Recent content by operationindigo

I have two hens right now, one barred rock and a brown leghorn. I love both of them, they have such neat little personalities. The leghorn is much more skittish than the barred rock. I think the BR is the brains of the operation :)

I'm not sure...I've never seen chickens molt before...these are my first two. So I'm not really sure how to tell the difference between molt and something else. The other chicken's feathers are totally fine, thick and gorgeous.

I posted a little while ago about my hen losing her feathers. She's a little less than a year old. I only have two hens and they have a pretty big range of space and can come and go as they please into the coop/run. She has developed a bald patch on her chest that started about the size of a...

One of my girls is a little under a year old and has recently developed a small bald patch on her chest. It started out slow and subtle with a few feathers missing, and has become a bald patch a little bigger than a quarter. It's right in the center of her chest. She does not seem to be bothered...

One of my hens has had runny poop for 4-5 days now. I'm not sure if it is something that is happening constantly, or just in some circumstances. However I've been seeing some runny spots out in the run and I saw one come from one chicken. Both girls are eating fine and active, also both are...

Actually they really only get veggie scraps on the weekends, and they really don't get scratch. I put out oyster shell every few days, feed when empty, and they get greens like kale from the garden no more than a few times a week.

I also noticed one of the girls has some watery poop too since the change. Is this normal for a change in food?

My girls just started laying and I switched them over from purina flock raiser crumbles to the layena pellets. It's been in the feeder for a few days now and they don't seem to be very interested in it at all - it seems hardly eaten. The weather has been really cold here the past few days too...

That is so impressive! I'm interested to check and see what our local laws are like about keeping bees here in Jacksonville. One thing I have always struggled with in our current location is that we have considerable backyard shade that shifts around the yard based on the seasons. The spots that...

Don't need show quality, just some happy healthy backyard companions. When do they usually start having chicks at standard feed?

Mine usually put themselves back in the coop once it's near totally dark. I usually come home right before its totally dark and they've usually already put themselves up in the coop. Sometimes they can figure out how to open their door and let themselves out. I think they like to get up early -...

Great Idea! I added mine! Except it doesn't seem like there's anyone else in the south east at all.

I have a brown leghorn that just started laying - about 6.5 months old - and she's already laid 3 eggs in 4 days at the beginning. I see this as the beginning of a very productive relationship. And they are decent size, healthy formed eggs as well.

I'm worried that this is going to lead them towards egg eating. Do these two behaviors have anything in common? Or are they doing it just because they're bored? We've noticed they do it specifically when we try to take the eggs from the coop. There hasn't been any broken eggs or anything though.

My chickens just started laying eggs this week. We have noticed that they have been pecking at the eggs when we collect them. Ideally, I would collect them in the morning, but there hasn't been anything there in the morning. Is there any reason they would both be pecking at the eggs? I can't get...