Peggy : These are my chickens. They are my backyard fun. Peggy

Nan : People are always talking about how hard it is to get chickens into their run and/or coop. Personally, I use water. If you have hose available for use, I use a strong stream of water to round them up and push them toward the run. I don't get them wet, only use the stream of water to guide them. Works like a charm. And the stream of water is MUCH faster than I am, and penetrates shrubs & foliage better than me or a stick to shoo them out. Most of the time now, I just have to pick up the hose, and they are all on the move toward the run. Oh, and for those w/o a hose, one of those water blasters work well too! We try to keep chooks off of patio too, so I keep a bucket of water on the patio with a water gun in it, and "blast" them with water stream to keep them at bay. I only have to rattle the blaster in the bucket now, and they turn and high tail it out of there! Nan Huffman, 1/4 acre, 11 hens, Wildwood, IL

Margaret : I tried to start with 3 and have over 100 chickens now. It's amazing how they grow on you. I have more roosters than I need, but I have found that trimming the pointed ends with dog clippers and keeping them in check is a good idea. They tend to be flatter and won't hurt a hen as easily and they may not do as much damage to each other that way either. Some of the boys have their spurs curl right up into their bodies, mostly my banty Cochins I've noticed, those are the ones I have to keep an eye on and some of the Silkies too.