Recent content by Eurekachick

Thank you all for your responses. I've been away from my computer for a long time. In that time our third and final chicken died. We had allowed her to be out in the garden with us yhat day. She seemed fine. 5 minutes after we returned her to her yard she was on her back, dead. It was horrid...

Do not leave a bloodied bird in with the others they will peck it to death! When I introduced adult hens to my flock they all fought like mad. So I made a temporary enclosure for the new hens by driving some poles or rebar stakes into the ground and circling it with chicken wire. I made it...

Thank you all. I am suprised to hear that Davis would do a free necropsy since my local ag agent in Eureka (the far north coast) seemed to indicate otherwise. Maybe he was refering to the cost of expediated shipping. I think I was somewhat in shock and grief stricken when I found my second...

:)Thanks for the input. I may love my noisey birds more just because they are so communicative. But I worry about disturbing the neighbors. My worst problem is that although I provide several nesting boxes. They seem to compete over which ever happens to be that day's favorite. One will be on...

I have always kept a flock of assorted standards and want to get some more chicks. I love both my Light Brahma and my Hampshire hens and considered getting more but man are the talkers! I don't know if it's their individual quirks or a trait of their breeds.(They were both originally very...

Thanks for your input. The trouble is they had no symptoms. The first death I thought "oh my, she had a heart attack or stroke" But when the second one died a week later it was too coincidental. Both birds were vigorous, there combs were bright red, they ate well and were active, no unusual...

#1 is the cutest. #2 is humourous and artsy. #3 shows a curious and exploratory mind. Your choice depends on how you see youself and how you wish to be seen.

Thanks for the help. I am going to unspoil my flock.

My rhode island red has a loose stool with yellow in it. She otherwise seems fine. How serious is this? I don't know if I should let it run it's course (no pun intended) or try medicating. When I let her out to graze she helps herself to the cat's leftovers could this be contributing?

Thanks for the responses to Eureka chick. I guess I wasn't clear. My chickens were not 20 years old. One was six and the other was two. What I meant was that in my twenty years of keeping a backyard flock I have never had birds die so suddenly with no apparent cause. I'm concerned about...

I have kept a very small backyard flock for close on twenty years but I am puzzled by the recent unexpected deaths of two of my flock. They were full of health in the morning and dead with no signs of injury in the afternoon. They died a week apart. The county ag agent had no suggestions...