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I have had luck with Vitamin C and Pau d'Arco mixed in with plain yoghurt. Vit. C is ascorbic acid and Pau d'Arco is an herbal remedy for yeast, which is usually what causes sour crop. Try not to feed him simple carbs for a couple of days, including the corn in his food. Other members have had...

My Buff was the last of six different breeds to lay, I think she was about six months old before she started. She's five now and prefers to be broody than lay eggs. Her last session lasted over four weeks. Mary

I have an Andalusian that lived with a flock of wild turkeys for six months, even through a Colorado winter. Her people sort of neglected her flock and she was the only survivor of two attacks so she ran away from home preferring to take her chances with the 'Turks. Now, she's the first...

She sounds like she's got egg yolk peritonitis. Unfortunately, it's bad. I had one who had that a couple of years ago and she ended up dying. If this is it, eventually she become so swollen that she cannot lie down because it will cut off her breathing. She's uncomfortable now and will get...

I have older (five years) hens who are fed Flock Layer with free oyster shells but still lay soft shell eggs. I also have three year old hens who do fine. I got some dolomite powder in the calcium section of the health food store and thought about mixing some in their food. The dolomite has...

I make a scratch that's made up from racehorse oats, wheat (preferably red because it has more protein) and black oil sunflower seeds. I mix together one 50 pound bag each of the oats and wheat and mix in about ten pounds of sunflower seeds. This will last my eight birds about six months. Mary

Here in my town, there are a couple of people who take in animals, not just chickens, for the love of the animal. So they have a shelter for unwanted livestock. Perhaps there might be such a thing in your area. I would start by asking at the local ranch and feed stores if they know of anyone...

I hear you, Rose, I'm not a morning person myself. Seriously, try giving her (and the rest of them by proximity) some scrambled eggs in the morning, once or twice. They would all benefit and Rose may just need some more fat. I have an Andalusian that seems to need more Vitamin D in the winter...

Can you clear some snow from around the coop door and throw some straw down on top of it? This seems to work to get my girls out of the coop no matter how cold it is and they have fun throwing the straw around. I use straw because they are less likely to eat it and get crop bound. Throw some...

I'm with rottnwarrior in that I've increased the protein content of their food. We got very cold here in Colorado, into the minuses and an inversion, and I mix a half and half mixture of Flock Raiser (20% protein) and Game Bird (30% protein) and it seemed to make a huge difference in their...

I've introduced single hens by fencing part of their yard off with a separate sleep area for the new one. After one or two nights I moved her into the coop after they all went to bed, but was ready for daytime separation. There will probably be some fighting to reestablish pecking order. If...

I hear you. I leave home in the dark and come home in the dark now, it's annoying. I feed, water and clean the coop in the am with a flashlight before work. They're still on their roosts and I can just pick up the little piles. The girls grumble a bit but they're about to get up anyway. I...

I have always fed mine a homemade scratch of whole wheat, racehorse oats, and black oil sunflower seeds and they've done very well. The ratio is 5/5/1.

I've not had much luck with those water heaters, if you read the specs some are only good to 15 degrees. A heated dog water bowl is a better option. I've never had mine freeze completely. Three chickens in a coop might be okay depending upon how big the tractor house is. If they're snug and...

I feed mine grass-fed ground beef, especially in the winter. But what feeds are available that have animal protein in them? I heard that due to the "mad cow" problem, animal proteins were removed from chicken feed. Mary

About 10 days ago we here in western CO went from a temperature of 34 degrees at night to -4 inside of 24 hours. My Buff Orp had just started moulting. This morning she's huddled in the corner absolutely wretched, and still not feathered. So, I brought her inside in a large cage. After she...

Try to get her to eat an egg. You could hard boil it and mash it up or scramble it. Make it so it's easy to digest. Try to keep her warm and quiet. Good luck, Mary

It's really hard to see from you picture but they could be mealworms or maggots of a sort, eating the chicken food off the ground. I get them sometimes around the bricks that support the waterer. The girls love them. Mary

I know that a cedar chicken house is not good, but what about aged cedar for roosts? I bought some cedar 2 x 4s for a project that didn't happen a month ago so they've been sitting outside, airing out, so to speak. It was time for new roosts so this is what I used, but it could be undone if...

At four months old, I think it's a pullet. I would expect much more pointed saddle feathers and neck feathers in a roo. But, I've been wrong before. Are you confused yet? Just in case I'm correct, you might want to get her nest box ready because she's looking like she's getting ready to start...