Recent content by RachaelLJ

  1. RachaelLJ

    HELP, what's going on with this RIR's vent?

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  2. RachaelLJ

    HELP, what's going on with this RIR's vent?

    Anybody? I looked over our other hens and they look just fine.
  3. RachaelLJ

    HELP, what's going on with this RIR's vent?

    Noticed this on one of our girls 3 days ago. The picture was taken yesterday after I cleaned up her bottom with an epsom salt solution. She had a little bit of droppings stuck on the feathers below the vent but nothing major. As far as I know her stools have been normal. Her vent did have a...
  4. RachaelLJ

    Hens picking on each other, serious problem, help appreciated.

    So I realized that, the way the skin is torn downward from her rump and how severe it is, it probably wasn't just pecking, but the rooster mating her. I think his claw probably tore the skin since there were no feathers there protecting it. So I sewed her up a saddle/apron from a pattern I made...
  5. RachaelLJ

    Hens picking on each other, serious problem, help appreciated.

    My husband and I talked about it and looked her over well. We think that it is possible she hasn't gotten her feathers back in yet because the other hens (or 1 bully hen) has been feather picking them off as they come in. We are going to isolate her for a while to see if her feathers will come...
  6. RachaelLJ

    Hens picking on each other, serious problem, help appreciated.

    Thanks for the response. That's what I was afraid of if she's not going to get back to looking normal. I am considering taking the 2 who I think are bullying her and isolating them for a couple days, then putting them back in to see if that balances the pecking order a bit. Any comments on that?
  7. RachaelLJ

    Hens picking on each other, serious problem, help appreciated.

    I have a very small flock of RIR's, 5 hens 1 rooster. They used to get along fine, but a while back one of the hens (who was at the top of the pecking order) got in a tangle with a puppy and was injured around her rear end. Her feathers have never fully come back in, so she gets a bit of a sun...
  8. RachaelLJ

    Take 5 minutes to outline your "management"

    Thanks Ole rooster! I feel like we're definitely settling into a good routine, I'm just so new to all this I thought it would be nice to hear how other people do things differently.
  9. RachaelLJ

    Considerations in Designing Shipping Crate Coop - Suggestions?

    So our current coop was already on this property and it's rather old and somewhat dilapidated. It's getting us by fine right now, but when it gets a bit colder I want something more substantial. Also, when we start hatching we'll want something bigger. I can get a free wooden shipping crate...
  10. RachaelLJ

    Take 5 minutes to outline your "management"

    Thanks so much! Just what I needed to hear. I felt that, with them free ranging all day long on about 27 acres, they are probably doing just fine without regular worming. If/when I do worm, I will certainly look into whether it is actually necessary to deworm with a weaker wormer first (wazine)...
  11. RachaelLJ

    Take 5 minutes to outline your "management"

    Thanks speckledhen! Hadn't seen that thread yet. Good commandments. Although, I have found it rather pointless to provide new water daily...I did that in the beginning, but they preferred to drink form the nastiest mud puddle they could find. Now I just make sure it stays clean enough to suit...
  12. RachaelLJ

    Take 5 minutes to outline your "management"

    In response to your questions, I would like to breed in the future but never want an unmanageably large flock. Just enough for eggs for our family (which someday might be some 10 people) and maybe some to share. I am just starting to learn about husbandry, though. I will cull birds for the table...
  13. RachaelLJ

    Take 5 minutes to outline your "management"

    Thanks for all the responses. Some things I forgot to mention in the OP are: eggs - At the farm where I worked, we washed eggs in warm soapy water after they had soaked for 10-15 min. My grandfather and I don't wash our eggs at all, but I might flick off stuck on poop or grass before bringing...
  14. RachaelLJ

    Take 5 minutes to outline your "management"

    We are new to keeping chickens. I did work on a small farm for about 2 years where I learned some things. My grandfather also has kept chickens for as long as I can remember. The way he does it and the way my employer did it were completely different. They way that I do things now is somewhere...
  15. RachaelLJ

    RIR with Diarrhea, Pasty Vent, Lethargic, Distended belly, No appetite, etc.....HELP?

    Thanks. I am *somewhat* regretting my decision on the RIR's, they weren't my first choice to begin with, but around here, if you don't want to drive 1-2 hrs. to buy chickens and are not prepared for ordering 25 chicks minimum, there's not a whole lot of selection. I'm very happy with my girls so...
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