Recent content by Kate E

  1. Kate E

    Photo- what are these spots in my hens eggs

    Thanks for your input, this makes me feel much better!
  2. Kate E

    Photo- what are these spots in my hens eggs

    It's finally spring in Wisconsin which means over the weekend I was greeted at the coop with fresh eggs. My hens haven't laid since late fall so this was a much welcomed surprise. I was excited to cook up some eggs this morning but noticed something strange inside of 2 of the eggs- several...
  3. Kate E

    Traumatized Flock

    About 2 weeks ago I let my small flock of hens out of their coop and run in the morning to free range in the back yard. We live on a large piece of property, too big to fence in but pretty well protected by natural barriers of woods, wetlands, etc. on all sides. For more than a year I’ve been in...
  4. Kate E

    Help! Chicken laying egg from roost.

    I have 5 hens, 3 boxes and ceramic eggs in 2 boxes. My hens only lay in the boxes where the ceramic eggs are. Maybe pick up a few extra ceramic eggs, I’m not sure you need one in every box though. There may be something else going on that would encourage a hen to lay from the roost that I’m...
  5. Kate E

    Help! Chicken laying egg from roost.

    I had this problem last summer and was able to correct the behavior by putting fake ceramic eggs in the nesting boxes and leaving them there full time (this was a year ago and the fake eggs are still in the boxes). The fake eggs show the hens where "other hens" lay their eggs which encourages...
  6. Kate E

    Is coop door necessary?

    I have the same setup with my coop and run... no door. The doorway is wide open all winter long as well (Wisconsin winter, can get far below freezing) and have never had an issue with predators or the temps. You're probably fine.
  7. Kate E

    Survived my first year and winter

    Thank you! congrats on the new additions to your flock!
  8. Kate E

    Survived my first year and winter

    It's nearly 50 degrees today in SE Wisconsin so I think we can officially call it Spring. I am coming up on the one year anniversary of my chicken keeping adventure and I can officially say I made it through my first Wisconsin winter with chickens. I wouldn't call it a breeze... I had a scare...
  9. Kate E

    Broody or sick? Please help

    I was able to get my hands on her this evening and give her a good inspection. It was again dark by the time I got home so when I opened the coop the birds were roosting, including the “sick” hen. She was on the rung below the other 4 birds but she was up off the floor of the coop which is...
  10. Kate E

    Broody or sick? Please help

    Another update. My dad checked the hens today and brought them a snack of corn and mealworms. He said that the hen was at the door of the coop and not outside in the run with the other birds when he arrived like she normally would be but that when he threw the snacks for them she came right out...
  11. Kate E

    Broody or sick? Please help

    Thanks everyone for your suggestions and replies. I'll give her a good once over tonight and make sure her crop and feet are okay. I've asked my dad to check on her this afternoon to see if she is out of the coop and will take any of her favorite snacks... we'll see. My dad will be on chicken...
  12. Kate E

    Broody or sick? Please help

    I’m not sure how old she is. I got her about 9 months ago and was told she was between 2-3 years old. She’s always been more sluggish than the rest of the flock. She always the last one to run from the run to free range, always clucking behind the rest of group when they are in the yard. She’s...
  13. Kate E

    Broody or sick? Please help

    I’ll check her feet and her crop tonight. You’d think living in farm country in Wisconsin I could find a vet that treats chickens but I haven’t been able to find one to save my life... very frustrating.
  14. Kate E

    Broody or sick? Please help

    Sorry, more thoughts. She is coming out of a hard molt, you can kind of see in that photo that feathers on her head and neck are still coming in. I’ve been reading that the comb and wattles can be grey/ pink in color during the winter, when they aren’t laying (she isn’t currently laying, my 2...
  15. Kate E

    Broody or sick? Please help

    Here is another picture of her from a few months back when I treated her for bumble foot. Now that I’m comparing the two it seems her comb is pretty grey in comparison. Any thoughts?
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