Recent content by corliss

I am so sorry that this happened to you. I've only kept chickens for three years but I know how awful it would feel to lose them to a predator. I did want to say, however, that I learned this week through Melina Brown's emailings (chicken meet up) that bantams are much more vulnerable to the...

I have a two year old Australorp who began sitting on the nest box yesterday and stayed on for several hours. I wondered if she was egg bound although she really didn't show any other symptoms and gave her a warm bath. She ate heartily after this and produced a large poop but immediately after...

Look up Wry Neck on this site and see if the symptoms match your chick's. If so, you can probably turn things around with speedy treatment. We had a two week old that developed Wry Neck and although it took nearly a week of eye dropper feedings of baby vitamins without iron and egg yolk, our...

I ordered from MPC and received the chicks a week ago. I had previously only bought chicks from the feed store and this was my first experience with mail order. It is a really good idea to call your post office and find out what their delivery procedures are. I did this way in advance and was...

I just went through a session where my chickens were eating eggs and I tried everything that was written on BYC to stop the problem. It was extremely frustrating because nothing I did made a difference and I kept coming out to broken and mostly eaten eggs. What seems to have turned the tide...

And when I say outside, I mean totally separate from the coop? I have six hens who are eating eggs and I have tried many solutions to no avail. I'm wondering if getting metal, front collection rolling nest boxes and putting them in the run will work. The run is fully enclosed chain link...

I have six chickens who are approaching two years of age and when they began to lay again this last January they began eating their eggs. I have tried many solutions but nothing has worked so far, included rolling nest box inserts (which don't fit the existing nest boxes well), mustard eggs and...

Look up wry neck on here and read about the treatment. I had a week old chick with wry neck but with baby vitamins (without iron), vitamin e and dropper administered liquid yolk, she came through just fine.

Has anyone heard of this? Last year I had a vet who specializes in chickens tell me that flake hay can cause lung problems. At least, I think this is what she told me but she hasn't answered my last email asking for clarification. Has anyone heard of this or experienced it first hand? Or can...

I've been waging war on the rats coming into the chicken run and some are so bold as to even be out in late afternoon. I've used snap traps, plaster balls, an electronic trap and a live trap with varyiing results. I don't leave food out in the run and I mix chili powder with their food in the...

I'm new to chickens but two of mine (18 month olds) are in a long molt right now and their appetites are definitely off. I have been sneaking them out extra protein treats because they don't even bother to try and eat from the daily treat plate anymore. Oh, and welcome to BYC!

I think you'll find most people on BYC divided between those who think it ridiculous to pay an expensive vet bill and those who feel their chickens are pets and don't care what the cost is. There is one vet in my area (about 40 minutes away) who works in a practice with two other doctors but...

I've been seeing a lot of merlins in our area (Shelton) and wondered if anyone else in CT has had any experience with them. They look like small hawks but are falcons that manuever like air force fighter planes. Last fall one swooped in, came to within three feet (just above our favorite...

I was at Target today and they had a small size dog waterer with a one gallon gravity drip system that goes into a large bowl. I looked it up on line and they also have 5 gallon ones available. Has anyone ever used this and if so, how did it work for you? I'm using large dog bowls right now...

About a month ago I had a vet out to the house to look at my six hens, one of whom had a respiratory problem. She examined each one and said they were all on the thin side, based on how prominent their keel bones were. Within two days I switched from Blue Seal organic layer food to regular...