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We have a black star, seems healthy weight and activity. We were inspecting feet and noticed a scab on the pad of each foot. Not bad looking, no redness or signs of infection or limping. Should we start epsom salt soaking or just keep an eye on it? Also, all our 4 hens have scant feathers on...

We eventually stopped any treatment, the pocket just stayed there, filled up with dirt, and never seemed to cause her any issues. I am not a medical person, but I think it would take surgery to get the pocket to close, and without a sterile environment it seems that would be much more risky than...

I'm starting to wonder if she was already dead? Not that it helps. But, sleeping on the ground with her head down and neck outstretched? Not sure I've ever seen a live chicken do that, but I have found dead chickens in that pose.

I'm so sorry. It's a really hard thing to go through. I keep telling myself that it's a good thing that life is fragile, or we wouldn't value it at all. But I do hate that life is so fragile.

Thank you all. Of course I’d like to avoid rehoming her, but I will try switching her into the brooder. She was screaming at the chicks almost constantly while laying today.

We had 2 chickens who did this after a month of two of not laying. We decided that they got some chicken illness that made them lay funky eggs. They went on to live long and well, they just continued to lay funky eggs.

We ended up with one 3 year old hen left, so we got 3 chicks to give her a flock. (She had been a flock of 2.) The chicks were brooded inside her coop in a see but don't touch method. They are now 4 weeks old and we are starting to attempt integration. When they are in their separate cage...

Thank you! A sapphire gem would also be a sex-link, so unless there's complete incompetence or fraud involved, those sold as pullets should be pullets, right? Here are 2 more photos if it helps.

This is a 4 week old chick sold as a blue rock pullet from tractor supply. I'm starting to wonder if he/she is an andalusian instead of a blue rock? And thus perhaps a cockerel? I started getting worried when his/her comb turned a bit more pink at the base. Unfortunately, we are in a suburb and...

Sorry, just saw your post. Our chick grew up and is a fine adult. No longer smells fishy, but it took all the way to the first molt to stop, I think. We did end up with one rooster, not sure if he was the smelly one or not.

Thanks, I'll do that. The birds have learned to run far away when we come out in the coverall suits, going to try dusting them at night.

We have one chicken that roosts and one that sleeps in the hay. I couldn’t figure it out until I tried to put her on the roost and caught the peck and squawk. Her sister is so nasty to her that she can’t roost. And there’s plenty of space for them both.

That is the same stuff I used. I don’t want to enter a store to buy powder, so I’ll be working with what I have.

I got a few microscope pictures of the mites, and there are still living mites on the hens, about 1/10 than before spraying. Ignore the air bubbles, I don’t have good microscope skills. since they’re active on the birds midday, I’m assuming they northern fowl mites. do you think? Should I wait...

:) Chickens are strange creatures.

Our latest batch of hens (2 BR's) has consistently refused to lay in the nesting box. The boxes are internal, with doors to the outside and made out of plastic. They seem to scare the birds, somehow. We've tried anything we could imagine, but they would always make their own nest in some...

We cleaned out the coop, sprayed it well with permethrin (concentrated barn percentage) and sprayed the hens during a warm day (at much lower bird percentage). The coop still smells like permethrin. It was relatively easy to spray the coop, but a real trauma to me (mostly trying not to get...

I noticed tiny fast moving reddish bugs on a newly laid egg. Checked out our hens (2 barred rocks) and near their vent their skin and feather shafts look good but every time I parted a new area I saw about 10 of these bugs quickly skitter away. I can't see any dimension to them, they look like...

I'm wondering if having a coop that moves every day is a slight deterrent to predators like mink and raccoon? We have a chicken tractor (elevated plywood coop with run in front and below, on wheels, moved almost daily) for our 2-4 chickens. We live in a suburban area with raccoons, coyotes...

I would recommend switching to horizontal nipples while the chickens are still young. Our 2 month olds had no problem switching over, but our 5 year old when we tried a year ago couldn't figure it out. Also, in my experience, the vertical nipples can be hung so the container swings a bit, it...