Tab's Flock

[tabs_flock]

Got another update-

Numair (the cockerel) is officially crowing in the morning and attempting to make his way to the top of the flock. So far, Zelda and Link have been keeping him from getting too big for his britches. Whenever he puffs up at them, they stand tall and puff right back. There have been a few scuffles and he immediately backs down. I'm sure once he figures out how to ask nicely to mate, they'll be more interested but right now it seems to be all about being top of the flock.

So, nothing too unusual but I think my question is, are 5 hens enough for 1 roo? Everything I've read suggests a roo should have 8-10 hens and I can't have that many. Should I re-home him just so he has a properly sized flock?

That's my latest contemplation. Otherwise the flock seems to be doing well!

 

[Aunt Angus]

Got another update-

Numair (the cockerel) is officially crowing in the morning and attempting to make his way to the top of the flock. So far, Zelda and Link have been keeping him from getting too big for his britches. Whenever he puffs up at them, they stand tall and puff right back. There have been a few scuffles and he immediately backs down. I'm sure once he figures out how to ask nicely to mate, they'll be more interested but right now it seems to be all about being top of the flock.

So, nothing too unusual but I think my question is, are 5 hens enough for 1 roo? Everything I've read suggests a roo should have 8-10 hens and I can't have that many. Should I re-home him just so he has a properly sized flock?

That's my latest contemplation. Otherwise the flock seems to be doing well!

It depends on the rooster, I think. I have 12 hens for 1 rooster, Andy guy still picks his favorites and they can be a little "harassed." I have a friend who has a ratio just under yours with multiple roosters, and they do fine.

 

[tabs_flock]

It depends on the rooster, I think. I have 12 hens for 1 rooster, Andy guy still picks his favorites and they can be a little "harassed." I have a friend who has a ratio just under yours with multiple roosters, and they do fine.

So far they seem to be doing ok! The older ones still aren't impressed with his manners and one hen did wind up hiding in the coop from him. It's been raining here so the younger three have officially moved into the main coop, which did cause an egg-laying strike from one hen. But she's over it now

I think I will keep an eye on the situation and if it seems to get out of hand, I'll take steps then. Now if only he'd stop crowing at 4am...

 

[Aunt Angus]

So far they seem to be doing ok! The older ones still aren't impressed with his manners and one hen did wind up hiding in the coop from him. It's been raining here so the younger three have officially moved into the main coop, which did cause an egg-laying strike from one hen. But she's over it now

I think I will keep an eye on the situation and if it seems to get out of hand, I'll take steps then. Now if only he'd stop crowing at 4am...

My guy crows anytime there's a noise or something triggers the motion activated light out there. That thing will go on in a stiff breeze.

I hope they get along. Everything is so much easier when the flock is happy.

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

Watching this thread with humor and interest! LOL!

 

[tabs_flock]

So. An update after so much inactivity (I'm bad at regular updates and need to be better!)

Daine stopped laying in December and died in February. Idk why, I think cat but... But now Zelda has diarrhea and so does one of the eggers. Something had environmental must be going on...but WHAT?

This is the 1-yr anniversary of me getting birbs. I started with Link, Zelda (both golden sexlinks), Daine (black austrolorp), and Alanna (rhode Island red?). To date, I have Zelda and Link. Daine died last month (sob, I still don't know why) and Alanna was a rooster so I had to let him go.

I got 3 more babies to backfill some of this empty space. Unfortunately, one of my three "hens"...is a rooster. As I'm not allowed roosters (and my neighbor threatens to stew them), he sleeps in the garage and has a no-crow collar.

The other 2 are Easter eggers. I haven't spent as much time bonding with these two but they are spunky and fun. But I am worried. 2 hennies didn't lay but all 4 laid yesterday. I *think* it's vent gleet but.... I'm not sure. Their behavior is mostly normal and I do spoil them.

Idk guys I don't want to be killing hennies bc I like giving em treats. But. But...

Sigh.

 

[Aunt Angus]

So. An update after so much inactivity (I'm bad at regular updates and need to be better!)

Daine stopped laying in December and died in February. Idk why, I think cat but... But now Zelda has diarrhea and so does one of the eggers. Something had environmental must be going on...but WHAT?

This is the 1-yr anniversary of me getting birbs. I started with Link, Zelda (both golden sexlinks), Daine (black austrolorp), and Alanna (rhode Island red?). To date, I have Zelda and Link. Daine died last month (sob, I still don't know why) and Alanna was a rooster so I had to let him go.

I got 3 more babies to backfill some of this empty space. Unfortunately, one of my three "hens"...is a rooster. As I'm not allowed roosters (and my neighbor threatens to stew them), he sleeps in the garage and has a no-crow collar.

The other 2 are Easter eggers. I haven't spent as much time bonding with these two but they are spunky and fun. But I am worried. 2 hennies didn't lay but all 4 laid yesterday. I *think* it's vent gleet but.... I'm not sure. Their behavior is mostly normal and I do spoil them.

Idk guys I don't want to be killing hennies bc I like giving em treats. But. But...

Sigh.

I'm so sorry about Daine. I hate that part of chicken keeping.


Vent gleet is pretty darn durable. What symptoms are you seeing?

And treats aren't all bad in moderation. Lately, I've taken to throwing out their regular feed like I would scratch, and they go nuts. Or making them mash with warm water and their regular pellets. They think it's a treat.

Is the no crow collar working? It didn't work for my little dude.

 

[tabs_flock]

I'm so sorry about Daine. I hate that part of chicken keeping.


Vent gleet is pretty darn durable. What symptoms are you seeing?

And treats aren't all bad in moderation. Lately, I've taken to throwing out their regular feed like I would scratch, and they go nuts. Or making them mash with warm water and their regular pellets. They think it's a treat.

Is the no crow collar working? It didn't work for my little dude.

I just wish I knew what happened so I could prevent it happening again

For the vent gleet, the first thing I noticed was that she didn't lay yesterday. I noticed her rump was pretty dirty. I took her in to rinse her off and discovered that her rump is missing feathers (under the vent but not around it) and it looked a lot like what I've seen when I was researching chicken illnesses and symptoms.

But she's also been exhibiting stress behaviors because my 8mo old roo is trying to court her and doesn't know how to be gentle now that he's bigger than the rest of them. Something is definitely going on. These are the eggs from the last three days, oldest on the top and newest on the bottom (she wound up laying on my deck last night before heading to the coop for bed)

Top egg is from 3 days ago, the middle was found last night, and then the bottom is from just this morning. Since it's wonky for her to lay late, I got up early to check under her before letting her out. Note the "bent" nature of today's egg and sunburst pattern, it's not perfectly egg-shaped.

So something is obviously going on and just started a day or two ago. But what is it? The diarrhea and patchy rump makes me think vent gleet.

The problem is, she also just turned 1 so maybe she's molting? Or has a gastrointestinal issue I'm not thinking of? This is the first time she's ever turned out a lumpy egg.

This got a lot longer than I expected, sorry! Sir Numair's collar works in that he can still crow, but you can't hear him from the garage at 4 in the morning and it's not as loud. It does not stop him from going right up to the screen door and crowing at me, however.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Check out this article about problems with eggs. It has a lot of useful info:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

 

[tabs_flock]

Check out this article about problems with eggs. It has a lot of useful info:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

I totally forgot about this article, thanks for the reminder! That's where I learned about young pullets and shell-less eggs.

It sounds like it could be either stress or because she laid the 2 eggs 11 hours apart from each other. It sounds like that can affect the quality of the egg. Or it's bronchitis but she hasn't had any respiratory problems (she runs around like normal and is eating normally at least).

I will probably add probiotics to the feed and ACV to the water, and clean the coop thoroughly just in case. And I'll keep an eye on Sir Numair and his antics. If needed, I have a run where I can separate him from the hens for a while.