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Thank you! I didn't realize same height would be acceptable for a secondary roost bar. We'll put in a second 2x4 this week.

Hi there, These are indeed the low pecking order chickens :) Two of their buddies are mid pecking order, and make it onto the roost. They seem to have been shunted, although I'm not sure if it's due to the hens, or due to roost construction. It really doesn't seem like 36'' is that high to...

Our coop is walk-in height, and is built off of our deck, in an "open plan" construction. This means that, until I winterize and close in the third wall, the back wall of our chicken coop is the railing of our deck. For a roost, we have a single 2x4, installed at approximately 36''. All of my...

Ha! I understand the sentiment If it is any comfort, my girls will ALL let me touch, pet, and cuddle them the day they started to lay, and not a day sooner. Those who have yet to go into lay want nothing to do with me, other than running over to eat the treats I have to offer. I'm not...

These 6, plus 3 more. However, someone I didn't know was laying has been hoarding! Technically 3 were laid today.

My RIRs are generally pretty quiet, although they can get pretty talkative if: a) announcing an egg, b) something suspicious or exciting occurs, or c) I forget the daily treats (God forbid). Lol. My Wyandottes (who are a bit younger) have been extremely quiet, but lacking the personality of the...

Within about 48 hours of beginning to lay, my girls started "circling" in the nesting boxes. I tossed a bunch of nesting material in the boxes, and they went in and built little hollowed out nests a day or two before the first egg. I'd say you're close =)

I think I might be able to make an educated guess =)

Hi there, Yep! Eating, drinking, pooping just fine! She is a new layer. She started laying right around 2 weeks ago, with normal eggs for the first week, then a short span of no eggs, no these monsters. I am considering myself lucky to get a two-for-one deal for as long as it lasts, as long...

Duchess, one of my RIRs, laid her 5th sequential double yolker monster egg today. She's my second hen to go into lay, the first of which has never produced a double yolker. Is this fairly common behavior? She is acting completely normal. I'm just checking on the potential long term effects of...

6 days and 6 eggs later, she's on a roll! Today was the first day I found the egg without her on top of it. Her "sister" has joined the egg-laying journey as well!

I seem to have broken her of the broodiness... for now :) Best of luck with yours! In other news, my father in law is 100% convinced that if a broody hen sits on an unfertilized egg, it will hatch. ;-)

My RIR started exhibiting signs of broodiness today. She selected a nest spot and wouldn't leave it, shouted at me when I got close to her, laid her wings out flat on the ground when I attempted to touch her. I think she may be broody, or getting there, over her very first clutch of eggs. I...

Thanks for your reply as well =) My girls free range from sun down to sun up. It's nice to know that the laying feed is a choice, not a necessity. I'm a bit new to the chicken thing, but completely in love with my flock. I'll give it awhile- I imagine those eggs should harden up in no time...

Hi there! Thanks for your reply! Here I was, thinking the soft shell was because I should have started her on oyster shell and layer feed weeks ago =) I've got another hen who has taken quite a bit of time to put herself together a little nest in the pile of grass clippings I put in the...

Hi Folks, My RIR hens started acting strange today-- letting us reach down and touch them, and "bowing" when we do so. This is new behavior, since they are usually skittish! I told my husband we'd have eggs really, really soon. About an hour later, one of my hens laid an egg-- on the roost...

This is Nugget, the sweetest rooster around! He's been good to the girls, and started crowing a few weeks back. He is 17 weeks, and needs a new home FAST. One of my neighbors has threatened to report the crowing, and while my hens are legal, he is not. I am in Kennewick, WA.

Hi there, I posted a thread recently about a hen with a limp. Gimpy's limp has improved significantly- for the most part, she is putting weight on her foot, and walking normally. She does occasionally limp. Upon examining her today, I noticed that the foot she had previously been refusing...

It's been hot. We've had some heatwaves up to 104 for about a week, then it gradually falls down to the mid 80s again. I'm in Eastern Washington. The chickens haven't been showing any signs of overheating. At the first sign of holding their wings out for more than a few seconds, I turn the...