Recent content by Thebazilly

  1. Thebazilly

    Underweight and Losing Feathers

    I let the hens out every day to free range while I'm at work, but they've mostly been sitting under the deck or in the car port to avoid the cold weather. I'm definitely going to give them mealworms and try to make sure they have more things to do during the day.
  2. Thebazilly

    Underweight and Losing Feathers

    This morning, my smallest hen was missing all her tail feathers when I let the girls out of the coop. I was concerned, since she's the bottom of the pecking order, and I thought the other two were picking her tail feathers out. I bought some mealworms and anti-pick lotion today on the way home...
  3. Thebazilly

    Is my leghorn getting ready to lay?

    Your rooster looks very serious. I didn't know that about the pubic bones, though, that's interesting. I've found a few soft-shelled eggs that have been broken before I got to them, and I haven't found another one since I gave the hens oyster shells! I think they must be hiding them somewhere.
  4. Thebazilly

    Rooster personalities... Selecting a good one

    There's not really a good way to tell when they're young. I thought I had a lovely young roo on my hands for a while, but recently he's started being aggressive with the hens (they all have scabs on their combs from him grabbing them too roughly while mating, and he pecks and punishes them...
  5. Thebazilly

    The Good Rooster Thread

    I've got a good rooster! Not fantastic, but he's not bad at all. Wilhelm is very handsome, his crowing isn't too loud, and he's never aggressive with people. He keeps an eye on the hens all the time-- especially if I pick one of them up. And he likes to announce when someone gets home. As...
  6. Thebazilly

    What did your chickens do today?

    One of my hens decided to take a nice long dust bath under the raspberry bush. She came out grey instead of white!
  7. Thebazilly

    What did your chickens do today?

    They discovered that the roof of the coop is even with the kitchen window! It's Wilhelm's favorite place to crow in the evenings now. He can look us in the eye while he tells us how manly he is.
  8. Thebazilly

    Silly Chickens!

    We moved the chicken coop recently, so the roof is about even with the kitchen window. The chickens discovered that last night and were very curious about everyone cleaning up after dinner! I'd also love to see pictures of silly things other people's chickens have done!
  9. Thebazilly

    What is this chicken Roo or Hen??

    Absolutely a cockerel! He looks like he should start crowing any day now.
  10. Thebazilly

    Can And Do Pullets Or Hens Crow?

    Hens can crow sometimes, but I think it's more likely that you have a young rooster.
  11. Thebazilly

    7 to 8....ish week old BOYS OR GIRLS?

    1 and 3 look like cockerels to me, based on how red their combs are already. 5 is iffy, but I'm leaning towards pullet. Hee hee, 4 looks kind of like a seagull! How cute.
  12. Thebazilly

    How to keep the coop clean???

    You'll definitely have to put down sand or shavings. 2 years until a permanent coop is still a long time. A couple inches of shavings makes cleaning a lot easier, you can just sweep the whole thing out once every week or two as needed, and the poop doesn't get encrusted on everything.
  13. Thebazilly

    What time does your flock go in to roost?

    My chickens go in when it starts to get dark out, usually about half an hour to an hour before the sun sets completely. I've been closing up the coop around 8-ish, and it gets completely dark at around 8:30 this time of year. In the mornings, I let them out at about 6:45, when I leave for school.
  14. Thebazilly

    Can pecking cause any damage to a human?

    My chickens peck me sometimes when I'm feeding them, or when I go outside barefoot and don't have anything interesting with me. They don't peck hard enough to break the skin, but sometimes it does hurt a little. A little shooing usually clears it up. Haven't had any of them try to get...
  15. Thebazilly

    My morning with the hens (I guess this goes under behaviors)

    That's great! It's so exciting when the chickens start trusting you. My chickens are really skittish, too, being white leghorns, but they're warming up to me. If I go outside barefoot in the morning they'll all come over and peck my toes and stay close to me while they're eating. I don't...
See more
Back
Top Bottom