Recent content by Kaeta44

Once the chicks have lost their baby down and have properly feathered, you can move the broody hen away.

Chicken math = my math

Go easy on the protein - too much is worse than too little. As well as protein they really need calcium to help them form the eggshells. Try giving them dried mealworms, white maggots or some plain, whole yoghurt (but only once or twice a week for the yoghurt). Also, do they have grit of...

I agree, it's way too early for Layers feed. Leave that until they're about 18 weeks old. Sounds as if they're having a wonderful time free ranging! Bet they love it.

It's possibly "Vent Gleet". If it is, it will only get worse and also infect the rest of the flock. The best thing you can do is take her to a vet, get her properly diagnosed and treated.

Hope your chickens were OK - must have been scary for them.

At around 5 to 6 weeks, sometimes sooner, you will see definite comb development on the cockerels in most breeds (it will start to redden, whilst the pullets will still be yellowy).

Such pretty chickens - and not camera-shy! Thankyou for sharing.

I wonder if it's a viral infection. The other possibility that springs to mind is whether they've eaten something toxic. You really need to get your chicken to a vet to get a proper diagnosis. As this is your second unwell chicken, perhaps it's something contagious. If that's the case, it...

She knows what to do, so all should be well. When one of mine goes broody I usually lift her out of the nest once or twice a day and put her near the food and water. She usually eats, drinks, does a gigantic poop and heads off back to the nest. Take note of that last bit - she won't poop if...

Looks nice. If you don't have hawks around, you don't really need to cover it. However, you could perhaps provide a covered area where they could shelter if they want to. You might also want to consider raising the coop a little - put a couple of bricks under each corner. That will help...

The earlier comment about light is a valid one. There is something else to consider too. What are you feeding her? I made the mistake of feeding my RIR (and her companions) too many treats. I then learned that if chickens get overweight, they may well go off-lay. So now I don't feed...

Had a quick look on the internet and came across this: '"Madder than a wet hen" probably originated in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Supposedly, chickens get angry if they get dumped in water' I'd be angry too if I was "dumped" in water! One of my chickens doesn't mind the rain (in...

The colour of the yolk depends on what the chicken ate, so it can vary if they are able to get to grass or greens of some sort, for example.

There's an easy test to see if they are still OK to eat. Get a bowl of cold water and put the egg in it. If it lies on the bottom, it's OK to eat. If it floats, it's bad. Sometimes it will stand on end in the water - that means it's fairly close to going bad. You can use it that day, but...