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Does anyone know if tent caterpillars are safe for chickens to eat? I'd hate to give them treats and poison them... I'm not sure of the kind of caterpillar - they're black and fuzzy and on an aspen tree.

No, they're not super young - over a year and have been laying since the end of last summer. I did some searching and it looks like from other similar stories and info, this should pass. Thanks for your input.

I broke one of my broody girls a couple of weeks ago by separating her from the flock without the possibility of nesting. She got really aggressive after I kept kicking her off the nest, and I was worried about her because she wasn't eating and drinking. She wasn't leaving the nesting box at...

Today while collecting eggs I found these two things in nesting box next to the eggs. The clear one looks to me like a shell-less and yolk-less egg, and the other is a dried up something... maybe a shell-less egg from a few days ago? Last week I suspected that one of my hens was possibly egg...

Glad to hear that your hen is doing better. I have one with similar symptoms right now, and I find there's such a fine line of if/what to do about it. I hope that your chicken fully recovers.

I let my girl out of "jail" this morning and she's back to her old self. She never did lay an egg while separated, but after about two days she got over the whole anger thing. I guess we all just need our own space sometimes!

Thank you! I'll be watching for that egg!

Great info from everybody, I'm learning so much - thanks! Quite honestly, I'm not 100% sure why them being broody is bad and why to remove the possibility of nesting. I'm using common sense here and am assuming it's because if they sit on the nest all the time they won't eat and drink? Does...

Thanks for the input! I was laughing at my husband earlier because he was growling at her and flapping his wings after I'd kicked her out of the cooper yet again. I put her in "jail" tonight, and she seemed more afraid than mad. She's in the dog crate inside the chicken run, even equipped...

My BA is very unhappy with my husband and I because we've been kicking her out of the nesting boxes for the past few days. She's all fluffed up, making her little growling sounds and even flew at the wire fence to the chicken run when I was outside of it. I'm planning on separating her...

My chickens like pine shavings, and I do too because they compost faster than straw.

I think in general, cooking grains helps with absorption of nutrients. It softens them so that they don't just pass through the body. It also helps with hydration. Personally, I think they taste much better cooked, and have noticed my own chickens to prefer them that way too.

Our chickens have become part of the family and get along with everybody

Great info - thank you! I'm not sure what to think though... all of my hens are just over 1 year old, they have plenty of free ranging space. I'm not totally sure which bird it is, I've narrowed it down to two based on the size of the egg. I'd hate to cull one thinking she might be sick, but...

I love the pigs! I assume that you all raise them for meat? My husband really wants to do that and I'm worried that I'd get too attached to their sweet little faces.

Very cool! I think that's a great coop! It looks super easy to clean out. What is the black pipe for?

Thanks for the website dmdhart. That's a very good explanation of egg formation (I even printed off a copy!), but I'm still not sure if something isn't right with one of my hens. I'll keep looking and let you know if I find anything.

Every few days I get an egg that has indented lines on it. I think it's coming from the same chicken, and I'm wondering if something could be wrong - health or nutritionally related. Anybody familiar with this? Should I be concerned or do something? The dark picture showed a better...

That is a nice chicken! Super cute!

How sad, I'm so sorry. How great it is that you have people around to help out. Good luck with the new coop and flock. Thanks for sharing your loss and reminding us all to be more careful. Chicken people rock!