Just wanted to update. unfortunately she died a few hours after I posted. None of the other hens seem to be sick so I'm convinced she was indeed egg bound and didn't show any symptoms ( or we didn't notice ) until that day. Thanks for everyone who tried to help.
nevermind I found it - http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-treat-egg-binding-in-chickens.html
"A hen thats truly egg bound will die if she doesnt pass the egg, usually within 48 hours"
This morning my husband noticed our hen was laying down and didn't run up to him like she usually does. I thought maybe she's just being broody and went on about the day. By afternoon I noticed she still hadn't moved. I went out to check on her and noticed she was rhythmically trying to "push"...
We have 4 hens...we were thinking of adding 4 more to our flock but were unsure what the 12 week old hens we already have will do? Will they accept them as babies? or peck at them? or ignore them all together?
Looking for advice before we get more.
YAY! that was quick! The neighbor just found her, her dog went after her but the neighbor got her first
So ThunderChicken's little escape is OVER!
Isaiah is celebrating with snuggles and feeding her his pizza crust lol
I'm so happy for him, he LOVES her so much
I really thought she was a goner!
I live in a residential neighborhood and I have 6 chickens in my good sized backyard. actually my backyard is SO big I have 2 extremely large pens, one for the chickens, and one for the dogs. I let the chickens out at about 2pm to free range around. At about 4pm I went to check on them and 1 is...
my neighbors think I'm crazy for having chickens to begin with...the first question people always ask is "you EAT the eggs?" "is that safe?"
I'd offer them some but I'm pretty sure they would just toss them and say "omg she actually gave us eggs, what a nutcase" lol
ok...as long as it's normal.
I only worry eventually my neighbors will complain because I live in a residential neighborhood.
but come to think of it I can just point out that their dog is far more annoying than my chickens lol
ok my chickens squak every morning at about 7-9 while they are laying...it's usually only a minute or two each and thats it....well today they all layed and then while I was out there feeding them one starts up...now - 3 hours later she is still at it...she is just walking around...pecking at...
hmmm, well it is "chicken wire" so maybe they won't be able to get em' all if I plant them on the outside of the fence?...hmmmm
I don't have a problem planting an obscene amount of em'...we can share...lol
I have a huge fence around my chicken run that looks so bare, I was thinking about planting some vining tomatoes to climb the fence this summer....but will the chickens just destroy the plants and eat all the tomatoes?
If so is there anything they won't go after? VINING/Climbing vegetables...
ok, will pick up oyster shells ASAP, thanks for the advice.
I asked the feed store if they needed anything else besides laying feed and they said, "nope, it's all in the bag"
since our chickens were chicks we have always kept their feed bowl full.
they are 6 months now and lately have been making a huge mess with it. We keep it in the hen house and now I'm wondering if it should be moved into the yard because in the hen house they waste SO much of it!.
what does...
I was out collecting the eggs with my kids and my son dropped one. I saw it had a nice big crack in it so instead of trying to clean it up with the 3rd arm I don't have I just smashed it figuring it would just mix in with the dirt and that would be that. After I brought the eggs inside I went...