Our coop has about an 8x15 foot section that is outdoors on native soil that they scratch around and dustbathe in. They also get out a few times a week to free range all around the yard, which has plenty of dirt. Does this provide enough grit, or do we still need to supplement--either by using...
A friend had to get rid of his five one-year-old hens. In the past, we've only added hatchlings to our flock, so we are starting these new birds in a separate coop. I understand 30 days is the standard quarantine period, and we are getting close to that point. None of the new birds is showing...
You were in our first brood and were always our favorite. You gave us so much more than eggs. You had personality, were the friendliest, and often the goofiest. We will miss you and will never forget your face with that funny crooked comb!
Our almost 4 year old RIR has been sick for two weeks. We can feel what feels like an egg in her lower left side, but there's nothing in her vent. She was initially very very bloated and almost catatonic in a hiding place, but after a bath and supplements she's doing better, though far from...
We have two Black Copper Marans hens and a BCM roo, and are thinking of hatching a few next time one of the girls goes broody. I'm also wondering whether we could guarantee some females with sex-linked mixes. Our other hens include EE, RIR, BR, Welsummer, Welsummer/EE cross, GLW, Light Brahma...
My wife just emailed me this picture from the house. I love it! Good boy, Pierre! He's almost a year old now and so far no sign of aggression toward humans. We may finally have a keeper!
In our latest batch, which hatched in February, is a Black Australorp that went broody about a month ago, when she was five months old. She's a beautiful and very sweet girl. We've never had one go broody this young. And she's more stubborn about it than the others we've been able to break...
We lost our Dominique yesterday. Unexplained illness. Out of the blue she was listless and hiding yesterday and wouldn't eat or drink. We put her by herself and she died around 9 pm. She was 2 years and 2 months old, very sweet, and a great layer. We've had chickens now for 3 years. The...
OK, I'll start off by saying the story has a happy ending, but I still don't deserve to own my flock. We put our rooster in the garage in a dog crate at night for neighbor peace reasons. Once or twice I've forgotten to take him out in the morning and he's spent a whole day in there, with no...
We have 11 chicks about 3 months old, several different breeds. Two of them are White Crested Black Polish. I don't know if it's the crest feathers looking inviting or the two of them being too timid, but they both are getting pecked on the tops of their heads. Their heads are bloody and...
Today we lost one of our original girls. Found a RIR dead on the floor of the coop in the middle of the day. She couldn't have been gone more than a couple of hours, since I had been in there not long before. No signs or symptoms beforehand, she had plenty of weight, and nothing noticeable...
Yesterday I found this in one of the nestboxes among a few other eggs. I've never seen anything like it. It's the color and texture of eggshell, but it's pliable and rubbery. I cut into it thinking I might see yolk and white, but it was definitely not egg material inside. It looked like...
We had dress-up at the office yesterday for Halloween. Dom was very sweet for my colleagues. It was priceless seeing their faces when they realized she wasn't a toy!