Recent content by Chicken Man Can

Update : She's recovering. Epsom salt and apple cider vinegar in water helped.

6 months to 1 year.

For several days one of hens is lethargic, sleeping most of the day, and not eating (but does drink). Her condition is stable, neither improving or worsening, and I don't know what it is. Her crop is not full, I gave her layer pellet / epsom salt soup which she liked and lapped up. Any ideas?

Same issue with one, afraid of losing her. Lost one two days ago suddenly, showing no previous signs, likely heart attack.

We got 6 new hens, not even 2 months ago to replace a flock that was ravaged by a raccoon. All was fine and dandy but today I found one suddenly deceased. I had checked on them just about an hour and half prior, and they were all fine. What happened in that short time span is beyond me. No...

I am going to replace my flock's water bowl with an automatic system via bucket, float valve, and hose. I am deliberating whether I should use nipples or cups. Anyone have experience with one or both of these, pros cons?

My coop currently has a nesting box situated up high, accessible via a loft. I am going to move the nesting box below because otherwise they sleep and poop in it at night. I want to know if they'll use a nesting box when there is also a loft above, or if they will always choose the higher space...

As the poster above implied, chicken wire ain't up to snuff when it comes to predators. Most any ground predator can chew / tear right through it. I have welded wire around mine, with chicken wire and plastic fencing to cover the holes. Unfortunately I made a fatal mistake of having the fencing...

How do these girls do in the winter? Do they perform like Australorps and Austrawhites? That is a short Autumn break during molt then lay throughout winter.

My understanding that black and lavendar Orpingtons don't produce as much as buff Opringtons, is that correct? And are they still decent winter layers?

Oh yikes. The ones I had before stopped mid November, then started mid January. Unfortunate the Sussex don't do this.

How good is this breed for egg laying in the winter? I am looking for a breed that is fairly consistent all year long (I know there is always a break). I had Austrawhites, Andalusian and a Australorp before and they did great in the winter, sadly they all died. I need something to replace them with.

Update : She passed 😥 . Initially it seemed she might recover but she got less active again and I found her deceased this morning (probably passed during the night). I think the stress of the attack was too much for her, as she was completely healthy prior.

Thank you both for the tips. I have good news, she is better today than yesterday. She wasn't moving and just nodding off during the day yesterday but is more active now. I added apple cider vinegar to her water bowl (I should've but forgot to before), as she is drinking quite a lot. Not a...

She's the sole survivor of a recent predator attack (most likely raccoon), that killed the rest of our 5 member flock. The first couple of days after she seemed fine, and I even let her out to forage which she did. In the days since however she has become lethargic and lost appetite...