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  1. SamLockwood

    RIP, Paris-- honest question about chicken bullying and predators

    Unless you've got a LOT of birds and they're severely malnourished, they're not going to be able to kill and strip an adult chicken that quickly. Without knowing anything about where the attack happened it's hard to say. If she was killed out in the open it could be virtually anything, if it...
  2. SamLockwood

    Sudden death of Guinea Fowl

    Absent a necropsy or any noticeable symptoms beforehand it's pretty much impossible to tell without more information. As others noted, it could be nutritional. It could have been heart failure, I've had a couple die young that way (all chickens in my case). It could have been heat stroke if it...
  3. SamLockwood

    Taming Guineas

    In general guinea fowl are going to be more stand-offish than chickens, especially the hens. Both chicks and keets will initially be very friendly when they first hatch, and within a week their instincts will kick in and they'll get shy. Personally, I try to handle my birds as little as...
  4. SamLockwood

    Why is a hen doing this?

    It could be the lack of space, it could be jealousy: they'll sometimes fight over anything. Sometimes one will just take a disliking to another one for no apparent reason at all.
  5. SamLockwood

    Pullets and cockerel going into the coop before the automatic door closes

    I don't use an automatic door, but usually they have a more or less set "time" they'll start getting ready to roost. I think they go by the angle of the sun and the overall light level. The chickens tend to start getting ready about an hour and a hallf before sunset, and my guinea fowl tend to...
  6. SamLockwood

    Are My Leghorns Close to Laying?

    Hens getting red to pink combs & wattles is one sign of imanent laying. Another one is they'll suddenly get interested in looking for nests. If you free range them this will often include "inappropriate" areas. They'll also start going through mood swings and personality changes shortly before...
  7. SamLockwood

    Are they eating the dirt?

    It's also why you've got to be careful about what you leave out if you free-range chickens. If it's small enough they'll try to swallow it: chunks of plastic, styrofoam, small screws, even bits of broken glass.
  8. SamLockwood

    Are they eating the dirt?

    It's normal. It's how they "chew" their food without teeth: they'll ingest small amounts of dirt, ash, grit, or sand and as everything passes through their crop the "grit" helps grind their food up.
  9. SamLockwood

    Possum problem

    Unless your coop and run are very insecure they're not much of a threat. They will kill a chicken if they can get their hands on one, but they're not nearly as strong, persistent, and devious as raccoons are when it comes to breaking and entering. Ever since I built the new coop, the only time...
  10. SamLockwood

    Confused

    I have a couple hens that are pretty loud and have some unique vocalizations. There's one I call "Wailer" because her way of being social with me is being extremely loud: "Waaaaaaaah, wah-wah-wah-wah wah! Waaaaaaah wah-wah-wah-wah-wah!" I've got couple others that do this weid throaty...
  11. SamLockwood

    Rooster behavior stomping

    Keep in mind that while chickens have better daytime vision than we do they have terrible night vision. If I'm poking about in the dark and not making any noises my flock gets agitated, too. It's really bad news if I've got to grab somebody to work on injuries at night: sometimes I'm dodging...
  12. SamLockwood

    Coyote attack in the middle of the day.

    That's a cute sentiment but these are animals we're talking about, not the Cherokee. Plus, the OP mentioned they put a fence up so your shark analogy really doesn't work. Essentially, it's like saying "if you didn't want to have your house burglarized you shouldn't keep such nice stuff in it!"...
  13. SamLockwood

    Coyote attack in the middle of the day.

    "Nocturnal" is really a preference, it's not mandatory for them. Although it's infrequent, I've gotten daytime "visits" from raccoons, opossums, owls, coyotes, and a bobcat.
  14. SamLockwood

    How long did it take?

    It depends on if you let her raise the chicks or not. They tend to stay in "mommy mode" until the chicks are fully feathered and not lay any eggs. I've seen some have a partial molt after they get done mothering. Some snap right back after a week or two, others won't lay for up to six weeks. A...
  15. SamLockwood

    Is this a rooster?

    If they're raised by an adult rooster young cockerels tend to be a lot more passive, and you've definitely got a boy there. A hen's comb won't usually redden until they're ready to lay at 5 to 6 months old. Plus, he's got the distinctive hackle and saddle-feathers, and his tail-feathers are...
  16. SamLockwood

    Persistent Owl

    While you're not allowed to injure them or destroy their nests, you are allowed to annoy and harrass them. The motion activated sprinker isn't a bad idea. I always have an air-horn ready if they decide to lurk around while I'm outside (assuming my birds haven't run them off). I'd keep them...
  17. SamLockwood

    What is this animal, is it dangerous?

    As others noted, it looks like a young woodchuck or groundhog to me. It's not dangerous by itself but if it's getting in there so can lots of other less pleasant things.
  18. SamLockwood

    Does this really work for predator proofing?

    I've only heard of them at being effective in daytime, for things like hawks, and only temporarily.
  19. SamLockwood

    Poll: Do high-value treats turn your chickens into savages?

    There's the usual pecking order reinforcement, but nobody gets that out of sorts since I tend to spread the scratch feed out over a pretty wide area. After a minute or two of chaos the flock sorts itself out and everyone peacefully munches away.
  20. SamLockwood

    Is this a terrible idea?

    If they were raised togther for 4 months they'll have likely bonded and consider themselves a flock and you'll have the usual problems integrating strangers with them. In general chickens don't like strangers or strangeness of any kind, and often respond aggressively to newcomers. The only time...
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