I bought 4 chicks from Cree Farms in Washington to hand-raise and can just now tell the sex. (and they are getting a bit big for their bin!) As I cannot keep roosters here in the city, I have 2 cockerels to sell. They are about 3 weeks old.
Both have blue feathering; one is the darkest of the...
How many small eggs does a new hen lay before they get up to size? My new hen just started laying, she's laid 3 eggs now. They are the cutest little eggs, but I want to know when they'll be regular sized! She's a leghorn, but a very inbred one- she has no tail and has an awful voice.
One of my 2 year old EE hens looks generally very healthy and perky, has a good appetite, is active, has bright eyes, comb, and waddle. She lays almost an egg a day, which is great for a 2 year old.
But she also sometimes has a runny nose accompanied by shaking of the head. I don't see anything...
Since an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, I would like to know what you do to keep your birds healthy. Hopefully we can all get some good ideas!
Some things I do/will do:
I keep the coop floor dry and smells down by adding more shavings when the floor looks messy or smells.
I...
I did a search about this, but found nothing, so I'm making a new thread.
I've seen pictures in member's signatures, namely tickers. I wanted to add my own ticker after seeing another. However, it seems the img tag is disabled in my sig and I can't find a way to enable it. So I'm curious - is...
An article my mom sent to me:
UV vision reveals chicks' healthy glow
They are not telepathic, and they don't have X-ray vision, but mother birds do have a "superpower" that lets them detect the nutritional status of their chicks merely by looking at them. Researchers have discovered that the...
I want to get a dog, but it must be compatible with chickens, as I only have a 3000 sqft yard and I'd rather not have a house-dog. (they will be allowed inside too) I am used to and prefer large dogs - I hate high-strung small dogs - but was thinking a small breed, for the chickens' sake. Also...
I've feather sexed chicks before, so I know how it works. I want to know: if you don't know that a chick you want to buy is feather-sexable, but it's following the rules of feather sexing (ie the wing feathers are different lengths on one bird and the same length on another bird) does that mean...
A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary clinic. As she lay her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm so sorry, Cuddles has passed away." The distressed owner wailed...
I sexed my chicks by looking at their wing feathers at a day old, and it seemed to match quite well with the instructions I followed. Today, at 2 weeks old, the pullet looked like she was trying to crow! She stretched her head up, opened her beak, and tilted her head back. She may have been...
One of my 1 1/2 week old chicks has diarrhea. She is eating chick starter and gets plenty of grit. She has had pasty butt since she was born, but has had good-formed droppings in the past. What can I do about it?
Edit with some more details: The poo comes out with a raspberry sound, and it's...
My chicks are a week and a half old, and one of them looks like he's gagging. He's doing it frequently, and it sure doesn't look like a yawn. In there anything I should do? He doesn't look distressed.
Right now he's drifting off to sleep...
I found a local breeder (Phyllis Eide) who will sell me a started, sexed Black Copper Marans hen for $30. Do you think that's a good price? She says the egg color is very good. As I don't care about breeding or showing, just egg color, I told her to save any cull-worthy hens for me! So the...
So I was unable to get starter feed for my chicks in time (still have yet to get it - plan to get it tomorrow). After 3 40-mile round trips to the feed store, they tell me they don't carry it at this time of year. :mad: First they gave me layer feed, then they were closed early, then they tell...
I looked at the wing feather length of my chicks to determine their gender, as shown in this clip: at 3:20.
It worked like a charm for my leghorns. Quite clear. I was wondering what other breeds does this work for?
thanks!