Recent content by rowerjen

  1. rowerjen

    URGENT One hen dead, rooster ver ill. Respiratory? Parasites? Obstruction?

    Starting to think that too. I'll keep a close eye on them. Thanks for your responses.
  2. rowerjen

    URGENT One hen dead, rooster ver ill. Respiratory? Parasites? Obstruction?

    Right now they're mostly outside eating bugs and such with poultry grower pellets as feed (17% protein if I recall correctly). They also get scraps from the kitchen. I did give them some regular (not BO) sunflower seeds the other day. The girls flogged Big Blue (rooster) relentlessly when...
  3. rowerjen

    URGENT One hen dead, rooster ver ill. Respiratory? Parasites? Obstruction?

    She definitely had a great run, but I'm concerned that two seemingly perfectly healthy chickens are in such straits in a matter of days. Could just be a freak thing.
  4. rowerjen

    URGENT One hen dead, rooster ver ill. Respiratory? Parasites? Obstruction?

    He has no one to fight with except his girls. Agree that messy butts are common, some of my flock have them from time to time. However none other than these two have them right now.
  5. rowerjen

    URGENT One hen dead, rooster ver ill. Respiratory? Parasites? Obstruction?

    Hi all, could use your help on this. Two days ago my eight year old plymouth rock died. She looked perfectly healthy, and had been laying daily. I didn't do a necropsy, but visual inspection showed matted feathers around her head, and a messy butt, which she's never had. Now my 5 year old...
  6. rowerjen

    The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

    Reading up on my little friend. This might explain why the chipmunks have disappeared and I haven't gotten any eggs for the past 2 days. I have hardware cloth on my coop and run (and under both) but there are some gaps at the top. Grrrr. Don't trust myself with a gun but I can set some...
  7. rowerjen

    The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

    Saw an ermine on my deck this morning. Fortunately one of my dogs spotted it before it could get to the coops. There are definitely some gaps in the new run that this thing could squeeze through. I know they are around, but hadn't seen any before today. Looks like I will be spending the...
  8. rowerjen

    The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

    Well, everyone is in finally in their assigned places. Plucked one of my Barnevelders out of a tree. The minute I deposited her in the run my buff orpingtion cockerel jumped her and wouldn't let go of her head even though she was squawking and trying to escape. He's now in the quarantine pen...
  9. rowerjen

    The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

    Reminds me of a fan dancer. So this could get interesting. I let the flock out to putter this morning, and of course it started to snow. The juniors hunkered down under the trees, while the seniors hung out behind the wood shed. Now the juniors are hanging out in the seniors coop, and the...
  10. rowerjen

    The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

    When my Barnevleder went into a heavy molt she looked even worse if you can imagine. She was the one I referred to as "oven ready." Poor things. Have others noticed any personality changes during a heavy molt? Seems like I have a rolling feather explosion with my older hens. My Black australorp...
  11. rowerjen

    The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

    @ lazy gardener - I've moved two flocks from my temporary quarantine coop to their permanent homes, and while each explored their new digs once they were allowed to putter about the yard with the rest of the gang, they headed right back "home" at bed time. Moving them at night was easy, and...
  12. rowerjen

    The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

    Thanks all, for the advice. Right now my older hens and Gentleman Jens (the Sr. Roo) are in a separate run from the juniors, so the only time the older gals get harassed is when they're out in the yard. My teen-aged brat does get after the girls in his pen as well, so after tonight's cold snap...
  13. rowerjen

    The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

    I have 6 hens who are about 15 months old. One looks like she's just losing a feather here and there. Two look practically oven-ready. The other 3 haven't started molting yet. So here's a question: have those of you who have roosters ever had a problem with your boys aggressively going...
  14. rowerjen

    The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

    I have. Never had a chick with a pasty butt. I also go easy on the heat lamp when I'm brooding them indoors. They're warm, but not too warm.
  15. rowerjen

    The Natural Chicken Keeping thread - OTs welcome!

    I think this question has come up before but I'll ask again. Any thoughts about feeding acorns to your chickens? I have a ton of them this year and wondering if they can be put to any good use. I've broken a few open for my birds and they've been indifferent.
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