Make sure to bury the hardware cloth about a foot or so down, so no other non-slithering creatures can dig under it! We've had to deter coons, bobcats, minks, eagles, hawks, and coyotes.... no rattlesnakes yet! It's amazing the lengths predators will go to get your birds.
That was my thought, too. Can you separate him in the brooding area, in a way that he can still see the others? Also, maybe try putting some Blue Kote (think that's now you spell it?) or Neosporin on the affected area and see if that helps....
So, so sorry for your impending loss. That's a really tough/hard decision to make. Regarding the disposal, not sure about your city ordinances, but I would maybe put them in a double bagged trash sack and take them to the city dump. You for sure don't want to compost them, or have them end up...
Do you have a light in your coop? When I took the bulb out of the heat lamp in my coop (the weather warmed up, finally), I noticed that the younger chicks wouldn't come in at dusk anymore. As soon as I replaced the heat bulb with a normal light bulb (that I turn off after dark), they come back...
I'm so intrigued by your experiment! My one question, though, is this - I thought Teflon was somewhat toxic once it starts to peel off the pan? I've read articles that said you should throw it out once it starts to peel because it's not safe to cook on anymore. Not that you're cooking with it...
I'm guessing your temperature got too hot in the plastic tub. I had the same problem with a batch I incubated a few months ago. I was devastated, because it happened really quickly. They were all fine one minute, then when I checked on them about two hours later, they were all stretched out on...
So sorry for your loss - you did the right thing by bringing her inside. Both to isolate her from the flock, and keep her safe from any sort of stress. We have a master bedroom shower that doubles as a chicken emergency room!
We do what we can for our beloved birds, but sometimes it's just...
I had that problem a few years back with some chicks that I was hatching/raising for someone else. I used the plastic leg bands that were supposed to expand as the chicks grew. Needless to say, they didn't expand. Thank goodness I caught them before their legs had grown completely around it, but...
I wouldn't worry about it. I plant garden huckleberries every year, and every harvest season I get treated to the sight of electric purple poo piles all over the place. I imagine it's the same issue with the beets. Festive!
Dehydration is pretty serious when they're that young, but you're on the right track with the sugar water. I would try using one of those packets of electrolytes (Sav A Chic I think they're called? Feed stores have them, or you can use Pedialyte from the infant section of a grocery store in a...
She's only laid three eggs in one day a few times, thank goodness. I've tested the shells, since I thought the later two eggs would have super thin shells, but no, they're all exactly the same. Two eggs per day seems to be her norm. Now that you mentioned yours laying the second egg late in the...
And it's not like she's hoarding the eggs inside her and laying them all at once, I got two guinea eggs yesterday. Not that I'm complaining, I just seriously can't fathom how that is even biologically possible. I know the process, and it doesn't make sense, but yet there's the proof in the box!
Yes, I'm positive. He has a completely different set of calls he makes. That was my first thought, too - so I researched it and listened to the male/female sounds online. Just one girl! Weird, huh? This afternoon I pulled three guinea eggs out of the nesting box! I don't think anyone else...
I agree with you to some extent, but if it's true that an employee walked away from an obviously injured chick, that's not "culture", that's completely on the employee. Even if they haven't gotten any training, it's their job to find someone who can fix it. What they make an hour has nothing to...
I am new to guinea hens (although not to chickens, ducks, quails, and turkeys). We have a female and a male guinea, and I swear the female lays at least two if not three eggs a day. How is that possible? Although she does share nesting boxes with the chickens, her eggs have such a distinctive...
That's rough, I feel bad for the poor chickens still at the store (and all the future ones!) Have you complained to the management or pointed out the poor conditions to their employees? I would raise a big old fuss if I saw that.... I'm trying to think if there's anyone you could call, like the...
We had two previously good-natured Toms that turned incredibly aggressive when mating season started. They never went after me (lucky for them), but attacked our goats repeatedly. I ended up letting them free-range and obtained four "ladies" for them. That completely solved the problem. Maybe...