Recent content by Gary Willson

Wow. Thanks Kelsie. I hope I'm not stressing my birds out.

I think this is the first egg from one of my young hens. I've never seen an egg like this. Is it common?

I bought a new Lexus GX last week. When I told the dealer about one of my activities this week, he laughed and suggested that that might be a "first" for a Lexus.

I feel your pain. I already had an 8 foot fence around my garden for the deer, but the coop and the annex cost me a bundle. My wife says she wants to move in there. For some reason, she doesn't think chickens should live better than us. Women ! Go figure.

Since about 5 days ago, one of my hens apparently has been laying while roosting. There's about a 3 foot drop from the roost to the dropping board, and invariably, the egg is broken when I find it on the board. I'm not sure which hen it is, but I've narrowed it down to one of two, based on the...

I used to have a pest control company keep my property bug free, but since I'm free ranging my chickens, I discontinued the service. My chickens eat all of the bugs, including the scorpions. I think the road runners take care of any snakes.

My neighbor brought some of my chicken's feathers to me this morning. Kinda like going to the morgue for body identification. We're pretty sure a fox got her. There are several in the area. Thanks to you all for your advice.

@Chick lovers Yes, last time I saw her was in the daytime. @chickengeorgeto She is(was) a full grown Americauna. I don't know weights very well, but I'd guess about 6 lbs.

I just talked with my neighbor, and she had an interesting observation. She says it might have been taken by an owl. We do hear hoot owls, so they're around. She says they'll pick them up and carry them off. Also, my chicken is yellow, and she says lighter animals don't do well in the wild...

Sorry for being such a wimp. I know everybody here is lost some chickens before. Many years ago, I had so many chickens, I wouldn't have known if I lost one or two. But now, I only have 6 (well, 5 now) and they're all named and are pets.

I did a thorough search this morning. Not a trace. I usually lock them in their coop at dusk. By then, they've made their way to the run or the coop, and I lock them in. Loretta wasn't with them yesterday.

Thanks, Rowsdower, I got her egg from the nest yesterday, so she wouldn't be setting on them. (She lays green eggs so I know it's hers). I feel like the worried father with his daughter late coming home from a date. Daybreak is about an hour away, and I'll be out looking for her.

I lost my first chicken last night. She didn't come back to the coop, and there's not a trace of her anywhere. In my area, possibilities are: coyotes, foxes, raccoons, dogs, and hawks. I'm guessing a hawk. Wouldn't a ground based predator leave feathers around from the kill? A hawk would...

I apologize ! After reading your comments, I did some outside reading on the subject of relocating. Not only is it inhumane to the raccoon, but other raccoons will come to fill the void. http://www.wildlifecenteroftexas.org/need-help/peaceful-coexistence/

In my experience on forums, I've noticed that there is always someone that tries to send others on guilt trips to show they are morally superior (I believe sanctimonious is the correct word). These are the types of people that write to organizations that rescue wounded animals and bring them to...