Recent content by starryhen

Great comments. One can train roosters. I haven't had much luck with one who was already aggressive. We have trained roosters and they were mild mannered and there were others who started attacking us and had to be rehomed. We have had very smart and cooperative roosters who viewed us as...

** I found some solutions:; Risk factors: .. • High altitudes, Poor air quality or ventilation, High stocking density, Cold, Genetics, Old age, Congenital heart disease, Lung infections such as pneumonia, Excess salt in the body or salt intoxication, Poor hygiene, dirty pen, dirty feeders...

When similar posts came up it suggests the gurgling sound is likely a symptom of ascetis? Has anyone had success solving this problem? I'm researching.

A Delaware hen first had issues with dirty skirts. I gave her a bit of nutri drench and she perked up and the skirts began to clear up. Then she started to look sick, just sitting while the other hens were pecking around the yard. I picked her up and was startled to feel the distended abdomed. I...

Groundbreaking and useful info. High research standards. Well written.

This is an old post but I will reply. My roosters get too fat eating with the hens and worrying about them is tiresome. My new rooster is young and likes to eat by himself in the garden (which has its own challenges). Since I make up about 1/2 of the hen's total diet myself and supplement with...

:weeYou speak wisdom.

Ah.... no blueprint, only ideas about where to put what and how large. We have built free standing run ins for horses and hay but never something so complicated (don't laugh). Basically nesting boxes outside one side and an enclosed roosting hut on the other side for the rare bad weather. Our hm...

Quite an excellent reply. It never occurred to me to raise the floor/base but I now see that it is crucial to keep things dry. In the past our chickens have been free range with only little sheds we have acquired to keep them in the rare instances of inclement weather.

We started an 8 x 8 chicken coop but we are too busy to finish it and we are knuckleheads as far as building goes. So we have hired our handy man to build it but are having trouble.... What we want: something very open with mostly hardware cloth walls and floor. ... What we have built so far: a...

Good advice! Here's a story. I returned from a few days out of town. As I walked in the front door I heard peeps coming out of an egg in the nest on the porch. Surprised, I put a small hole in the shell and went to sleep. In the morning the chick had gotten out. 20 years of raising chickens and...

you have my sympathy and understanding. One day a neighbor's dog got into the chicken tractor and killed my 5 young hens that I loved. Keeping chickens alive is the hardest task because they are the food of the world. We have 8 young hens now after a sudden rash of predators in our area. I was...

Pulled weeds.

Thank you for the advice. Here's what worked! I had some calendula ointment that I decided to try. Not knowing how it might affect the chicks, I dabbed as small an amount as I could on the pecked area - 1 to 2 x a day, especially before they went to sleep for the night. I also made sure it was...

Thank you for the responses. I use Purina start and grow medicated at 18% + scratch + meal worms. Not too many dry "worms" - just for dessert. They have a jungle gym in their boxes, get vigorous exercise every two or three hours and the weather is often warm enough and they are old enough to go...