I buy scratch grain chcken feed which is mostly maize and my chickens won't eat it. Is there a way to make the chickens like maize. I comes whole grain. Would crushing the maize like the corn work better. I've also thought of just buying crushed corn like in Deer feed but worry it won't be...
Well, earlier this fall I asked the forum to identify a chicken I got at the feed store and memebers said she was an Easter Egger. Well she turned out to be a he when one day I saw him start crowing in the yard. Since then he has grown into a very large rooster. I would put him in the same...
Well, I've had pretty good luck hatching and raising my chicks for a beginner. I've only lost one who looked underdeveloped. My question is how can you determine sex in the egg. I want hens and 3 out of 4 turn out to be roosters. I'm over run with young roosters and only a few pullets.
Hello,
Wanted to see if I can get an idea of what breed chicken I have here. I purchased what I thought were two leghorns, 1 male 1 female, from my local feed store. The rooster is turning into a nice looking leghorn but I don't know what the hen is exactly. She's white with silver or what...
Well, my little Americana(Ethel) passed in her sleep last night. She had been disabled after a stroke since early May. I had been watering her by hand for over a month now. I was amazed at how long she lasted. Yesterday she was enjoying fresh garden tomatoes and chicken feed. I'm glad she...
My poor little hen just keeps going. It's Jul and she started going down hill in the winter. I initially suspected a stroke or some sort of neurological problem. To date she can't stand, sleeps most of the time with her head twisted upside down. I give her water by hand but she manages to...
A few days ago I wrote hoping to find out what might be wrong with my old hen. Over the weekend it dawned on me what might have happened to her. My brother had a horse that did this and I had an old dog that had one and now I believe my hen is showing all the symptoms of a stroke. Has anyone...
I've got a little Americana hen that I've been nursing and can't figure out exactly what's wrong with her. First off, she's old. Don't know how old but she was the oldest of a few hens I bought about a year ago. During the winter I noticed she started staying on the roost all day and wouldn't...
Well, the Rode Island didn't make it. I wish I knew why. She showed no outward signs other than she was lethargic and would just lay down. Since the episode with the rough textured egg the other day I wonder if she had an egg that wouldn't pass. This was our only Rode Island and out of the...
I have a Rode island Red that's about 11/2 years old. She molted in Oct and all seemed well until a few days ago. She looks alright. Comb is upright and bright red. Eyes are clear and orange like they alwya are. She doesn't eat like she should and I've noticed what I belive to be her eggs...
I have a young Barred Plymouth Rock that I feel is about ready to join the flock. She's as big as my Americanas but I worry she's not coop smart to stay out of the way of my dominant Rode Island Red. Is there a secret to getting them together or does she just have to take her knocks from the...
Well, I did as suggested. I removed the bad eggs and as it worked out the hen was perched on top of the nest box the next day wanting out with the flock. She's still clucking but hasn't tried to sit since. I just wonder if she'll start laying again. She was one of my better layers before she...
Well, back to square one. Three eggs hatched and all chicks died or were killed by the flock before we could get to them. Hen still has 3 eggs under her but I don't think they'll hatch. She's still broody and won't get off the nest. We feed and water her in the nest to keep her alive...
I had a hen go broody on me so I put some fertilized eggs under her to let her run her course. 3 hatched yesterday and right away it seems other chickens grabbed 2 chicks out of the nest and killed them. The other hatchling stayed under mama. I put the hen, nest and all, in a cage within the...
Yesterday we lost a young pullet. This morning my young rooster seems sick. His comb, which is usually upright has fallen to one side and he doesn't move around much but he is standing and scurried away when I open the pen door. Afraid an infection of some sort has gotten in my young birds...
One other frightening thought was West Nile. I know there's been West Nile Virus in the area before. I've read where chickens don't show signs of the disease till it's too late.
Could it have been an accident? The white leghorn is a young rooster. I've heard and seen the chickens get excited and fuss at each other. Is it possible there was an altercation in the coop that led to the untimely death of my little pullet. It is time to put the youngsters in with the...
Odd occurence this morning. Been raising 2 barred plymouth rocks and a white leghorn. All the birds are about 4 months old. All were doing fine yesterday and last night when I put them up all looked at me with bright eyes. This morning to my bewilderment one of the plymouth rocks was dead...
Well, the saga continues. It's been a week since I got an egg from my big Rode Island Red. She used to lay at tleast every other day. I manage about one egg a day from the Americana's since I built the new coop. They still refuse to roost in it. I find them clinging to the outside of the...