u/AffectionateLeg8075

So I'm no chicken-ologist. I've been in the game about 4 years and haven't had any real issues. But I keep reading guides for this, that, and the other thing and the authors will inevitably say something like "if you wouldn't drink or eat from it, neither should your chickens".

Now, I'm the cleanest guy you'll ever meet. I clean their coop when it needs it, add new sand to the run and keep things neat in their habitat. That being said...these suggestions about cleaning the crap out of their sand/run, scrubbing out their waterers, hosing and sanitizing their coop, blah blah blah, seems excessive. I mean, my hens will choose a muddy puddle over their water dispenser every time. They eat literally anything on the ground. Mice, bugs, feathers, crap, scratch, worms, fruit and veggie left overs, trimmed mint, oregano, thyme, parsley...all this stuff is dirty as hell.

So I don't get it. I mean, does anyone really keep everything sparkling clean out there? I almost feel like its a disservice to their immune system and natural way of life.

All of my gear arrives this weekend and I'm prepping the office for the set up. As this is my first time I'd love to see how others have their labs set up and if you have any tips/tricks I might be able to steal.

Qidi Q2 combo, Polar Cooler and Sunlu E2 dryer/annealer. It'll be right at a window so I can rig up ventilation.

Any of you have any experience with keeping a flock and having your kid's do a chicken for 4H? I wonder if I can just keep the "show" chickens with the rest of the flock or if they have to be separate to maintain their spoiled brat life?

I've searched and read and searched and tried and tossed and bought and did it all again.

Solar covers don't last regardless of thickness, price, color, brand, or any other aspect.

I'm pondering another damn solar cover but there has got to be a better material. The bubbled plastic is garbage and creates a massive plastic mess by the end of my very short season.

Has anyone experimented with using something different? With my heater set up the cover is more about stopping water and chemical evaporation and reducing heat loss over night. And debris reduction.

I'm considering using a high quality tarp, probably black or blue. They are way cheaper than the solar covers. I wonder about the plastic breakdown and if the end result will be any better than bubbled solar covers. Maybe add a layer of insulated foam board between the water and tarp. Just brain-drizzling here. Looking for longevity really.

I run a big ass electric 240v dual 60A breaker RayPac spa heater for my 10'x20'x52" above ground which can heat the pool to about 99° F in 2 days, at the added cost of about $40/month. Live in the mountains of eastern Oregon. By the time night temps hit 50° F it's mid June. Have to kill it by mid-September. I usually disassemble and stow the pool and stuff. Half draining and covering for winter was a disaster of constant snow removal and rain build-up on the cover. Total waste of time and effort.

Anyone do any crazy experiments that turned out well?

Hey all, desperate 2nd flock guy here...!!! My second set of chicks are about 4 weeks old. There are 12 of them. They are in a 12sq ft brooder as per the recommendations.

They are tearing each other's backs up, from the base of the tail up to where the wings join in. It's pretty bad on some, like a raw spot the size of a quarter. All of them have some damage. I've separated out the worst off and the biggest most aggressive one. But I went back to check on them and all the rest in the brooder are now ripped up to some degree.

I don't have unlimited space for 12 individual brooder with waterers and feeders! I'm so stressed and frustrated I'm at my wits end!

I've sprayed them and rubbed in the No Pick'n but they don't seem to care. I'm going to draw on the brooder walls and I switched off one heat source and dimmed their light and I'll hang a broccoli head in a minute.

Does any one have a secret? My first flock only picked at one baby girl and it was easy to stop them, these girls are out if control.

Hey all, first time replenishing my flock and as I near the day of integration my anxiety builds.

After much research and discussion with fellow chickeneers I believe I've settled on a method. I'd like to hear what you all have to say about it.

One evening after all the big hens have settled into the coop for the night I'm just going to add the pullets to the roosts and let them wake up together as a big happy family! 😉😊🤣

We have no roosters. Our current hens are 3 years old. There is plenty of room.

What ya'all think?

My main source of info is a long time chickeneer who says this method of all that she's tried is the least dramatic. AAAAND she didn't have to make an additional enclosure within the coop/run, which for me is the hardest part since our coop is on a hill with a massive grade that would require a ton of extra dirt work to make this happen.