Last weekend we got two previously healthy looking chickens from a relative that sadly didn't last three days. They were two of three, their sibling having died suddenly a week earlier, but other than that none of the other chickens that had been living in close proximity with have died so it...
Actually withholding the treats is a good way to go about it! Maybe don't hold out for a sit-stay though! ;)
Chickens are pretty responsive to training in my experience. Use the principles of positive reinforcement/negative punishment (rewards for desirable behaviour and removal or withholding...
So, up until I got on BYC we fed corn (whole, dry corn like this for the prevention of confusion :D : http://photos2.demandstudios.com/dm-resize/photos.demandstudios.com%2Fgetty%2Farticle%2F240%2F100%2F158441697_XS.jpg?w=400&h=10000&keep_ratio=1 )
As the main base of our chickens diet, with...
Thank you for this - one of our chickens was injured in a dog attack and it looks like she's never going to regain movement in one knee (her lower leg just sort of hangs there, but she can move her toes and is hopping around quite happily just using her limp leg for balance) so I'm making her a...
We had only had Pond (Doctor Who fans will understand!) a few days when she apparently wandered off right into the jaws of our neighbour's dog. She obviously hid out/hopped off somewhere and managed to survive with little food or water and only one functioning leg for at least a fortnight!
She...
We have a small coop with our three little d'anvers/modern game mixes in it.
Right now its on gravel and it's very messy - the poop sits on top, they step in it and tread it everywhere and the feed is growing shoots round their bowl where it's fallen under the gravel XD they love it but again...
Just an update in case anyone stumbles across this thread! - our cats have not been savaged by the chickens, nor have they eaten any of them - the cats soon learned that they got told off for chasing them and once the chickens learned they wouldn't actually hurt them, just stalk and rush them...
Just googled 'fancy chickens' out of boredom and this gorgeous boy (admittedly in an odd pose!) popped up and I fell in love a little bit XD any ideas what breed he might be?
We initially had two, Henrietta and Harriet, unfortunately Henrietta was a bit of a wonderer and got hit by a car :( It was a real blow as they made a lovely pair. Would recommend to anyone who allows their birds to free range - these are tough birds, they are more likely to attack a predator...
Well it turns out we have ANOTHER problem dog in our area because it wasn't the dog I thought it was.
The neighbour I contacted via the note came round and said his dog had been in with him all day because he was ill and off work, and thinking about it his dog wears a bright red collar, is...
Thanks for the advice.
I would gladly catch a dog and take it to be re homed by people who would look after it properly (in my eyes, it's not the dog's fault it got out -I mean its just being a dog), but unfortunately they would be able to see the trap in our garden, and its a rescue dog...
This big black lab just ran into our garden, picked her up, and ran off before I could do anything. I'm absolutely devastated because this chicken was a super affectionate little old lady who I've had for years (she's the hen in my avatar pic) and there was absolutely nothing I could do beyond...
I'm another one that just found this thread today and read the whole 'saga of Gretel' (might I suggest this as a name if you decide to publish her biography? :p ) right through! Sorry for the tough times you've had to go through, but so glad you and Gretel found one another!
Reminded me of a...
We got two lovely kittens a few weeks ago, they're a few months old now (about 6/7) and today I saw the more boisterous of the two chase our fully grown Indian Game. In this case I'm more worried for the cat than the bird because she has a nasty beak, and an equally fierce temper, especially...