Recent content by mommajac

My chicken is walking slightly crooked and is struggling with a broken toe. Is this something that should be left alone or should I splint it? I have another hen who broke her toe as a young pullet when she jumped off her roost and the crooked toe has never seemed to bother her. If I do...

I can honestly say I have given up! I have had so much stress and worry over their baldness and feather picking that it simply isn't worth it for me. I honestly thought that given the chance to roam this summer out of their coop they would be too busy to pick on each other. Possibly it was a...

I suppose using sand could be coincidental in the picking problem. I have considered putting it back in for the summer months since it is cooler, cleaner, and easier to maintain. Inside the coop it is 7' x 11 opening to a covered dog run that is 6' x 10'. Maybe this is too small for 8...

It has been a year (almost to date) since I have become obsessed with my girls. They moved from the brooder to a shed that was lovingly rebuilt for them with cement floors to keep the digging critters out. The floors were covered with sand to make clean up a breeze and their nesting boxes were...

I am so relieved to find this thread (albeit a novel)-- I too am in Colorado with a similar problem with the girls beating each other up. I initially thought it was possible they were plagued with lice or mites (this is my first year). However, after taking two of the eight girls to a vet in...

Thank you for the article! I will check this morning to see if I can detect any lice or mites.

This is my first year in raising 8 girls (now 10 months old) in Colorado. Today while it was a beautiful 58 degrees I let the girls roam. While they were out I noticed a bit of pink on one of the Bards. When I took further notice I saw she had feathers missing on her underbelly and under her...

So nice to hear from you both!!! All the girls came to me at 4 days old in April. They have all been raised the same way with equal attention and love. They have roaming time outside of their pen (more like a palace) every morning and then again for at least an hour every afternoon. If we...

Hiya, I have been lurking on this forum for the past 7 months on all of the various ways to raise, feed, entertain, house and generally care for my girls. I have 8 ladies who have made their way into my heart and have me wrapped closely around their little beaks. I am trying to understand...