David Baxter PhD
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I saw a stand up comedian talking about essential oils:
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Guinea Hen: Getting Guineas? Make Sure You Train Them Right – Hobby Farms
Guineas are wild, loud ... and great at pest control. But keeping guineas means keeping them around, and that requires some special training.
www.hobbyfarms.com
Once you bring guineas to you farm, you’ll hear a constant chattering as they move in a group across the yard. These sounds are determined by their sex.
Females: Guinea hens make a two-syllable sound that people compare to the words “buckwheat” or “come back.” To me it sounds like a rusty door swinging back and forth. But the point is, it’s a two-part sound.
Males: Roosters can only make a one-syllable sound, which the hens are also capable of. It’s a “kik-kik-kik” sound, and they will do it pretty much nonstop.
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My guineafowl actually seem less interested in flying the fence now. But this advice for small pet birds -- to bring the cage to the bird -- may help with relatively wild, hard-to-catch poultry, such as by bringing a large dog crate or chicken brooder:
If the bird is stressed and looking for its flock, then a better temptation than food may be another bird in a nearby, closed enclosure. But anything that resembles the former coop may be enough as a temptation of safety.:strip_icc()/canary-escaping-cage--flying-toward-open-window-97373083-5b4c137c46e0fb0037a69c3e.jpg)
Bird on the Loose: Acting Fast and Best Chances for Retrieval
Pet birds flying away is a serious situation for both bird and owner. Pet birds are at-risk outside, but quick actions can retrieve birds.www.thesprucepets.com
Whenever possible, bring the cage to the bird. For a missing bird, place the cage near the site of the fly-away. If your bird flies out through your front door, for example, place the cage on your porch or doorstep. Whenever possible, hang the cage outside so that it appears just as it would indoors.
Add large amounts of your bird's favorite foods and tasty treats in or around the cage to lure the bird back home. Someone should always be at the ready near the cage to pounce with a towel or net. Use large pieces of food that are easily visible, and leave the cage with the door open, possibly rigged with a quick-release trap door latch to quickly lock as soon as the bird enters.
Whenever possible, bring the cage to the bird. For a missing bird, place the cage near the site of the fly-away. If your bird flies out through your front door, for example, place the cage on your porch or doorstep. Whenever possible, hang the cage outside so that it appears just as it would indoors.
Add large amounts of your bird's favorite foods and tasty treats in or around the cage to lure the bird back home. Someone should always be at the ready near the cage to pounce with a towel or net. Use large pieces of food that are easily visible, and leave the cage with the door open, possibly rigged with a quick-release trap door latch to quickly lock as soon as the bird enters.
New chicken layer feed with 19% protein (instead of the standard 16%), partially from the addition of tasty bugs 
www.purinamills.com
Coupons: Poultry Feeding Program Trial | Purina Animal Nutrition
Purina® Layena® + High Protein Layer Feed Pellet | Purina
Purina® Layena®+ High Protein layer feed is a balanced and complete feed that provides 19% protein to support your hens’ active lifestyle and egg production. Each pellet contains black soldier fly larvae, grains and other protein sources, so you can feel good knowing your hens are getting a...
www.purinamills.com
Coupons: Poultry Feeding Program Trial | Purina Animal Nutrition
Nests: Build nesting boxes with easy access for egg removal. A general rule is to provide one 1-foot cube nest box for every four or five hens. The hens will take turns using the boxes. Keep the nests up off the floor in the darkest corner of the coop.
How to Get Dark Orange Yolks From Your Backyard Chickens
When it comes to yolks, the general consensus (in America, at least) is the darker, the better. So how can you get your backyard chickens to lay those coveted orange-yolked eggs—naturally? And what makes some yolks lighter or deeper-colored than others?
www.gardenbetty.com
...It’s so easy to “dye” the color of a yolk that a Santa Fe, New Mexico farmer, Matt Romero, is known for his legendary flame-colored egg yolks, which he gets simply by feeding his hens the leftover red chile peppers from his farm.
Other farmers “hack” their way to darker yolks by feeding their flocks marigold petals (which produces deep yellow yolks) or even using synthetic chemicals like Rovimix Carophyll Yellow, Canthaxanthin, Xanthophyll B, and Lucantin Red to achieve the dark yolks they think their consumers prefer.
This is why you should be leery of cheap eggs from the supermarket whose yolks come out orange.
On the flip side, there’s cause for concern if store-bought “free range” or “pastured” eggs have very pale yolks. It could mean the egg producer is only giving the hens minimal access to the outdoors, like a single door out to a patch of grass.
Using PEX to prevent outdoor water pipes from freezing:
www.backyardchickens.com
Permanent WATER to coop. Now how do I protect it from freezing???
I have had contractors here getting water to both chicken coops as well as the surrounding deck. My plans included spigots to both run and coop area. My only concern now is keeping the pipes from freezing. The tubing used is pex. I have done a lot of research and they maintain the best...
Is My Flock Drinking Enough? Proper Hydration For Chickens - Hobby Farms
Keep hydration levels up during the heat of summer, and learn to spot when they’re down.
www.hobbyfarms.com
Because of things like evaporation, spillage and leakage, monitoring changing water levels can’t be entirely accurate. It’d also be very difficult to predict how much each individual chicken is drinking on any given day. Looking for evidence of consumption from a large container, like a 5-gallon bottle, could appear that a small backyard flock is drinking next to nothing—the eye is not the best judge.
Picky eaters aside, the absolute best indicator of whether chickens are drinking enough water is actually in how much feed the flock is eating. When chickens are dehydrated, they completely stop eating because they cannot swallow or digest. When chickens are eating feed rations vigorously every morning and every evening, the flock is certainly drinking enough water.
Dust bathing also helps with promoting feather regrowth during molting:
Nutrition for Backyard Chicken Flocks - Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Raising chickens for eggs or meat requires the right nutrition at the right life stage. Follow these guidelines to maintain your backyard flock’s growth, reproductive performance, and health.
www.aces.edu
A hen may consume up to 340 calories of metabolizable energy per day during winter to keep warm. But in summer, she may consume only 260 calories of metabolizable energy per day. Therefore, a higher dietary protein level should be fed during summer when temperatures are high.
For my scissor-beaked hen, I sometimes give her wet cat food (fish or beef based) to supplement her caloric and protein intake as well as to prevent anemia. As a bonus, the wet food helps with hydration in the summer.
People love chickens that are “vegetarian fed.” But chickens are not vegetarians...
“They’re really like little raptors - they want meat,” said Blake Alexandre, the owner of a 30,000 chicken operation in far northern California that keeps its birds on pasture. “The idea that they ought to be vegetarians is ridiculous.”
When to feed chickens and how often
How often to feed chickensFor chickens, the best answer to 'How often should I feed my chickens?' is all the time. Chickens should have free access to a complete layer feed from when they first get up until they roost at night. How often do chickens eat?Chickens don't spend the whole day eating...
www.dineachook.com.au
Chickens will invariably eat (and drink) as soon as they rise, because their crop is empty. One of the most common problems is chicken keepers don't get up early enough to make feed accessible - this causes bullying and feather pecking as hungry (or hangry) birds wait for breakfast!
Chickens also eat right before roosting, so they have something to digest overnight. This keeps them warm in cool weather and is important for egg production, as the reproductive cycle is usually more intense and requires more nutrients at night.
Then chickens will eat multiple times throughout the day, as they feel hungry. This will vary among individual birds and can also be influenced by age, breed, productivity and even the weather.
Pecking order also plays a role, as lower ranking birds will eat when the feed is not being monopolised by more dominant birds. For example, we had one low-ranking chicken that would wait until all the other birds had gone up to roost in order to be able to get her fill in peace...
Giving your chickens unlimited access to their feed throughout the day is the best option in almost all circumstances. Why? Because:
- Chickens' digestive systems evolved to consume many small meals throughout the day
- It stops binge eating and related health issues
- The health and productivity of low pecking order birds is likely to suffer where food access is limited
- Modern chicken breeds require optimum nutrition for high productivity, and this is almost impossible to achieve when feed access is limited
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