Search results for query: *

Greetings, all! Today, I am celebrating the 9th birthday of three hens, my barred rock, Stella, my Welsummer, Charlotte and my black Australorp, Ginny. Here they are as babies: Charlotte, the Welsummer, developed two curled toes on her right foot over time. It wasn't visible initially, as...

I feed my elderly cat raw meat with a completer, EZ Complete Fur Cats, because this diet helps immensely with her multiple health conditions. I've got an old ailing hen who is showing an interest in meat, but not much else. I've given her cooked hamburger and raw, mixed with nutri drench...

I've got a Black Australorp hen, nearly 9, who began failing seriously a week ago. She went off her feed and water, and began walking less. This beautiful old girl has been sitting slightly off-kilter, toward the left, for months, but otherwise behaving normally, if eating a little less and not...

I've been keeping hens for more than 20 years, and losing them just seems to get harder, especially when I feel I could have prevented it. I am looking for consolation, I guess, or at least company. I lost my beautiful 3-year-old cream legbar Anabel -- happy, healthy, sweet-natured...

A dog came into my yard and made off with my little cream legbar hen. It appears from a feather pile and what witnesses said that he chased her down, pounced on her and carried her down the road for maybe 15-20 seconds before dropping her. (Someone apparently yelled at him.) I retrieved her...

I've typically fed 16 percent protein crumbles to my hens, which seems to support them well. (I halve it with 22 percent meat bird crumbles during molt, to bring protein to about 19 percent.) I see here, though, that many folks routinely feed an all-flock ration with higher protein, for reasons...

I've just re-read my blog post from 2015 and enjoyed all over again the video at the end, showing my young birds discovering they can fly. I thought you might, too. The roo pictured in the video was re-homed, but I'm still graced by the three hens with which he was reared; I now have four...

I've just noticed my 7-year-old barred rock sitting on her hocks. In other posts about this behavior, I've heard a Vit. B deficiency called out. I've got Durvet Probiotics Daily in their water; it contains riboflavin, as well as niacin, pantothenate acid and thiamine. But she doesn't seem...

Hello, All: My 7-year-old Welsummer has slowed down visibly in the last few days; when I picked her up to palpate her abdomen and check for egg-binding (as a precaution; she has not laid this season), I noted that much of the area ahead of her vent, on her underside, is just ... hard. It...

The last time this happened, April 27, I posted in the egg-laying behaviors forum: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/transient-ataxia-and-egg-laying.1523132/#post-25653242 Now, it's recurred, and I'm seeking help to prevent or effectively resolve what appears to be ataxia related to...

Occasionally, one of my hens will suddenly start walking oddly -- almost as if she has a hitch in her gait -- and become uncoordinated in a kind of scary, seemingly neurological manner, with no apparent cause. Then, it passes as quickly as it came. This happened this morning with my young...

7-year-old Welsummer (you may call her Charlotte) has been periodically snicking and gaping for 2-3 months. At first, I thought the gaping was a stress response to being handled, which she hates. Then I saw her doing it while dustbathing. The snicking/sneezing routinely occurs after eating...

My 7-year-old Welsummer is gaping; I noticed it a couple of weeks ago when I was handling the birds and thought it a stress response as she has never liked to be handled. But I see her doing it now while she is sun/dustbathing, and small sneezes and coughs are common. She is eating, drinking...

My older hens sometimes develop bare spots on their undercarriage, keel or farther back, where they sit or roost, as they become less active and things sag with age. Does anyone have suggestions for topical applications to soothe these spots and heal any abrasions that occur? Something that rubs...

I became aware of this phenomenon when I considered whether to vaccinate chicks for Marek's, but I did not make the connection with COVID vaccines until I read this fascinating article. It is not making a case for or against COVID vaccination. Rather, it's an illuminating read for people...

After 20-odd years of flock-keeping, I realize that my most enjoyable days were with my first flock. They were good stock, and I'd read Damerow's basic poultry primers and gave them good basic care. Four lived to be 7, and one to be 8. During those years I treated one serious injury (raptor...

I have a buff Orpington hen nearly 7, whose crop is chronically slow and only partly empties overnight. I treated her successfully last summer for sour crop, and a few weeks ago, cleared an habitually firm crop with regular feedings of scrambled egg mixed with firm coconut oil and massages...

Does anyone know whether Greenies feline pill pockets are safe for hens? I've got an arthritic older Brahma who has stopped accepting Meloxicam in any of the regular treats. Holding her in my lap to pill her manually hurts her, so I need to entice her to again take it voluntarily. Thanks! (I...

Wondering if azygous or some other crop expert might say how much docusate sodium to give for an impacted crop. I have the softgels, 100 mg. Do you just open them and squeeze the whole thing on soft egg, or some other appealing carrier? I've had my buff orpington to the vet, who attempted to...

Looking for ideas here, gang. I've got an 8-pound light brahma hen who's had a sore hip/leg for several years. As she has gotten older, she is sitting more, and now sleeping regularly in the pine shavings at night -- something she used to do just in the winter. She'll get up and walk around...