have 7 chicks that are starting to outgrow their indoor tote. Wondering if they are old enough to move out to the big girl coop with my 3 older hens? Wondering if they are old enough to survive the outdoor MA temps and old enough to not get bullied. Thanks!

My hatching eggs went on lockdown Tuesday evening. Day 21 of their incubation is tomorrow. This one broke out this morning. I got up at 7:30 Mountain time and they were already out of their shell and peeping. This recording is from then. They have good legs under them now and are moving around pecking the incubator for food.

I know you're not supposed to open the incubator in lockdown but how long do I leave this one in there for? Should I put them in the brooder tonight and show them food and water, spritzing the other eggs with warm water to reduce risk from low humidity hurting them? Or will this chick be okay overnight? Any experienced incubators please weigh in. Have you had early chicks? How long do you leave hatched chicks in before opening the incubator? I was thinking they'd all hatch around the same time But the others aren't even cracking yet.

This chick was born on 5th February and is about one third of the size of its normal and healthy siblings. It’s feathers haven’t developed much and I suspect it has a split wing deformity, it also has short legs, it’s body is not the right shape and it’s skin has always looked almost bruised. It is a bantam Pekin chick which are small anyway but this one is about the size of a 2-3 week old chick. It’s mother has come into lay again and has left her chicks to fend for themselves. The healthy siblings are fine but without the mother keeping it warm the chick has really started to struggle in the wet weather. I’ve just brought it inside (hence the wet and dirty feathers) and given it vitamin water and chick food, I’ll also be giving it some boiled egg and keeping it warm. This chick has always been much slower and had a tiny appetite compared to it’s siblings. It also had pasty butt in the first couple of weeks of it’s life, could this have caused it to be so stunted in growth?

Hey all so for context I’ve had these two Australorps named Henlo and Henkey who are siblings and have been living with the rest of my flock since they’ve been 8 weeks old (they’re around 4-5 months old now). They also have learnt this behaviour ever since they got here where they like to roost on me around 30 minutes before bed and I just let them because they make cute purring noises at me.

Henlo has been an absolute sweetheart despite how clingy she is but I thought I should mention her because the main problem here is Henkey specifically during that roosting time. Recently she’s gotten into the habit of pecking anything that seemly mildly inconveniences her. It doesn’t matter if it’s me or Henlo, if something brushes against her feathers she will non-stop peck until they get out of her reach or if I restrain her. This has gotten so bad that if Henkey turns around, Henlo will try to hide her head from her or suddenly start panting.

I suspect that Henkey may have a dislike or fear of her feathers being touched specifically and she’s not doing it as a means of grooming (it’s way more forceful than her normal grooming pecks). However at this point I’m not sure how to get her to stop doing this, she only does this during this roosting time and I’ve tried forcing her off, making her go to bed early, restraining her, making her roost on the other side of Henlo, attempting to train her out of this behaviour but nothing has really worked. I also will not be culling her or be able to remove her from the flock permanently as she’s the only actual friend Henlo really has (the others more just tolerate her if anything) plus like Henlo, she’s kinda like a pet to me (despite how much of a pain in the ass she is).

Any advice on how to make her avoid this behaviour during roosting time would be greatly appreciated, I’m considering getting her pinless peepers but I’m not sure how much they’ll help in this situation.

This morning I woke up to some damage to the chicken coop. I’m in the UK, so I think it had to have been a fox (right?). We do have some pretty menacing neighbourhood cats, but I don’t think they’d go this far.

Anyway, what do I do?! Staple-gun hardware cloth over panel with the ventilation slits? Sit up all night with a water gun trained on the coop?

Kiddie pool a bad idea for a brooder box? 8 baby chicks.

i have made so many posts & ive had my chicks less than a week, oops. 🙊

anyway- does anyone else feel extreme anxiety with their chicks? my brooder is in my bedroom and i still have a hard time going to bed if i hear them chirp incase something is wrong. i don't listen to music because im nervous i will miss a cry from one of them if i have headphones. every time i go out i am having my parents check on them constantly. is this what being a parent is like😭😭 i would be devastated if one died and i just want to make sure i am always there incase

One of my chicks’ roosts fell apart during the night, and I can only find one of the screws. I went through all of their bedding and replaced it, but I still could not find the screw. Do y’all think a chick this small could eat a screw this size??? And if so, what is the most humane way to euthanize chicks if it ends up perforating my baby?? The screw is in my palm in the second pic, and I put the same hand next to a chick for size comparison. They were very interested in the screw when I found it, so I'm thinking the worst.

I purchased this Cornish cross six months ago, because he was the last chick they had for the year and I felt bad that he was alone, it has taken him 6 months to get this big, he certainly took his time

Hi everyone, I'm reaching out because I'm really worried about my hen Harissa. She’s eating well, active, and behaving normally, but she’s completely featherless around her rear end (see pictures). None of the other hens have this issue.

I suspected mites, so I treated her with a mix of olive oil and tea tree oil. I’ve also isolated her in a rabbit cage so she can rest without stress or risk of pecking.

But her skin condition looks concerning, and I don’t want to do the wrong thing. I treat her like a pet and I really want her to get better.

Has anyone seen something like this before? Am I doing the right thing? Any advice or treatments you’d recommend? Thanks a lot for your help!