Recent content by hannah and the chickens

Hi! Some of my chickens like to sleep in the nesting box, too. In my experience, closing the entrance to the boxes for a few nights teaches them to choose a different sleeping spot. Do your chickens use the roosting bar at any time during the day or night? Some of my chickens, who grew up at the...

Peaches Lee thanks for your nice reply! I'm truly grateful that we found this vet, too! And also that my mum said she'd cover the costs, she has been supporting me through this whole thing. Today I had to discover that my second Bielefelder hen apparently also had her vent prolapse, so I took...

Hello everyone! On Sunday I found one of my one year old Bielefelder hens with a prolapsed vent. I'm a relatively new chicken keeper as they are my first chickens (bought them around March last year), so I did not want to treat this on my own without professional help. Therefore, I made some...

My chickens weren't allowed outside because of avian flu since the beginning of November, but the veterinary office lifted the "chicken lockdown" today. I'm so happy for my hens, they are having so much fun roaming freely in the garden right now.

I'm so sorry, too. I hope your girl gets better soon! If you can, check the sick chicken over head to toe. I always try to feel the crop, the belly and around the butt (I know that can be gross, I usually try to find a pair of gloves if the chicken has a messy butt). Feel for an unusually hard...

Even with the "see but no touch" method the chickens will probably get into a few fights in the first week(s) since they can't form a pecking order through the fence. As long as they don't hurt each other seriously you'll have to let them do their thing. Just make sure to offer feed and water...

As far as I know, Flubenvet should help against gape worms, but sometimes worms can be really resistant so in many cases, you need to treat a second time (or a third time). Maybe you can take a poop sample to your vet to test for worms. If your chicken has gape worms, the eggs should be visible...

Hi and welcome! When I started keeping chickens, I had to fight worms as well. In general, it helps a lot to have a poop sample done. Most vets should be able to do that, regardless of wether they actually treat chickens or not and at least where I live, it isn't too expensive (about 15€)...

My hen sometimes lays her egg first, then runs back outside for her egg song.

The carrot soup shouldn't make her poop more runny ideally. The soup contains oligosaccharides that somehow help against bacteria in the intestines that could cause the diarrhea. It is a common home remedy where I live, it works for children, dogs and also chickens. I don't have any experience...

I'm sorry for your loss, too. Loosing a chicken is always hard, especially when you only have a small flock and know every hen's personality. I live near a vet who luckily knows a lot about chickens and I took all of my sick chickens there. Nevertheless, oftentimes even the vet wasn't able to...

Oh poor girl :( I hope she gets better soon! I'm not an expert on chicken breeds but even hybrid hens can get as old as 10 years. 6-7 years is more of a usual age for chickens though in my opinion. To me it doesn't really seem like she might be egg bound, symptoms of egg bound hens are usually...

The hen could have all kinds of things, coccidia and worms are just the tip of the iceberg. If you can, try to have a poop sample of the hen tested for coccidia and worms (most vets should be able to do that). If you know someone who owns a microscope you could even check yourself. That way you...

I know many old breeders who like to introduce new chickens that way, but if at all possible you should give the new birds some time to get to know the coop without the older chickens running after them. Otherwise, they won't know where to go in the morning if the older hens decide to peck and...

Hi! So you want to use the red coop for the new chickens and divide the run in the middle? I think that is a good idea so they can get used to each other from afar at first. When I introduced two new chickens to my two Bielefelders, I wasn't able to offer a second coop. I always made sure...