I've seen this one pick on other hens. The lowest ranking ones will make a fuss until the boxes aren't being used, but this one just seems to go against the grain.
Has anyone had a hen that just seemed to favor creating nests in the yard instead of laying eggs inside the coop? I've been battling this for 2 years and I think I've successfully traced it to just one hen, a quiet and unassuming blue Wyandotte. So far I've eliminated probably 15 different...
I’m in Utah. Whatever it is, the chick’s eyes are swollen shut and it’s acting very sick. My guess was coryza based on googling the symptoms. The chicks are in a shed in a crate that had been outside, it’s far from sterile.
I have a dozen chicks and one of them seems to have a bad respiratory infection (acting sick, eyes swollen shut). I isolated her and cleaned the enclosure, but I'm guessing they've all been exposed. Is it still possible to obtain poultry antibiotics over the counter in the USA? I remember...
I noticed one of my chicks was acting sick—drooping head, wobbly, slow, not running around, and not opening its eyes. Its face and eyelids are swollen and when it does open its eyes one of them just looks like a black mess and the other I can barely see. Its crop also appears enlarged but I’m...
I’ve been using warm running water to clean her and I’m feeding her IFA chick starter. She is supposed to be a black australorp, along with 3 of the others. The store didn’t have any bantams. I imagine mixups can happen at the hatchery, but her coloring is identical to the others. I don’t think...
I picked up about a dozen day old feed store chicks on May 28th so they’re about 10 days old now. About 5 of them got pasty butt in the first few days and 4 of the 5 are doing ok now. One of them has been getting pasty butt constantly since day one and I have to clean her vent 2-3 times a day...
It's funny you should mention that--as soon as I put her out there two of the other hens started viciously attacking her, going right for her injured back. Luckily I had some pinless peepers lying around that I was able to put on the two hens that were being jerks. So far it hasn't been a...
Just another update: she has been outside with the flock for a few days now and is doing much better. Not 100% better, as her wing still hangs lower on one side and she still has a bit of a hunch, but she is walking around and eating and sleeping on a perch. I was pretty worried for a bit but is...
I have a broody hen that has been sitting on a dozen eggs for about 2 weeks, and another hen that went broody about a week ago. The eggs are due to hatch next Monday or Tuesday, and I will have to relocate the second broody to a crate if I let her incubate. Is it too late to steal some eggs from...
She laid an egg today! I let her outside and she walked around a bit but not a whole lot. She's still pretty sluggish, but laying an egg is a good sign, right?
Sorry, I got distracted. After reading the suggestions to put the poor girl down I decided to put some mashed up boiled eggs next to her and check on her in the morning to see if she was getting better, and if not I was going to put her down. The egg was gone in the morning and so far she has...
There was a fenced off portion of my yard to keep the chickens from eating the plants, and the hen managed to get under it where water was flowing under the fence but the dog couldn't fit
One of my very tame chickens did the egg squat when a dog came after her and the dog did a number on her, but didn't try to eat her--just played with her and nipped her. The chicken finally realized what was happening and got away under a fence, and now it's 24 hours later and she is still...
My coop is only a place for them to sleep at night and lock up their food. There is space for more, they just roam the yard during the day. I’m definitely not looking to hatch any chicks this time of year though.
That's the funny thing actually, despite the cold and it getting dark by 6pm I'm getting more eggs than I can eat. All the young ones plus one older one (8 total) are laying. Right now I have a bunch of fake eggs in the farthest nesting box from the door so she doesn't keep chasing off the other...