Recent content by Silkie-Feet

I saw the eggs in the nest, but I left them to encourage the other hens to lay in the boxes. I just bought the marans, so they're not exactly sure where to lay yet. I have a secure run that the birds are confined to during the winter, but they may free range through the summer. I'll look into...

That's what I've heard, I'm not sure if it'll work though. I'm open to anything at this point. :barnie

That's a great idea, but they lay them throughout the day. One has an egg laid before I ever get to the coop in the morning, and a couple won't lay their egg until late afternoon. I can't be there throughout the day to collect eggs, thus my need to handle the predator.

I found a black rat snake behind my nesting box last week, he was at least 5 ft long and he is no longer bothering the chickens. This week, I had 3 eggs disappear yesterday - and two eggs disappeared today. I wouldn't be too worried, but I'm saving my Marans eggs to incubate! My chickens are not...

For starters, most digital thermometers are not very accurate. Most come with a margin of error +- 2 degrees. However, if you are looking for a dependable digital thermometer I recommend a Brinsea Spot Check (+-.2 degrees margin of error). In this case, your glass thermometer is probably more...

I actually got three eggs today, all of them were about a 5 on the Marans scale. This was the egg in the nest box when I let them out to free range this morning.

Alright everyone, I'm beginning to think that these birds are either from a black line... or have been selected to be black marans. I asked the breeder I bought these birds from, and he said that they are not supposed to have any copper coloration. Given that the hens show no copper, I aim to...

Thanks for your input! You are more than likely correct that these birds are older than a year old, the hen's combs have dropped which -now that you point it out- makes me believe that they are later in production. However, I'm planning on gathering an incubator full of eggs from these hens and...

I've been wanting to experiment with Marans for a little bit now, when I found these at the local flea market I let my chicken addiction get the best of me. They looked very healthy, and they were reasonably priced (four hens and a rooster for $60) so I went for it! These Marans presumably come...

I'm in college and only home on the weekends, my grandmother takes care of them throughout the week. I decided to cull this morning because she was getting worse, and my grandmother wasn't willing to wash her every day (She smelt so bad it would make you gag). Now, what can I do to prevent the...

Update: I applied Ketocanozole (2%) in a warm bath as a shampoo, and then blow-dried the hen. The region around her vent is quite red and still very swollen. After the bath she went back to seeping fluids, they looked clear. Hopefully there will be improvement tomorrow, after all of my research...

Thanks! I'd never heard of that but by some research I think it sounds like that also. Any idea on how to fit it?

I've raised chickens for 7 years and between coccidiosis and respiratory issues I thought I had seen it all; apparently not! I purchased 8 hens from a local with old hens he was looking to get off of his hands. I've had these hens for about 5 months without any issue, yet I just noticed today...