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I have a two year hen that's been a reliable layer until recently when I noticed a change in behavior. She now sits all the time as if she wants to lay but nothing happens; she isn't as active and her gait is slower and more deliberate when she walks. I examined her vent to find it protruding. I...

For the past two days we noticed one of our hens (black partridge cochin) seems to be isolating herself from the others. She stands in one place with her eyes periodically closing then opening again. She didn't even respond when I threw some corn scratch out. When she moves it is very slow. She...

My chicken appears to dying. She and another chicken were in the coop and it appears there was not enough water.

I just lost one of two 6 week old pullets to a predator and I'm considering replacing it with a chick. Both would be sharing a nice size brooder. Bad idea? Should I replace it with pullet of the same age?

My 9 year old daughter just informed me that one of our 11 month old hens just up and died. We noticed no unusual behavior over the past few days, or even hours before its demise. We did get a lot of rain yesterday and it was cold. I'm wondering if "Bebe" came down with pneumonia because of the...

I'm planning to add two chicks to my flock of 4 but haven't decided what breed(s) to get. It's going to come down to Delaware, Barred Rock, or Silver Wyandotte. Delaware captured my interest because of their rarity and reputation for laying large eggs. I like a little more information about...

It's been thirty weeks and still no eggs from two of my chickens. One is a Partridge cochin and the other a BO. With much shorter days now I expect I won't be getting any eggs from them until next spring. Maybe. Is this unusual? Why do some chickens take so long to start laying?

Last Monday between 9am and noon one of my hens mysteriously disappeared without a trace. I was out of town but my spouse informs me that she heard nothing unusual. There's no evidence that a predator got her like loose feathers and such. The hen, a white leghorn, was at the top of the pecking...

"Belinda", the white leghorn, is clearly at the top of the pecking order. I recently noticed her bullying "Barbara" (bottom of the pecking order) whenever there's food to be had. Belinda also bullies the other girls during feeding. Her behavior amounts to pecking the others away from the food...

When I invested in my little girls (now 12 weeks old) it was in part with the expectation that they'd help control the ant population in my yard. As of this posting, ants are simply a mild curiosity; they look, they ignore, and they leave. Is there still hope? Or is to late for ants to become...

Of course, I don't mean as a regular diet but I have a little left over that I'd rather not throw away. A one time deal.

Over the past week or so I began noticing that my pullets-I have fiveand all are about 12 weeks-will periodically and briefly joust each other and then go about their business as though nothing just happened. My first thought was that they are establishing whose the boss, the pecking order...

I was out in my front yard this morning tilling and raking when I heard a bunch of birds screeching and yelling like crazy. I looked up and saw what must have been 4 or 5 birds chasing away a hawk. Man, it was a sight to behold! My respect and admiration for mocking birds had already skyrocketed...

This morning my neighbor's cat found its way back in my yard spying 'the girls' (all 11 weeks old). Although I have a somewhat cooperative neighbor, my patience is running out. The only good news is (well, bad depending on how you look at) is the girls are standing their ground and Belinda-my...

I arrived in California in 2000 via Washington via Delaware. I have 5 pullets that are almost ten weeks old, which I purchased in April when they were three days old. Eggs and a little backyard entertainment for the family was my primary reasons for wanting to raise chickens, and the fact that...