Recent content by Ziggy1973

I have a 3 year old hen, Grace, that started limping a couple of weeks ago. I checked her out; she doesn't have bumblefoot and I could find no injuries. She can't curl the toes on that foot. If I bend the toes they just spring back straight and they seem rubbery when I do that. She hobbles...

I've always gotten good advice here, so I'll start here as opposed to just Googleing. I have an existing flock of 11 hens that are 2 1/2 years old. In a seperate but attached coop and run I have 5 pullets that are 16 weeks old. Are the pullets old enough to add to the existing flock? They hear...

They're all 18 months old. I've noticed my rooster mating with at least one of the girls, who is quite low on the pecking order.

I've searched and can't find the exact information I'm looking for. My question is this: should I separate my rooster from my hens while they're molting? My fear is that mating will damage the incoming feathers. Am I being overly concerned?

Every three or four days I would soak the foot in water with epsom salt for around thirty minutes then used tweezers to work the black scab off and pull out any of the white, stringy infection. There was never a kernel in the foot. I would then put antibiotic ointment on a gauze pad, put it over...

yes, I am doing epsom salt soaks.

I had treated a couple birds with early stage bumblefoot at the end of last year and thought it had been "cured". I'll admit I got lazy with checking their feet over the winter. I noticed one of my girls holding her foot up off the ground so went to check her out. I've attached photos of her...

I feel for you, it's not easy.

Thanks for asking! The girls seem happy enough though there are some that hang at the fence that separates them from Bert when he "pitches woo", lol. I am worried about Bert and wonder if this is cruel to do to him. He's crowing a lot more than usual, will sometimes pace the fence and will...

Thanks so much for your input! The only reasons I want a rooster is for flock protection and the fact I like listening to him crow and court the ladies. For sure a want, not a need. I'll separate him from the girls for a while to see how the flock dynamic might change and give the girls a break...

I'll do some research on this to see if it's something I think I could do myself. Thanks

I guess I had read on a post on this sight that a lot of people think it's cruel to isolate the male. I'm sure willing to try it!

I'll try to keep this long story short. Thirteen months ago I ordered 14 female chicks and 1 male chick. As time passed it became apparent that there were 2 cockerels. The less dominant one seemed to be a late bloomer, not sure if that's normal or not, but seemed to not be so interested in...

I want to thank everyone for their input. After a lot of indecision and feeling bad for Mr. Tibbs for even thinking about getting rid of him, all it took was being attacked (again) from behind last night for me to stop feeling sorry for him and accepting the fact that he needs to be culled. I...

Thanks for your response. I was pretty sure I knew the answer when I posted but it helps to get some reassurance and validation.