Hi,
I have a very stubborn broody hen. She's an easter egger and isn't a year old yet, but has decided that she is going to lay imaginary eggs on the nesting box. I caught her her first day doing it (I only have 4 chickens so it's pretty easy to catch different behavior!) and immediately...
Another question, this one regarding culling chickens. I have 5 hens, in my suburban yard. 3 of them are now 4 years old (the other 2 are just coming into their first lay). We can't have any more hens because of by-law/room factors. Of the 4 year olds, one is an internal layer and hasn't laid in...
Thanks for replying @lalaland...I read the same thing with the prepH. I was hoping there was something easier (like doing nothing!) Haha. Will keep you posted.
Hi all!
Just had a quick question about prolapsed vent. My 4 year old hen has a slight prolapse, but is still laying eggs normally. The only way I even noticed is because sometimes she sits sort of crouched down, like she's trying to poop but nothing is coming out. I took a closer look and saw...
@aart: I did a check of the yard and didn't find anything although I can't rule a hidden nest out for sure...my one girl with the red comb actually let me scratch her today and did the shake after so I'm guessing she's ready to lay and the other one looked totally different when I let her out...
@junebuggena , @aart wow, thanks for the info! I had never even considered using the grower feed past egg laying...this is my first time with a mixed flock so I was going on different websites I read. I'll give the grower feed a go. I was just worried that I would be malnourishing the laying...
thanks so much for the advice, both of you! I'm glad to know that it's not just me and I didn't end up with a pair of duds!
@junebuggena : I switched them to the layer feed after giving up on them free choosing the grower feed once they were about 30 weeks or so. Do you think I should remove...
Hi, I have two easter eggers that I bought last August. The owner felt sure that the girls would both start laying by fall, and assumed they were 10-12 weeks when purchased. However, neither have started yet, and they're nearing 40 weeks! It seems like a really long time to me, but I've no...
I have a 2 1/2 year old red sex link who has always laid rather large and interesting shaped eggs. She has been a good layer until this spring. Her egg laying has become more sporadic-every other day to every three days, and the eggs have been soft, hard, bumpy, and sometimes all three at once...
Quick question about an egg bound hen:
One of my girls has always laid large, odd shaped eggs. She's 2 1/2 now, and was recently egg bound. After a warm bath she laid a weird half soft half hard shelled egg. She's been better since, perky, eating and pooping normally, but has yet to lay...
@ronotti1--no mites or lice (she was never infected), plus I just rechecked again today. and no, the protein isn't helping--though all girls are super shiny right now!
@SallyinIndiana--I only have three hens, thus my continued over-worry...I think if I had more, she'd be stew for sure!
The...
Hi,
I posted a few months ago about my hens--one was getting pecked on her neck and I couldn't figure out what to do. I finally used blu-kote out of desperation, only to find that the culprit was pecking right through the blu-kote (I had thought blu-kote didn't taste good, so I was...
Yes I could divide the run. Would I leave her to sleep out there or would I let her into the coop at night and bring her back out in the morning?
I have watched them off and on during the day and while they do preen each other a lot I haven't seen any aggressive behavior which is what made me...
I didn't see any ringworm or rashes. I guess the separation will help determine if she's eating her own feathers...do you think I could let her out on my fenced in deck while the other girls are in the yard? Or should I just keep her inthe kennel?
Thanks for the advice. If I were to separate her, how would that look? I have a dog kennel I can set up in the garage but obviously I can't let her free range with the other girls. Would it be stressfu l for her to be separated and then stressful for her to return? How long should I keep her...