I hope you and your hens get over loosing Leonard soon. :hugs
I thought that if a hen lays eggs, she is fertile. If none of the eggs develop with a committed broody or a good incubator it’s the roosters ‘incapability’ when the eggs wont start to develop. Maybe you are right and there is more...
@EmmaDonovan
Please tell us what breeds you have. What are the sizes of the coops and runs?
If you can give more information and post some photos , you might get real good tips to take the right action and solve your problem.
If you need more space, you better start building an extension to the current coop or connect the meat bird house to the coop or run within a few weeks after the hatch.
If the meat bird house is a good accommodation for the chicken family. You can move mother and chicks (and the eggs that...
Sorry to hear you gave up.
You make me wonder if and what changes you made that didn’t work out for the better.
Did you try everything I suggested?
Sure there must be something that helps. If not J suppose you have some serious traumatised chickens. :hugs
The hens are fine without a rooster for a while. I would wait for a better opportunity.
Second possibility id to hatch some of the girls eggs. The ones you have /get are fertilised by Leonard. The eggs are fertile up to 3 weeks after Leonard stopped mating. : Try to encourage broodiness or...
I cant take the treats away bc i scatter the treats in the run where they get locked in later.
If a few hens are inside for the goodies, I lock the door in the front and stand on guard near the back door to see if the others are coming.
The chickens don’t come out as long as they eat the mixed...
Oooh. :hugs
Most of the time it helps a lot if you add;
- More indoor space and roosts: add an extra coop or make an extension to the existing coop
- More outdoor space; double the run size (each bird at least 4m2, 10m2 is even better) or let them free range.
- More places to hide (clutter...
There are a few go’s and no go’s in choosing new breeds (hatchery eggs) for my existing flock:
must haves: bantam under 1 kg, known for their friendly character, reasonable amount of eggs, good looking hens.
Not haves: known for nest sleeping, health problems, aggression, problematic feathered...
I have been eating the flat snow pea (peultjes in Dutch) since childhood. My mother grew them in our veggie garden. When I had my own garden I grew them too. They are a not for sale in the supermarket. Some vegetables shops sell them in the season.
I often let them grow are a teeny bit older as...
Poor hens. I feel so sorry for them. :hugsPlease confine this rapist to a prison or dispatch him. I have no experience with roosters but it just sounds awful what he he is doing. I surely wouldn’t want him in my flock.
Not feathering normally may be bc of a genetic flaw or an illness?
Maybe its just temporary and she needs more time to grow her feathers 🪶 ?
Or a recessive gene 🧬 may have caused this weirdness and she will be a unique hen for the rest of her life.