Recent content by swatchick

"What are you looking at?"

Thanks for your reply! The Americauna died this morning. The Barred Rock doesn't seem swollen, but she also really doesn't want me touching her abdomen, either, and with all her other behaviors it does seem like internal laying may be at play. Thanks for your input - I really appreciate it.

Thanks for your reply -- I wasn't thinking about that! Great point. I will just let things unfold...

I have a flock of relatively old (3 years) hens. I just posted about some issues we're having, but I am wondering, as I enter the world of the older egg layer (which is fine with me, BTW, because they do enormous composting and soil turning work around here -- the eggs are a bonus), can you...

About two months ago, my Buff Orpington developed peritonitis (from internal laying). Around the same time, one of my Barred Rocks, and one Americauna began to show signs of egg binding -- the Barred Rock started to do the penguin walk and pant even when it wasn't warm and no one else was, and...

I recently broke my broody hen by placing her in a wire cage I'd used as a run when they were chicks -- hardware sloth on all six sides with a door on one side -- with only food and water, and I kept her in the run with everyone else during the day and put her on the roost with everyone at...

Thanks everyone... I definitely feel both sadness and relief. He was a truly magnificent creature to behold, all golden yellow in the bright green meadows.... The hens were safely enclosed in their predator proof coop at the time, and I'm not sure they even saw it -- usually they FREAK out if...

That calming down with age was what I was planning on. Unfortunately, he became lunch to a bobcat today.... Ironic, since he has been driving me nuts for quite awhile, and I had just gotten into a relatively smooth routine with him and was even feeling a bit fond of him for all his moxy. I...

Just to be clear, my roo is NOT living in this wire enclosure -- I simply pop it over him when I am intruding on territory which he is tasked with protecting. I don't need him to be nice to me, I need him to protect the hens, and he does a great job of that. I love those baskets!

I've got a roo who is a great flock protector -- too good, in fact, as he considers me a threat to the girls most of the time. He's free range, so it can be a bit of problem. The other day, he started coming at me and I picked up a length of 3' woven wire that I had curled into a circle/tube...

It matters how much space there is, as well. If the hens can put some space between themselves and the roo, they've got a better chance of avoiding him. If there isn't much of anywhere to go to get away, they don't have time to respond to the wacky puff up check me out dance many roos do...

I say, if it's got a shell, it's an egg......and a darn cute one at that.....

Thanks for your replies -- I think I'll go ahead and make him a bachelor pad so the girls can get a break now and then.

I'd wonder about mites...

I have a 9 month old Buff Orpington rooster and 10 hens in a 4x10 house and two 8x10 runs (one on each long side of the house, both accessible all the time). Roo is, shall we say, very enthusiastic about his rooster duties. All ten of the girls are losing all of the feathers on their backs and...