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Many years ago we had a new flock of RIR chickens. They were growing and thriving, and one of them was a rooster. He became so handsome and happy, since he had all the girls to himself. But then we noticed a little banty rooster hanging around. He would come over from the neighbors house next...

Old Moose, the retired pack goat, was the only goat in the pen. He and the chickens got along just fine.

We've raised chickens from babies and what a hassle it is! They are so delicate and messy. And very vulnerable to cats. But there's a feed store nearby that does that part and then sells them when they are a month or so old. They charge $7 each for the young ladies, which is about 2x the price...

For years we've fed our chickens scratch mixed with black sunflower seeds in the shells (2 parts scratch, 1 part sunflower seeds) as their basic feed. There's also a pan of oyster shell available for calcium. They get out to free range for an hour or 2 almost every day. And they get...

I've been a member of BYC for a long time, but haven't logged in for a while. I'm looking forward to the conversations, ideas, and advice that this forum has. I'll try to be a good neighbor. Currently my wife and I have one old barred rock hen, and 6 young welbar ladies. We've had chickens our...

Is there anything wrong with collecting bugs and feeding them to chickens? I have an insulated box over the water faucet near the chicken pen. Cockroaches inhabit this box. I've made a trap out of a bottle that I put in the water box, with a little piece of bread as bait. Every few days I check...

I've been catching lots of mice lately. Rather than throw them in the trash or otherwise try to get rid of them I've started giving them to my chickens. They seem to love them. As soon as the mouse hits the ground a chicken grabs it and runs off with it, with other chickens chasing along trying...

One of my Americauna hens seems to be clogged up. Her craw, (the bag where the food first goes) is very large. She kicks at it and seems to be very distressed. It looks to me like she isn't moving her food to the next stage. Maybe she ate something that is obstructing the passage. Is there a way...

My 4 RIR hens look pretty bad, like they're always moulting. They've looked like this for some time, so I don't think they are actually moulting.They are lively and are laying well, but they have bald scruffy areas. Are they infested with a bug of some kind? What to do?

One of my RIR hens got a small wound on her hip, and the others started pecking at it until it was a bloody hole about the size of a cigarette filter. So I made a little quarantine pen for her, with some water, to keep her away from the others for a while. I smeared some 3 way antibiotic...

My best buddy, a 13 yr old heeler cross, spent last week in the hospital with pancreatitis. This was brought on, I think, by eating a pizza he found. He survived, and came home, but still isn't eating anything. He drinks and pees ok, but won't eat anything. It's now 1 week since he ate anything...

Last winter an owl got all but 1 of my hens. Now old Thelma, a RIR, is all by herself out there. She lays an egg every day or two, but has no company. New chicks are on the way, tho. But Thelma has started crowing like a rooster!!! That is so weird. Maybe the complete lack of other chicken...

I have a barn with a room set aside for chickens. 3 sides and the roof are covered with galvanized corrugated roofing metal. The south side is covered with cattle panel with 1" chicken wire hog ringed onto that. The cattle panel gives the wall strength and keeps big predators out. The chicken...

My neighbor is raising some young chickens (about a month old). He has them in a thing like a chicken tractor, made of a frame of 2x12's with 2" chicken wire nailed to the top. He drags the thing around with the chickens in it, to a new spot in the yard every day or so. All was going hunky-dory...

While I was visiting my aunt she mentioned that she had seen a rattlesnake slither into her garage and disappear under some junk in the corner. She and a neighbor had moved the junk away, but the snake had disappeared. I looked around and found that there was a big gap under the wall. On the...

We are having a rabies epidemic here in SW NM and SE AZ. It's primarily in the foxes, but other critters (coyotes, skunks, bobcats, mountain lions, and bats) have shown up with it. So far this year the Forest Service in our area has killed 7 rabid foxes, and residents have killed at least that...

Just found this while googing around... http://www.kountrylife.com/articles/about_goats.htm

I think this section of BYC should be mandatory reading for all new chicken owners, and a refresher for the rest of us. Chickens are wonderful, productive, beautiful critters, and we all love them. But they are so vulnerable to predators. I have been participating in this forum for a while now...

A friend of mine has a little flock of Rhode Island red hens. Until yesterday a big studly looking RIR rooster was in charge. He had all those pretty hens to himself and life was going great. Then a little banty rooster from down the road showed up, and the fight was on. The banty beat the...

2 of my hens disappeared this week. The hens sleep inside a little house, but were free to run around in the goat pen during the day. I am sure that this pen is dog and coyote proof, but a racoon or bobcat could certainly get in. One coincidence is that an owl has been hanging around lately. He...