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What IS the Deep Litter Method? (aka: Built-Up Litter System) Deep litter is a method of chicken waste management that calls for droppings and bedding material to compost inside the chicken coop instead of being cleaned out and replaced regularly. With the deep litter method, a carbon-based litter such as pine shavings absorbs nitrogen from chicken droppings, which ferments in an odor-free process to produce a rich, valuable humus just as in a traditional compost pile.

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How to Hardcook

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Before my first flock members were old enough to lay eggs, some of them were using the nest boxes as bedrooms. Chickens poop a lot while they sleep and I knew that I had to put a stop to the nightly nest box occupations. I had read that hanging burlap in front of the nest boxes could deter these unwanted slumber parties and figured it was worth a try.

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A broody hen is one that is inspired to sit on a collection of eggs until she hatches chicks. It is an instinct, influenced by hormones, that can be triggered by seeing a collection of eggs in a nest, another broody hunkered down in a nest box or the length of daylight hours.

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So, you want to keep backyard chickens? You’re reading all you can to learn what you need to know to get started, you have bought all the books and are scouring the Internet hoping to absorb the most important information. That's a great start, but some lessons are painful and expensive to learn by experience, so in the hope of sparing some growing pains for those about to embark on chicken-keeping, I have asked my Facebook fans what they wish they had known before they began keeping chickens.

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Scientists don’t know much about the types and doses of plant toxins that affect free-range chickens. Fortunately, plant poisonings are very rare occurrences in chicken flocks, perhaps because chickens possess some instinctive nutritional wisdom. If they have a choice, they’ll reject a food that tastes funny to them.

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Rabbit cage brooder with horse stall pellet bedding, available inexpensively in feed stores.

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Avon Perfume Chicken bottle by gfindsvintage on Etsy

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If I can landscape my chicken yard absent any knowledge of proper landscaping or gardening practices- anyone can! Landscape gardening with chickens is a dice roll. I offer the following tidbits as examples of what is possible and what has worked for me, but all are subject to being disproved by any given chicken at any time.

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Scaly leg mites (Knemidocoptes mutans) are microscopic insects that live underneath the scales on a chicken’s lower legs and feet. They dig tiny tunnels underneath the skin, eat the tissue and deposit crud in their wake. The result is thick, scabby, crusty-looking feet and legs. The longer the mites reside under the chicken's leg scales, the more discomfort and damage they inflict; an unchecked infestation can result in pain, deformities, lameness and loss of toes.

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If you keep chickens, chances are you’ve heard that adding apple cider vinegar (ACV) with “the mother” to their drinking water is good for them. The benefits of apple cider vinegar in humans have been touted for centuries, some have been substantiated and others, scientifically disproven. Its use in chickens is a more recent concept and as such, is less studied. Using ACV in the drinking water of chicken improves gut health and reduces slime in the waterers.

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Prolapse vent in chickens, also known as prolapsed oviduct, blow-out, cloacal prolapse, or pickout, … “is a condition in which the lower part of a hen’s oviduct turns inside out and protrudes through the vent.”1 Prolapse is a very serious condition that is treatable if caught early and is likely to recur.

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This article is intended to arm backyard chicken keepers with the tools they need to defend against this rapidly-spreading bird flu in North America.

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Murano Chicken Farm: 10 Chicken Supplies from the Dollar Store

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This hot mess, laid by one of my hens, is often referred to as a “lash egg,” and is a very misunderstood phenomenon in backyard chicken keeping. Lash eggs consist primarily of coagulated pus, not yolk or egg white. I took the liberty of renaming the lash egg more appropriately, a Pus Coagulegg.

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Egg irregularities from backyard chickens are very common. The occasional strange-looking egg from a hen is to be expected. Take a picture of it, discuss it at the water cooler next day, but don't worry too much about it- the vast majority of the time they do not indicate a serious problem. In this article we'll look at the some of the most common strange eggs and their possible causes, but first we'll need to know how a hen’s reproductive system is supposed to work when firing on all cylinders.

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Many factors play a role in determining when the time is right to move chicks from the brooder to the coop and we'll take a look at them here.

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There are times when it may be necessary to limit a chicken's ability to fly and wing clipping is a means to that end. Whether to clip a chicken's wings should be carefully considered by weighing the pros and cons as the disadvantages are significant. When done properly, wing clipping is painless.

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This article outlines the basic benefits of feed fermentation for backyard chickens and shows how to do it in 3 easy steps. Fermenting is easy and the advantages for chickens, significant.

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Litter’s primary functions are to absorb moisture from droppings and water spills, keep odors down and facilitate coop cleaning. The most commonly used litter options are: wood shavings, wood horse stall pellets, sand, hay and straw. I have tried most of them and have concluded that sand is the best choice for all the reasons outlined below.

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The prospect of integrating new chickens into an existing flock is always nerve-wracking, whether they're 8 weeks old or 8 months old. The main concern is that the two groups of chickens will not get along. However, it is possible to introduce new chickens to a different group of birds without drama or bloodshed. Integrating new chickens into an existing flock does not have to be stressful for the chicken keeper or the chickens.

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Finding a trained poultry veterinarian or any vet who will agree to treat chickens is extremely difficult, if not impossible and nothing leaves a chicken keeper feeling more helpless than not knowing how to help a sick flock member. This article addresses the basic guidelines to follow for caring for a sick chicken.

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My recent experience with a dying chicken made me realize that I could have been better prepared to handle certain aspects of her fatal illness, which make an already difficult time, more stressful.

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This hot mess, laid by one of my hens, is often referred to as a “lash egg,” and is a very misunderstood phenomenon in backyard chicken keeping. Lash eggs consist primarily of coagulated pus, not yolk or egg white. I took the liberty of renaming the lash egg more appropriately, a Pus Coagulegg. It’s got a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Unfortunately for the hen, the Pus Coagulegg is no laughing matter as the prognosis for a bird producing them is poor, at best.

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Kathy Shea Mormino, author at The Chicken Chick®

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DIY Cable Spool Duck House See more details here… see no reason a Chicken couldn't live here.....

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Whether building or purchasing a chicken coop, there are some essential elements necessary for a highly functioning hen house that will keep the flock healthy, happy and productive and make keeping backyard chickens more a joy than a chore.

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Manure balls are caused by chicks walking on droppings that stick to, dry and harden on their toes. These foul, cement-like accumulations can cause problems for baby chicks and must be carefully removed.

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The color of an egg is determined by the hen’s breed/genetics. Eggs can be white, brown, blue or any combination of those colors.

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