Recent content by FishingCreek

Here are a couple pics, one from the day we got them on 4/28 and then one 9 days later.

So, when they are preening after a swim and are rubbing their heads along their back, that is them stimulating their oil glands? We just got ducklings a 2 weeks ago from TSC and watched them doing this a couple days ago. Wasn't sure what that was about, except marveling at how far they could...

I do not wear a mask, though it's more because I installed doors on both sides of my coop and can therefore stand outside the opening in the "mostly" fresh air while shoveling/scraping and reach all areas.

Mink did that to some of my chickens. Raccoon attack, it dragged the hen away through an opening it made in the corner of my run and I was able to follow the trail of feathers and blood to the creek where it feasted.

Could you clarify the part in your Best Practices section regarding placing "room temperature eggs into the fridge once a week" statement? Are you recommending that eggs only sit out at room temperature no more than a week before transferring to fridge for longer storage, or just cool them down...

Picture attached. Sorry it couldn't be clearer but that's about the best I could grab. The tail looks to be close to about half the length of the body, and my wife saw a mink near the road last year on the other side of the hill from us. Hence my suspicion that it's a mink. Regarding the...

Great timing on my reading your article (just several days ago). I always assumed it was a celebratory song after having laid an egg with the rooster singing a happy tune of his own, but in reflecting upon your observations it all makes complete sense now. The same day I read your article we...

I'll have to take some better pics but this is the bottom of the doorway. One thing I noticed as I was cleaning the blood and feathers away (after pic) is that there was about 1/2" of dirt/poop in the bottom corners of the door guides on both sides. This would have kept the bottom of the door...

So night before last we lost 3 of our 7 remaining chickens, including Bob our rooster. We lost another one just a week ago and based upon the fact that only one bird was taken through a space about 8 inches across where the poultry wire was ripped out, I thought we had a raccoon problem. I...

I see a ton of articles around the interwebs that are all referring to Rep. Pingree's statements about issues in Maine and New Hampshire, but nothing around the rest of the country. I see Postal carriers driving our route a minimum of twice per day (sometimes three) here in Maryland. The only...

Thanks for all the responses! I was afraid that might be the case where he's just going to be a noisy one. He's really good with his girls so if we can correct his aggressiveness towards humans, he has a chance. If not... we may be down one bird by the time the kids return from their...

Thanks for the link; I just read your article. There are numerous articles with all sort of advice as to how we should deal with aggressive males, which is where I got the methods I've used thus far. I'll give your advice a try and see if it works. In your experience, does this have to be...

Grew up mostly in Kent County but now in Frederick County.

We have a young rooster (21 weeks) who is feeling pretty good about himself. He has 8 hens in his flock and free range almost every day, and the hens began laying about a week ago. No issues at all up until about 3 or 4 weeks ago when he decided he was going to challenge humans. I was the...

We have 21-wk-old Barred Rocks and one is a roo. When I ordered the chicks I paid the little extra to have them sexed, but looks like that 1% chance of getting a boy was my lucky number. Once we realized there was a roo in the mix, I debated about whether or not to keep him. We live in a...