Sharing fascinating facts, hints and tips about caring for chickens, and the sheer pleasure and fun of chickens!
Hi! I’m Sheryl, and I have chickens in my garden. If that sounds like an introduction to Chickens Anonymous, that is appropriate, because chickens are addictive! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
When I first got chickens, over seven years ago, I worked out how many eggs we ate in a week, did the maths, and decided we needed two-and-a-half chickens. Well, I didn’t get two-and-a-half chickens, I got five. And over the years I have never had as few as five chickens again. Right now I have fifteen - there always seems to be a good excuse to get another chicken.
Over the years I've learned a lot about chickens, what works for me, and the sheer joy of watching baby chicks develop, hatch and grow into happy healthy hens.
I hope you enjoy the videos I share, and find them useful. I share videos when I have something to say, so Subscribe to my channel so you find out when there's something new.
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How many days do you treat them for?
Different medicines have different treatment regimes. For Fenbendazole it's daily for 3 to 5 days.
Loved your video. Down to earth and common sense. Thank you VERY MUCH ❤🎉
Thank you so much 😊
This video is excellent .
Thank you so much 😊
Excellent information. Thank you Maam! Oh, and I love your chickens!
Thank you! From me and my chickens 😊
Thanks so much
So interesting
It is, isn't it! 😊
Omg adorable & hilarious 😂❤
I have always thought that the 'introduce them at night on the roost' was such a silly idea, and grossly underestimates chicken intelligence. They all know their names, and flock mates' names, so who are these "strangers"?! You were lucky with the small dividing fence, I needed full height division because I had a determined flyer (the alpha) who would have gone over the fence and made a bloody mess of even three newbies (8mo so same size or bigger). She took alpha'ing quite seriously, she has passed now. I agree with the rest of your advice and steps. The thing most people miss, is that the newbies need to gain confidence in the various spaces long before integration occurs (all chickens like to be confident of their environment). If your chickens have free range time, and the newbies have had an explore of the free range separately, that is where I introduced my two groups so that everyone had plenty of space and no one got cornered and injured if it kicked off badly. Try to design your run over-sized, so that you can fence off an area without too much impact to the existing flock.
Absolutely. I agree completely. Many people wildly underestimate the space needed to keep chickens HAPPY, which is quite different to the amount of space needed to keep chickens alive 😒
@@chickensinmygarden Yes indeed. Some videos I see give out fairly minimal spaces. I say, double or triple that! Particularly on the runs. Larger spaces for the coops if they are in there for winter (mine only go in there for heavy rains). A much bigger space also cuts down on fighting.
@davinasquirrel7672 All kinds of problems simply don't happen if they have enough space - right from baby chicks. Stress makes everyone unhappy and unhealthy
i JUST found your channel and i gotta say, i have SO MANY fun and new things im going to do for my chooks. Been keeping them cool here in the Florida heat! going to the feed store today after i saw your nesting box video!
Excellent! I always hope my videos will spark ideas in other people because everyone's situation is different. Best wishes for keeping cool - heat is really tough on chickens. Right now that's not a problem here because we're in winter. My chickens are out in the rain looking for worms that have come up from below 😄
She seems like one of the last few normal women left on earth...Great video...THANKS!!!
Thank you. Have a great day 😊
This is GLORIOUS
Aww! Thank you so much 😊
Didnt expect the sad ending. Did you get compensated at least?
No, I didn't. The dog was only being boarded at the neighbours for their daughter and they sent it back to her. But sadly too late to make any difference to me and my chickens. But I learned so much and really enjoyed all the breeding and learning - so many adorable chicks! 😊
@@chickensinmygarden you are very nice and positive👍
Wow, that does seem a more accelerated process over human-raising! The rest of the flock seemed fairly chilled with the chicks mingling into the mix. One of my hens is a Buff Orpington (aged about 2 now). She goes broody just looking at the nesting box, and would be an ideal candidate - as well, she gets on well with everyone (these days I have an extremely mild pecking order). I would need to do some work to make a brood/nursery area that is chick escape-proof, but doable. In the past I have gotten my newbies in as 5-12 weeks' old.
Oh, do try it with baby chicks and a doting mama hen - it's delightful if she is good with them 😊
@@chickensinmygarden I am very tempted, having my Buff Orp. She would be so great I think.
@davinasquirrel7672 Not all great broodies are also great mothers but most are so it's worth a try. And you can always raise them yourself as long as you have a back-up heat source ready.
Great video
Thank you so much 😊
Lol...another Your nose knows test...for those of us that can't smell food is always a luck of the draw game...I take more chances than the average joe cause I hate waste...😮
I can't imagine how awful it must be, to be unable to smell. A huge amount of flavour is detected by smell. Food must be so disappointing!
@@chickensinmygarden thankfully, I can taste. I don't know if it's the same as other people, but I love food. Thank God for the little things 🙏
@deniseclingenpeel1315 oh that's a relief! A world without flavour would be awful! Have a great day 😊
What type of paint do you suggest? What paints are not toxic to chickens?
Lead-based paint is poisonous but most other paint is fine. I would choose a water-based enamel.
@@chickensinmygarden thank you very much!
What is the link to "This" particular vid please. A friend wants to watch it, but can't find it. I don't know where to find it sorry. 😔
Do you mean this video about fermented feed? Here is a link kzread.info/dash/bejne/YmhtltyLqLepgpM.html Another way is to click on my channel name (Chickens in my Garden) and scroll through my videos or playlists until you find it, published about a year ago. I have over 100 videos so that might take a while, but who knows what other interesting stuff you might find 😊 I hope this does what you want. Otherwise let me know
@chickensinmygarden Yes, - this vid about Absolutely everything about fermented feeds. Thank you for your prompt reply. 👍🏻 And yes, - I noticed you've got lots of other interesting vids too 👍🏻. Thank you 😊
@TIGZ-NZ8563 Thank you for watching. Have a great day!
Thank you! I just received 3 hens about a year and a half old & they refuse to sleep on the roosting bar. The previous owner said they slept wherever they wanted. I’ll try these tips. Thank you ❤
Be patient and persistent. It might take several nights of moving them to where you want them but they will eventually do it 😊
I L O V E watching your chickens scratching around in your garden. I need to live vicariously through these videos until i have a place and garden of my own
I love watching them too. I spend hours just watching them. Maybe I should set up a Chicken Cam and stream it 😄
That's a really nice idea 💡 ☺️ @@chickensinmygarden
my chickens free range, their roost is in my screened in covered concrete patio, anywhere they poop on my patio I take a handful of peat moss to absorb moisture and sweep the poop and moss into my compost tumbler. That way I dont have to cover the entire ground with bedding and use existing infrastructure of my home for their coop/roost. My biggest cost was installing a $150 chicken wire fence in the back yard. Everyone has their own way of keeping chickens and it doesn't have to cost a fortune. Your video had a lot of great points for keeping chickens, they should be in everyones back yard!
I absolutely agree with you - everyone should find their own way that works best for their situation and circumstances. Your sounds perfect for you and your chickens, thank you for sharing the details 😊
@@chickensinmygarden How do you feel about chickens eating bugs from my compost bin that has their fresh chicken manure in it? I'm not sure what to make of that seems unsanitary.
No jokes. Something she may have an utetrine issue. Do you have a vet nearby?
Thank you for caring. It was a one-off by a hybrid pullet coming into lay. She's now in her second year and I'm pleased to say she has had no problems since. 😊
Love the chicken insisting on climbing back up to the top of the pile 😂❤
Chickens have such fun personalities 😊
@@chickensinmygarden So I'm finding out! Very new to chickens & delighted with their antics - funny cheeky little buggers that crack me up 🥰
This is awesome timing! We are just deciding what we wanted to do going forward to get cheaper and larger quantities of mulch. We were considering a wood chipper to do it ourselves. The initial cost is a bit daunting, but I believe it will pay for itself with all the free wood and branches we have out here in the country. The chickens were building an ark the other night with five inches of rain. Everything turned to rivers and mud. Didn't know about ramial mulch! Excellent! You always help direct me when I get stuck. Thank you! ❤
Oh, that's so good to hear! I have had that wood chipper for about 15 years now and although, yes, it was expensive, it sure has been worth it for me. My advice would be to get a tough one that will handle branches at least up to 2 inches diameter - cheap fragile chippers are really a waste of money. Best wishes for a few sunny days to dry out 😊
@@chickensinmygarden 15 years of free mulch is the way to go. :) We are looking at a lower end commercial one. We already split our own firewood so why not right? Thank you. Today was warm and beautiful. Your soil looks so great there in NZ. My dense soaked clay takes a lot of additions.
@vickyannpaintingwithoils Our lifestyle block was a couple of inches of soil over a foot of clay and then an iron pan - a hard layer of iron oxide. One birthday I got a pink crow bar, for digging holes to plant trees! As far as a vege garden goes, I found it easiest to make a 6-inch border and fill it with soil then plant. Over time the soil layer got deeper as the clay broke down and got mixed in by the worms. Gardeners have to learn patience!
@@chickensinmygarden You would never know by looking at it! Yes we sure do need patience. I gave in and did raised beds this year. But little by little we are building the soil. It will be worth it. And in the meantime getting good harvests. I grew my own broccoli heads this year. It was so exciting!
Broccoli is one of my staples. And once the main head is picked, often little side heads develop for a second harvest. I also stir-fry the stems, but I've read that you can cook the leaves too - I must try them one day.
Hello Cheryl! I live chickens but which do you think is the best breed
"Best" is a very subjective term - it depends on what you want. And also, although you might not get that impression from what you see on the internet, the breeds are actually quite different in different countries. So you need to know what you want and which breeders' lines have those characteristics. But here's a video that might help stimulate your thoughts on the subject kzread.info/dash/bejne/Z6yL3MR8Z9CofMY.html
Awesome info 😊👍🏻
Thank you so much 😊
What a lovely lady. Videos packed with useful info & presented so wonderfully by a very likeable person who is nice to listen to. The surroundings, sights & sounds, make a marvellous background. Educational & relaxing to watch.
Wow! What a lovely comment. Thank you so much. Have a great day 😊
Well, that ruins a bit of an art project I’ve been working on, but I still very much appreciate the information!
Oh dear! What was the art project?
Wonderful video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Thank you! 😊
Fantastic video, thank you so much ❤
Thank you! 😊
This is kind of a hard question but can a rooster breed his own offspring or can an offspring breed his mother I have a pair of chickens and would like to get more from then and eventually sell they’re chicks as egg laying hens but I would need more than one hen
Yes, and yes. It is quite common to breed from father to daughters, especially when establishing a line. (It's called Line Breeding) Your best bet is probably to hatch chicks from your first pair, choose the best females (maybe all of them) and one or two males. Next year breed father to daughters. Of those chicks, keep the best females. As to the males, decide which one to keep - original, one of the two sons. In the third year breed all hens to your chosen male. Now you have three generations and lots of chickens but unless you are seeing a variety of types (which would mean your original pair was mixed breed) you should bring in some unrelated birds for future breeding. Don't be afraid of line breeding - it's not sinful but it does intensify the traits that are present, both good and bad, and eventually it does seem to reduce fertility. Good luck 😊
Thank you very much for the video. Though I am only seeing the videos 3 years after production, I find them very helpful, simple to understand and containing the practical hits needed for successful hatching. Thank you
Thank you. Most of my videos remain relevant no matter when I made them. (Although I believe the editing and film quality has improved a bit 😄 ) Thank you for watching
Your my favorite chick channel!
Aww! Thank you so much! 😊
So so helpful, thank you!
Thank you! Have a great day 😊
Are chicken eggs safe to eat if left in nest with temperature of 106 outside
The short answer is yes. How hot the temperature is doesn't affect how safely edible the eggs are - after all, we eat eggs that have been at much higher temperature - we just call them hard-boiled eggs 😃 If the egg was at 106 degrees Fahrenheit it won't be cooked, but the nest box might have been hotter than the outside temperature. But of course if the egg was cracked or contaminated it could be unsafe to eat regardless of the temperature. 106 is very hot. I hope you and your chickens have somewhere cool to relax in.
Excellent video it really help us to understand! thank you
Thank you for saying so. I'm glad you found it helpful 😊
Awesome video thank you!
Thank you so much. Have a great day!
Question, what if you smell your cracked eggs but while cooking, you get the rotten egg/fishy smell?
I haven't come across that, but I do know that if you overcook egg yolk it will produce hydrogen sulphide, which smells bad. That's also what makes that green ring around overcooked boiled eggs. One time I had fried eggs that smelled really fishy - I found out they had been cooked in a pan after cooking kippers!
A ghost egg
Can you tell by the feathers of 6 day old chicks? They are not all the same breed.
Hmm. Not really. With some breeds it is possible to tell by the colour of the feathers as soon as they start to get their actual feathers but there are very few breeds that it works for - see the 7 minute mark on this video. With some breeds you can tell by the pattern on the chick down but again you need to be familiar with the chick down pattern for that breed. And of course it's always easier if you have several chicks of the same breed and both sexes.
@@chickensinmygarden Thanks so much for the reply! I just hatched out some chicks that came from a flock with a few different breeds. I see videos that act like the feather length works for all chicks but wasn’t sure. Guess I’ll just have to do it the old fashioned way and wait and see.😄
@kimberlyearly8918 My husband always says "They'll either lay or crow and then you'll know". Meanwhile, enjoy those little cuties 🐥🐥🐥
Wonderful very educational video that I was not expecting to find! So fun to watch and I loved your beautiful garden! Everything looked so neatly organized and clean. So beautiful ! Thank you🍒 🥕🥬🍅🥦🍆 🫑
Thank you so much. Most of my videos are about chickens but I did a quick walk-through of my garden last summer which you might be interested in kzread.info/dash/bejne/m4WMyJuzlqnSfNo.html Or check out some others in my playlist about eggs Yummy eggs: kzread.info/head/PLZkmuqBJd8WQ_J3n0tBd0VU1KgHmEIpdx Thanks for watching. Have a great day!
Great info!
Thank you. It was one of my earliest videos but I think it's still relevant 😊
Great videos, I have question Did you ever record recording your australorp hen productivities? Is it true an Australorp lay more than 250 eggs a year ?
Hi. I keep records of all my chickens, including how much they lay. But I've never had any Australorps so I can't answer your question directly. The record for any of my chickens is 305 eggs in one year. She was a cross-bred mix of who-knows-what. I have had a few production hybrids (hyline, ISA brown etc) and they are right up there at over 270 eggs per year. The leghorns also lay over 250 eggs per year. But NOTE: these numbers are all from their best year, which is usually their first year and it depends on what time of year they came into lay. A young hen who first starts laying in autumn will lay at her top production for a full year before her first moult. That will be your record. If she first comes into lay in early spring, she is likely to moult in her first winter and so not lay for a full 12 months. (Except if she's a production hybrid, in which case she will not moult for at least a year). Every year after that she will moult each year, and even during her laying months she will lay fewer eggs each year as she gets older. Australorps originally held the record for egg production back in the 1920s. But even then that was a hen's first and best year not all her life. And since then the production hybrids have been developed and overtaken the record. And the Australorps you can get these days are more likely to be bred to meet the show standard, which measures looks, not production, so how well they lay is unpredictable unless you ask the breeder and he happens to have considered that when breeding.
@@chickensinmygarden I had a cross-breed of unknown origins (I think about three breeds in there, could never identify the mix) but I suspect some Australorp. She was my alpha, and utter champion, still laying really well up until 9yo (then got injured, leading to the end at 9.5yo). I never did do an accurate count but probably the 270 mark, taking time off for molt or winter.
I set my eggs on the table for 4 maybe 5 days … it’s been 83 F here …. Hope I’m ok…. Not sure what the temp is inside my non AC house …. Call it shaded I guess !!!??
That is certainly much hotter than ideal. And especially if the temperature drops overnight. But sometimes those chickens are surprisingly tough. (And other times not.) If I had a choice I would not choose those eggs for hatching. Do you have a cool store anywhere? Like a root cellar maybe?
@@chickensinmygarden thanks for your quick reply … I bought a dozen Maran eggs for hatching .., she told me to run40% humidity and I watched some videos that talked about the difference between dry hatch and wet hatch … next thing ya know 4 and half days slipped by …. One of the videos I watched said she usually puts her eggs on the counter for a eeek but she got some from a friend that were in a fridge and didn’t know it … 10 hatched out of 32 … here I go … hope my shade in the house is less heat than 80 …. ???
If those are all you have, then you have nothing to lose by trying. I would suggest candling them at your first opportunity (when it's dark) so you know what they look like at the beginning.
Good job chicken momma. Always great videos
Thank you so much! Have a great day 😊
Last time I was hatching eggs, I did all the things, cleaned, checked egg size, etc. Trying my best to get a good hatch rate. I used an incubator that had good reviews. Only 8 hatched out of 21. This time I'm doing none of things. I'm letting my broody hen do the work. Not even sure how many eggs are under her. 😂 In 3wks from today I'll find out if lazy was a better method. Lol
That will depend on your hen. An excellent mother hen will do better than 8 out of 21 😄 Best wishes for a great hatch!
Very interesting videos, thank you. I breed Indian Game in blue laced, dark, and jubilee. These colours are very similar to your gold laced, blue laced gold, and buff laced wyandottes. Last year I mated jubilee to jubilee and I ended up with a few offspring that have two copies of the dominant white gene. I'm told by another breeder that when these birds are bred back to dark indian game, the resulting jubilees that hatch have lovely clean hackles with less of the leaky black spots coming through. We'll have to see when I breed them next season.
Thanks for sharing that. I hope it works beautifully for you next year. Best wishes
I like this wow u gave me good ideas for my brooder
Excellent! I love hearing that!
Thank you
You're welcome. Thanks for watching 😊
I have just run into an interesting situation/maybe problem. I have seven 5 week old laying hens and one Rooster .😳Not planned, but I'm ok with it. He is showing off his attitude, so far he's cute and polite. My dilemma is I know he should not eat layer feed when it comes time to switch feed. How do I handle this. Any suggestions?
Interestingly, you are the second person this week to have asked this question :-) You're right that hens and roosters have slightly different dietary needs - simplistically, hens need more calcium and not too much protein, while roosters need more protein and less calcium. It's usual to feed a calcium-enhanced layer feed to laying hens but also to offer free-choice soluble calcium-rich grit, such as oyster shell. The hens will help themselves to the grit while the roosters (and any non-laying hens) will leave it alone. So, grit in a separate dish (not mixed with the feed) is a good idea. But the layer feed itself has a bit much calcium for roosters, so... 1. You could feed your hens and rooster separately. This kind of works if you're hand-feeding them but it's a bit tricky and it's better for the chickens to be able to help themselves to feed throughout the day. 2. You could have a separate feeder that is too high for the hens to reach, for the high-protein rooster feed. The rooster might still eat a little of the layer feed but he will prefer the higher protein and so mostly eat his high-protein feed. The problem is that it's very difficult to arrange a feeder that he can reach and the layer hens can't. 3. You could feed them all on something like grower feed or "all-flock" feed and ensure there is plenty of calcium-rich soluble grit for the laying hens. A lot of people would recommend this because it's pretty easy, works well for the roosters and is generally ok for the hens. 4. You could mostly feed layer feed to everyone but supplement the rooster with extra high-protein feed as generous treats. The high-protein treats will replace some of the high-calcium layer feed (i.e. he will eat less layer feed because he's not hungry, being full of high-protein treats) so the calcium content is not too toxic for him. 5. You could just feed everyone layer feed and risk the calcium toxicity in the rooster. It's not like he's going to get sick and die instantly, it's just that the excess calcium puts a strain on his kidneys, so eventually, with old age or some other illness, he might die of kidney failure. What I have done has been mostly a mix of 3, 4 and 5. I feed everyone a blend of grower and layer feed, make calcium-rich grit freely available, and supplement the rooster with high-protein treats. (To be honest, he often gives his treats to the hens anyway - roosters do that.) I don't usually keep a rooster in my flock for years and years - I keep one for breeding for a year or two and then replace him with an unrelated rooster, so they never get old enough to suffer kidney problems. One thing I haven't tried is having two separate feeders, one with layer feed and one with grower feed, in the hope that the rooster would just eat the grower feed and the hens would eat layer feed plus calcium-rich grit. It would be interesting to try this and see what the rooster does eat. But I'm pretty sure the hens would eat quite a lot of the grower feed - I've noticed them doing that when I have a mix of young non-laying pullets with older laying hens. As long as they have free-choice calcium, I tend not to worry for the few weeks it takes for the pullets to come into lay. I hope that helps. You have time to think about what might work best for you and your flock :-)
@@chickensinmygarden Thank you!! Truly appreciate your suggestions 💕
what a good idear ;)
Do give it a go. You can adapt the idea to whatever materials you have on hand 😊