Recent content by ralleman

@TudyBOT Is it racist to call my black chook Morgan Freeman?

It's been a slog, but pale hen is laying more yellow yolks now, not as yellow as the others, but better at least. I can confirm the diet is the same for all hens and the yolk colour from the other hens is excellent. Hopefully she'll get them the same over the next couple of months.

Mornin' all. I have one hen out of 3, an australorp, that lays pale yolk eggs and has always laid pale yolk eggs since it started laying. All three hens are quite young - they've been laying about 6 months. The other two are an australorp and a leghorn. The eggs from those two are consistent...

Dang. Thanks all ... and anyone want a cockerel in Sydney?

So, back again. By my calculations, [not so] "little one" is 17 weeks old. There are new hackle feathers coming through which are easily visible in the photos. Twice I've caught him/her mounting one of the other hens, and on one of those times it squirted. Strikes me as a fairly male thing to...

Will do.

One saddle pic.

Thanks all, so I guess it's safe to start using the "she" word without upsetting the chicken gods.

12 week update. Little One's (this bird's working title until I'm certain of sex) wattles have grown quite a bit. It's almost as tall as the adult hens, but a lot less bulky. Otherwise it pretty much looks the same. It has become more wary of me and doesn't like me touching now.

Update - I've put this bird back with the other chooks. The black marks haven't changed but there is no more scabbing. The bird is quite energetic, but very flighty still. I won't let me near it. I've had leghorns in the past, but they've been been this scared of people. Anyway, given the marks...

Updated pic. Still no change on the black marks, but the scabs have settled.

Yeah, I think I'll use option 4 from this https://the-chicken-chick.com/scaly-leg-mites-in-chickens/. Just need to find the equivalent of A&D cream here in Oz.

Hi carlaashdown. Not at my place, but I've only had the bird for a couple weeks and they were almost certainly present before I bought her. As I mention initially, the breeder was keeping his birds in pretty squalid conditions and I have no idea what sort of issues might have arisen from this...

ok thanks. I'll post some more photos in a few weeks.

The age is apparently 8 weeks.