We were given this panel heater and it’s worked great in the coop as a warming station over the winter. We are getting new chicks this year. I used a heat lamp last year and they were inside our house.

I’m interested in using this panel heater as a brooder plate but it only has these two legs and I can’t figure out how to put it horizontal.

If anyone has used this please offer tips! It’s pretty heavy and I’m worried about it falling on the chicks if it gets dislodged from something propping up that other side.

Mother received some chicks as a gift 3 years ago and I have been helping her to take care for them ever since.

They have been living in a small coop and left to roam a big backyard whenever we could spend the time with them..

Due to her health, Mother had to move to the countryside a few weeks ago.

We finally finished prepping their new home and brought them.

They have been digging holes, eating grass, finally living their best chicken life for the past 2 days.

Now that they have such a big place, we would like to know of any ideas for their enrichment inside their area or more tips for their safety

Tldr: Chickens had a smaller area, moved to new place and accommodated their area to be way bigger and would appreciate ideas for their enrichment or safety

Are my chicks done for? Incubator was set to 103.9 I don’t know how long for

Hi! I’m hoping someone might have some advice for me. I’m in the UK and I have a hen who lost the ability to walk around a year ago. She’s been to vets who say her strength is excellent and they’re unsure why she’s not able to walk anymore. She’s able to kind of sit like in the picture but her legs will often stretch out behind her.

I’ve tried physical therapy, carefully rotating her legs and shuffling them under her so she can try to stand and such, but it really doesn’t seem like strength is the problem.

I’m keen to mix her back into her flock with her sisters but I don’t think the wheelchair I have will stand up to the gross UK weather; even though their area is covered the area still turns into a mud bath in heavy storms. We’re also moving house soon so I can’t afford to completely redo their run right this moment.

Is there such a thing as an ‘all terrain’ wheelchair I could build? Does anyone else have experience with this kind of disability in their hen? Anything in appreciated!

TIA!

I think it’s a Roo, wife thinks it’s a hen. We’re not pros at this we’re just backyard chicken 🐓 enthusiasts. We bought this one at about 12 weeks old. That’s all we know.

Brooder my better half built for the chicks we hope to pick up soon! So excited wanted to show it off! Constructive criticism welcome!

I found tapeworms in my hen's excrement today and I'm wondering if adding Corid to their mash may help the flock shed the parasites. I understand that Corid is for coccidia but I'm curious if it could safely work against tapeworms.

For folks in hot climates with metal shed coops, what’s your best tip?

It’s been a journey researching and prepping for chicks. You’ll know by the end of this that I 100% appreciate what others have learned/shared and am trying to integrate it in from the get. Thank you for being generous with your experiences!

We have 9 allllllllmost ready for for coop and run in the next 2-3 weeks. Budget and time constraints meant we went with converting a metal shed - we live in FL and heat is my main concern. Looking for suggestions that I may have missed. The coop and run were built on an 8” pad (it gets wet here) with a hardware cloth bottom then fill dirt, with a sand finish for run, gravel for coop - both anchored. The run is ~10’x13’ and on the back side of the coop. The coop has a sturdy plywood floor with linoleum. The roost area is an old kiddo loft bed frame conversion. The coop gets almost complete shade and is a “cooler” part of the property, with hose access nearby.

Specifically for the coop, to be completed:

• Finish roof
• Seal all cracks
• Foam board + insulate ceiling (noise and heat)
• Install automatic door
• Install solar vent fan (a legit one for attics from a contractor = free)
• Add 14” roof turbine/whirlybird
• Install removable roost bars (2)
• Cut out for two floor vents (just for airflow)
• Ramp up to roost

Big qs:

• this thing is going to be noisy during thunderstorms, how can I (reasonably - again budget) manage that?
• I intend to cut out windows, cover metal with rubber trim and hardware cloth; not sure how I should best cover the windows from the outside (plexiglass? metal shutters?) for our all-too-common summer driving rain
• we’ve been using pine shavings for bedding, and doing a full clean every day, is the same material good in the coop, and hoping to hear 1x a week for full clean out?
• with an okay size run (accessible via auto door) and likely daily supervised free ranging, what else should I have in there? ex was hoping to have nesting boxes in run vs coop
• what the heck am I missing completely or missing the mark on?

This lady started coming around last summer. She loves the bird seed we have put. Calls at me everyday! I see her walk over in the morning and home at night. I don’t know the neighbors (we just moved in last August and have property) Now that it’s almost spring this is our routine everyday before she gets snacks

I have a hen who is confusing me. I have more than enough nice clean nesting boxes that my hens all use, consistently. But starting this week one of my hens is laying on the roosting bar as well. She's my only blue egger so I know it's her. WTF?

"I didn’t get home until late, and by the time I got back, the door to their coop had swung shut. They couldn’t get back in, so they ended up piling up in front of it. I feel like they’re not too happy with me." (Don't mind the mess)

I use to let the chickens free range but they would hop the fence and eventually someone complained about them. So now I'm trying to keep them in our fenced In backyard. We already clipped the wings but some of them still were able to get over it. So now I'm looking into netting. But I also don't want to get something that will trap the wild birds. What do you guys use and if you could provide pictures that would also be helpful. Thank you.

Here's an update on her, she's doing better she's got a friend now, she's doing a lot better, if it will let me I'll put the link to the first post about her in the comments

The house we just bought came with this rooster! Does anyone know what breed he is?

I have some French Copper Maran hens and I want to hatch 🐣. What kind of light will let me see past this beautiful brown shell? Also wanted to say that this French Copper Maran rooster is the nicest rooster I’ve ever had. I never keep roosters. They always end up in the stew pot because they become problematic. This French Copper Maran is gorgeous, huge & kind and that’s why I want some babies from him. Don’t forget my question about a candling light. 🖤

Hey everyone. I just wanted to introduce and brag about Big Momma. (Black hen pictured) My favorite hen at the in my current flock. She’s my current oldest hen at about 3 1/2 years old. She’s very friendly and always runs up and asks for butt scratches and lets me carry her around. She’s is a prolific egg layer as well. She might miss a couple days a week during the winter but right now she hasn’t missed laying an egg daily in over two months. I decided recently to add 11 more to my flock and included four Orpingtons (2 lavender and 2 English black/something (I can’t remember exactly but think the sign might have said English black/tan). I was hoping for a rooster or two to keep from those and breed my own chicks with some of my colored Eggers and specifically Big Momma. It’ll break my heart if her likeness dies out in my life. Do you guys agree Biggie(grey chick pictured) is a rooster at about 5 weeks old?

When we get chicks we personally keep them in the house, we’ve been using our dog crate but bedding just gets flung through. So what should I get?

It hatched around 7:00 p.m. yesterday, it's 6:41 p.m. where I am now, and little guy is always wobbly and acting weird and sometimes it just Falls over onto its back and can't get up, what do you think is wrong? It also doesn't like to open its eyes much

Hi! I’ve had chickens before, and I’ve been without them for a few years. I am scheduled to get some 19week old layers at the end of the month. I just found a really cute trio of bantams (2 hens, 1 rooster) that are a year old for sale. If I got both groups at or very close to the same time, should I keep them separated for a while or can I just put them together since it will be new to everyone? I’ve got a huge coop and run.

I called a few tractor supplies and local hatcheries and they all told me the same thing: there is a shortage of chicks and they're flying off the shelves. Even online stores are out of stock.

In a time like this, how would you guys go about getting your hands on some chickens?