Recent content by MeliticusBee

Regular pumpkins? I'll have to try that!

Fascinating! I did not know that and will be super helpful! Yeah - garden is "organic". Bugs have been taken care of thus far by handpicking (and soap on squash). I have more trust in the bugs from my garden than buying them from pet store...

I captured two hornworms from my tomatoes - kept them to feed to my kid's bearded dragon who scarfed them down like he was starving - and they were HUGE. Then I taught same kid how to watch for hornworms...

My guess is that the extra calcium is due to the 3 days between eggs - stayed in the shoot longer (kind of like shell-less egg but in reverse). Unless she is crying or such - and egg seems normal inside, I wouldn't worry.

Are you sure she isn't broody?

I only keep 2 fake eggs in the coop but I rotate them around to different boxes. I don't know why I do it that way as I actually have 6 fake eggs...but it seems to work - right up until one goes broody and everyone tries to pile in to the other boxes. Yesterday I had 2 hens each in 2 out of 4...

This kind of thing also happens whenever there is no rooster....or the rooster isn't doing his "job" of protection and such. Could be that's why she was on the bottom of the peck as the others knew she wasn't "normal"

It's just a weird cycle and it's called a "fairy egg". Egg is into the "shoot" before ovulation. Sometimes this is combined with a double yolk egg. Usually happens in young layers before they get good and regular but in an older hen, it might signal that she was stressed or even that she will be...

Sometimes takes a couple of weeks for them to go back to laying. I am less "gentle" with my broody hens. They pretty much get removed from coop and jailed until they return to normal behavior...then still takes a couple of weeks before eggs.

I had a runty chick - a wellsummer. She fell behind the others within a day or so of hatching and ended up about half-size. She was never bullied too badly but sadly, spontaneously died about 16 weeks. Just have to wait and see IMO.

I disagree with everyone else. She is a speckled sussex. It takes a while for the speckles to fully develop...longer than you think it should.

It's super difficult but... The ones with the pinkish legs - that only have brown/tan on head...are speckled sussex The ones with yellow legs - that also have a partial yellow stripe, in addition to brown/tan on head are wellsummer We had a similar problem earlier this year Once they feather out...