We've noticed white feathers all around the yard and in the coop for several days but all chickens were home. Today I noticed one of my hens has a bare spot on her back and her tail feathers are shortened. We do not have a rooster. I'm wondering if she's gone from top of the order to the...
Last week, we heard a ruckus in the run. Looked out and found a bobcat circling the area. I went outside and as I rounded the corner to full view, I saw one of my chickens fly up and out of the run, only then to be eaten by a coyote who came bounding out of the woods. It was freaky!!! We...
I heard the same thing but when I finished up the round of medicated feed and went back to buy new food, the lady at the feed store said giving them layer crumble wouldn't harm them.
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Yes, this! On the advice of the family that we bought our original flock from, we went ahead and added the chicks with their mama to the main coop last night. Today, mama has been very protective of the babies and the babies are sticking close to her. The chicks have always been in...
The chicks will be 8 wks. on Friday. They've been in a brooder with their mama in the flock run surrounded by chicken wire. They've all been acquainted through the fencing since birth. When can I let them into the run and remove the brooder?
It's been a busy month so I never made it back to post. We had a broody BO sitting on 12 eggs originally.
The count:
1 bad egg
1 egg missing from the coop
2 eggs made it to about 19 days and never hatched out, never pipped
1 egg started to hatch and died
1 hatched out completely but found it...
For a few weeks now I've noticed that two of my hens have had missing feathers on their heads and right in the middle of their backs. I thought that it was just my rooster being aggressive with them but now I'm noticing it on a few more of them but on the latest, it's not the head, just the...
We just had two hatch in the last 24 hours. They're with their mama in an outdoor brooder. I read that even at very low temps, chicks can be seen 'playing' out from under mama for short periods of time. Just curious when they will get a bit adventurous?
Yes, a VERY dedicated broody BO. She left the nest once for a few hours but otherwise, she's always on the eggs. She's about 11 months old and this was her second round of broodiness.
Here's the count from the original 12:
#1- Bad egg
#2- Went missing!
#3- Bloody hatch...was it me? Or the...
Ohhhhhh, I sure hope you get two! It's killing me waiting on our others to hatch out. They're already two days late but one did finally hatch a few hours ago. Hoping with you!!!
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Yes! She was only out a few seconds and it was ADORABLE watching her and her mama together. She burrowed in a little and then her mama scooped her beneath her wings. SO CUTE!
Chick #1 born this evening:
Still waiting on #'s 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, & 9! We can hear the chicks chirping in their eggs even when we're standing several feet away from the brooder. Broody mama is doing a fine job and is quite calm, even with our prying eyes.
I'm fairly certain she was either constipated or egg-bound. She didn't poop at all in the kennel after her bath last night. Her feathers looked great this morning, she didn't have any sores from mites. After talking with a few friends we don't think the mites could've been the cause of her...