c/backyard-chicken-keepers

15

camerona79•13h ago

Found out my chickens can recognize over 100 different faces

I was reading some random poultry science blog last night while waiting for my eggs to boil, and I stumbled on a study that said chickens can identify up to 100 human faces. I always thought my girls just screamed at anyone who walked by, but apparently they remember who feeds them and who doesn't. My neighbor Bob came over to borrow a rake yesterday and my hen Gertrude actually followed him around clucking softly. Has anyone else noticed their flock acting differently around certain people?

17

the_sage•16h ago

Built my nesting boxes facing the wrong way for 2 years

I set up my first coop back in 2020 and put the nesting boxes on the north side because I thought it looked better with the run. For two years I kept wondering why my hens would lay eggs in random corners of the coop instead of the boxes. Last spring I borrowed a book from the library about chicken behavior and it hit me. Nesting boxes need to face east or south so they get morning sun and stay warm. I moved them last August and now my girls actually use them. I lost maybe 200 eggs over those two years because they were hiding them under the roost. Anyone else run into a dumb coop design mistake that took forever to fix?

4

ryanprice•3d ago

What's the deal with heat lamps vs. brooder plates for chicks?

My neighbor who's had chickens for 20 years swore by heat lamps and said plates are a waste of money, so I used a lamp for my first batch of 6 chicks last spring. Then one night the bulb burned out at 2 AM and I woke up to half the chicks huddled and stressed, barely alive. So now I'm wondering, am I the only one who thinks plates are actually safer even if they cost more upfront, or is the lamp still the way to go for most people?

28

taylor.mary•4d ago

Why I stopped buying straw bales for my coop bedding

I used to buy those big straw bales every month for $15 each. They seemed like the standard choice everyone recommended. But last summer I switched to pine shavings after my birds kept getting respiratory issues. The straw held too much moisture and got moldy fast. Now I spend $12 on a big bag of shavings that lasts 6 weeks easy. Bonus tip - add a sprinkle of food grade DE powder to keep mites away. Anyone else find straw more trouble than it's worth?

9

maxm63•6d ago

The whole "don't feed chickens scraps" thing is way overblown in my opinion

I've been keeping chickens for about 4 years now here in Austin. Last spring I had a neighbor tell me I was gonna kill my birds because I threw them some leftover pasta salad. But I've always given them kitchen leftovers (within reason, you know) and they're fine. Healthiest they've ever been actually. My vet even said a little variety is good for them as long as you avoid the bad stuff like avocado pits and raw beans. So where did this idea come from that chickens can only eat layer feed? Anyone else get lectured about this and just ignore it?

8

the_olivia•6d ago

Am I the only one who thinks chicken runs don't need to be giant?

I see everyone online building these massive 20x30 runs with fancy roofs and all that. Meanwhile I keep 6 hens in a 6x8 run in my backyard in Austin and they do fine. Last month it rained for 4 days straight and my run got muddy but I just tossed down a bag of pine shavings. Took me 10 minutes and the mud was gone. People act like chickens need acres of space but my girls free range for 2 hours a day anyway. The run is just for sleeping and laying. Has anyone else scaled down their run and found it works better?

17

webb.jordan•6d ago

Pro tip: letting your hens free-range for 30 minutes before dark saved my eggs

I kept finding broken shells in the nesting boxes for weeks. Turns out my girls were pecking at each other's eggs out of boredom. I started letting them out for that last half hour before sunset to scratch around, and it stopped almost completely. Now I get 6 full eggs daily instead of 4 good ones and 2 smashed ones. Has anyone else had luck with a simple timing change like this?

11

christopherwilliams•7d ago

Why nobody talks about how fast a raccoon can wipe out your flock

I used to just close up my coop whenever, thought a basic latch was fine. Then last Tuesday I woke up to 3 dead hens and 2 missing. That raccoon popped my little hook latch in about 10 seconds flat. Now I use a carabiner with a spring clip on every door, plus I added a brick on top of the pop door. Has anyone else had to totally rebuild their coop security after a loss?

9

karenw23•22d ago

The old timer at the feed store changed how I treat my flock

I was buying oyster shell at Tractor Supply last Friday and this guy in his 70s saw me grab a bag and said 'you know they need grit too, right?' I told him I already give them both but he pulled out his phone and showed me a photo of his 12 year old hen named Dottie. How long have some of you kept a single hen alive that still laid eggs?

23

robinc66•23d ago

Question about those fancy automatic chicken coop doors

Honestly, I wasted $80 on a solar-powered automatic door last spring that stopped working after two weeks of rain. The motor just gave out and my girls were stuck inside until I noticed. Anyone else had better luck with a specific brand or should I just stick to manual?

16

evannelson•23d ago

PSA: My neighbor's free-range flock gave me a reality check on biosecurity

I was bragging about my 6 hens having the whole backyard to roam, and my neighbor Mike (he keeps 30 birds) just shook his head. He told me about losing 4 to avian pox last summer because wild birds were sharing their feed. Now I'm looking at my open feeder and thinking about that $25 roll of hardware cloth sitting in my garage - maybe I should actually use it.

7

nathan851•25d ago

Mite treatment I was dead wrong about

I thought diatomaceous earth was the gold standard for mites until I pulled a bird out last month and saw them crawling all over her vent even after two weeks of dusting. A buddy convinced me to try Elector PSP and it knocked them out in one spray, wish I switched sooner. Anyone else have a product they were skeptical of but turned out way better than the "common sense" fix?

3

maxm63•29d ago

My deep litter method experiment vs bare floor cleaning

I kept my chickens in a basic coop with just pine shavings for 2 years and was constantly scrubbing poop off the floor boards. Finally switched to the deep litter method last fall and it is not even close. The bedding breaks down and basically composts in place, no smell, and I only have to muck out the whole thing twice a year. The difference is the carbon to nitrogen ratio working right. With bare floors I was fighting ammonia buildup every 3 weeks and it cost me in time and stress. My birds are healthier too, no more respiratory issues. Anyone else find deep litter actually works better or do you still scrape down to bare wood?

2

christopherwilliams•1mo ago

Found out my Wyandotte's eggs get darker as the season goes on, never knew that until I looked back at my egg cartons from March

I was reading through a 2019 thread on backyardchickens.com and someone posted their egg color chart going from light tan in spring to almost chocolate brown by November, checked my own records and sure enough same pattern, has anyone else noticed this with their darker breed hens?

17

karenw23•1mo ago

Finally figured out I was overfeeding my hens

I kept wondering why my girls were wasting so much feed and leaving half of it on the ground. Then my neighbor mentioned chickens only eat what they need, and I realized I was filling the feeder way too high so they'd scratch it out. Has anyone else had that moment where you just dump less in the feeder and suddenly everything works better?

9

juliaa25•1mo ago

Saw a fox at 10am last Tuesday and it changed my whole free-range routine

I let my girls out around 8 every morning and never had trouble. But last Tuesday I was refilling the feeder around 10am and spotted a fox just standing at the edge of the yard, staring at the coop. Bold as anything in broad daylight. I always thought they only hunted at dawn or dusk. Now I'm keeping them penned until noon at least. Has anyone else had predators show up at odd times like that?

13

umaprice•1mo ago

My new automatic coop door got stuck open last night and I lost a hen to a raccoon

I bought this fancy auto door from Amazon about 3 months ago and it worked fine until last Tuesday. I came out to feed them at 6am and the door was still wide open, just hanging there. Found one of my Buff Orpingtons dead by the fence with claw marks on her. Turns out the battery connector was loose from all the humidity we've been having here in Florida. I'm going back to a manual latch for now, has anyone else had these auto doors fail on them?

16

ivanlewis•1mo ago

Rant: I thought fermented feed was a total myth

I spent 6 months ignoring all the posts about fermenting chicken feed in the Auburn Backyard Chickens group. Then my rooster got a weird crop issue and a buddy threw me a bucket of his fermented stuff to try. Two weeks later the flock is pecking at it like crazy and I'm kicking myself for being stubborn about that sour smell.

27

phoenixh74•1mo ago

Raccoon got into my coop last night, here is what I did wrong

I was up at 3am hearing a racket out back. Found a raccoon had pried open the latch on my run door in north Texas. I lost two hens before I got out there with a flashlight. My mistake was using a simple hook and eye latch, raccoons can open those easy. Swapped them out for carabiner clips with a spring lock the next morning. Anyone else have trouble with predators figuring out your coop locks?

12

matthew_wilson46•1mo ago

Serious question, why did nobody tell me I was cleaning nesting boxes wrong?

I've been keeping chickens for about 4 years now and just last week I realized I've been scrubbing my nesting boxes with bleach water every month. A lady from the local feed store in Boise saw me doing it and nearly had a heart attack. She explained bleach fumes can actually hurt the chickens' lungs and mess with their breathing over time. She told me to just use vinegar and water instead. Has anyone else been doing this wrong or am I the only one who missed this basic tip?

6

wade767•1mo ago

I was skeptical of automatic chicken coop doors until I forgot to close mine one night

Last Tuesday I came home late from work and realized I'd left the coop door open all night. Woke up at 5am to check and found all four hens safe, but a raccoon had been sniffing around the run. That was enough for me. I ordered an Omlet auto door with a light sensor for $129 and now I sleep better knowing the girls are locked up tight. Has anyone else had a close call like that?

28

maxm63•1mo ago

Lost three hens to a hawk in one Tuesday afternoon

Came home from work and found feathers scattered across the whole run (about 30 feet of chaos) and three of my best layers gone, just like that. Has anyone else had luck with those hawk decoys or netting over the top, or should I just accept that open runs are a risk?

22

knight.xena•1mo ago

My rooster challenged a mailman at the wrong moment

Last Tuesday morning, I let my birds out for their usual free-range time when the mail truck pulled up to the box. My big Rhode Island Red rooster, Barnaby, puffed up and charged straight at the mailman's legs. He didn't just strut, he full-on sprinted and launched himself like a feathered missile. The mailman jumped back, dropped a stack of envelopes, and yelled "That bird has a death wish!" Now I have to keep the flock penned up until after noon deliveries, which means they're all sulking and pecking at each other. Has anyone else had a rooster that thinks he's a guard dog?

14

ross.river•1mo ago

Tried fermented feed for my hens and they turned up their beaks at first

I spent a weekend fermenting a batch of layer feed with water and a bit of apple cider vinegar, thinking my girls would go crazy for it like everyone online says. Nope, they ignored it for two whole days while staring at me like I was crazy. After day three they finally ate it, but I honestly think they prefer the dry stuff straight from the bag. Has anyone else had their flock reject fermented feed at first?

11

oscarcooper•1mo ago

The morning my entire flock decided to fly the coop

I was making coffee yesterday when I looked out my kitchen window in Portland and saw zero chickens in the run. The gate was shut, but all eight of my birds were just gone. My heart dropped. I ran outside in my slippers and found them having a party in my neighbor's prize-winning vegetable garden, scratching up his freshly planted lettuce starts. He was standing on his deck, arms crossed, not looking happy. I had to herd them back one by one, which took about twenty minutes of pure chaos, because my Barred Rock, Bertha, kept leading them in circles. Turns out a section of the run's hardware cloth had rusted through near the bottom, and they'd all squeezed out. I spent the rest of the morning patching it with some new wire and a bunch of zip ties. Has anyone else had a full-scale jailbreak from a tiny, hidden weak spot?