flowershen I am glad that worked out for you. And I am glad you could figure out what I was saying with all the mis-spelled words. I was typing fast. LOL. Anyway I told you it was going to be easy. Now we expect to see lots of photos from you :-) I just discovered chickens like hay. I put some pine bedding in the brooder and it was so messy so when I changed it I put the pine bedding down and then added a layer of hay. the next day I go to change the water and feed them and no hay. I was like what the heck did I forget to put the hay in here? So I do it again and the next day no hay. well by the second time I figured they were eating it. Funny cause they will not eat any of the "treats" I give them. velvet - OMG is that a spur from the back of a roosters leg??!! I had no idea it was that big! That looks like it can cause some real damage! Glad no roos for me.

the best feeder I've ever owned for poultry is a 4 inch pvc pipe with both ends capped. It's about 3 feet long. one third of the pipe is cut away, like a slice off the length. The caps are screwed on to two triangular pieces of treated 2x6. Those are about8 inches high and about 12 inches long. the capps are then glued on to the pipe. It's like a trough. they can't peck the feed out or sratch it out. You can also use it for water if you put the screws toward the top of the cap. I have one also made from 2 inch pipe for chicks, keeps the mama from scratching all the chick starter out..and keeps the wee babes out of the water.

Hi there,,well, the only time I have to worry about anything getting my chickens is at night, but they are closed up in there coops very securely so nothing can get in. I have 3 dogs and 2 big cats. None of them bother the chickens at all. It depends on your pets. Mine have been around them for about 6 or 7 years. You can also keep them penned up around their coop if you don't want them to free range. I do not feed them organically anymore due to the high prices of the feed. I buy regular chicken feed but I also give them watermelon, yogurt, peas, corn, black sunflower seeds, berries, scraps from the kitchen, etc. My chickens stay in the yard, they don't wander off into the woods or anything. They even stay out of the road. They dont travel like Guinea hens do. Guinea hens will travel up to 1/4 mile away from home. I lost all 10 of mine in one season. If you go on the "farmlife" forum, there are alot of people over there who own chickens and have good ideas.

Maybe not unusual enough, but these were hits with my great niece when she was younger. We just named things as we came upon them. I used to hide some clay animals amongst the veg & fruits, so we've played hide & seek with them over the years. Then she began calling an area the kitten bed or the hippo garden. I brought them to the backyard for this year, but next year, I'm putting the animals back to the veg. garden where one animal per bed so that we'll refer back to the animal residing in that space where I want my son or hubby to go pick lettuce or pull some onions for dinner. Much easier for the ungardeners to find what is needed. Strawberry Garden - kept a deep crock 1/2 buried in the bed & filled with clean water during the ripe berry season for easy dipping clean before eating. She wanted whipped cream at first, but I told her these berries were best dipped in water. After tasting them she agreed. Fairy Garden - planted miniature plants in a pot just for her along with some fairy toys to keep it interesting. Pizza Garden - of herbs & tomatoes for topping on pizza. She expected to see pizza (bread dough & cheese) and I found an article that had the plants in the shape of pizza wedges, but we didn't have space to plant them that way. We did pick the herbs for pizza, but the tomatoes weren't ripe when she visited and she wisely didn't want a green tomato on pizza.