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  1. sjmjrgkmg

    Please take a moment to help an urban chicken group change the rules!

    Hi folks, I live in a medium-sized city in NYS, and we are having trouble with our city government raising our fees to what we consider an unreasonable amount. It used to be $37 annually, and two years ago they bumped it up to $75 per year - which makes it very difficult to keep a small...
  2. sjmjrgkmg

    Treadle Feeder advice, please!

    Hi folks, After 10+ years of chicken keeping, we're finally going to break down and invest in a treadle or pressure plate feeding system - our hens are wasting so much food from the hanging feeder we're currently using! Does anyone have a brand they absolutely love and feel is worth the...
  3. sjmjrgkmg

    Best rat-proof feeder?

    Hi all - I don't know if this should go under "feeding & watering" or "predators & pests", so I'm posting under both. We have a BAD rat problem all of a sudden, and they are starting to gnaw through the heavy wooden feeder (with a pressure-plate opening) that my friend built, so we're looking...
  4. sjmjrgkmg

    Stridor breathing - advice?

    Hi, one of my hens is making an odd noise with every breath - like a harmonica on the exhale - but seems otherwise fine. She's eating, walking around, no messy butt or obvious signs of distress apart from the stridor. It has been VERY cold here - mostly in the teens (Fahrenheit) this past...
  5. sjmjrgkmg

    Messy, dripping bottom - possible causes?

    About two weeks ago I had an egg-bound hen. That was successfully dealt with by soaking her tush in warm water/epsom salts and adding more calcium/magnesium to her diet, but she had a prolapsed vent for about a week after that. With another soak or two, it went back in, but she still has a...
  6. sjmjrgkmg

    Broad-spectrum wormer?

    Hi all, Cleaning out the run, I found a worm in some loose poop, and I can't really tell if it is a tapeworm or roundworm or something else. It was about 8" long, slightly bulbous on one end, a bit pink in color - not really round like spaghetti, but not totally flat and white like the pictures...
  7. sjmjrgkmg

    Looking for permit cost feedback

    Re-posting my question with a poll attached. I'm trying to gather some data regarding license fees in different towns and cities, as the poultry permit fee in our city just doubled. Your feedback is deeply appreciated. Thanks!
  8. sjmjrgkmg

    Permit requirements/ cost question

    For those of you who live in cities or towns, do you need a permit or license to keep you flock and, if so, what is the cost? I'm doing some informal research so that I can go before our city council in Rochester, NY armed with some data. This year the license fee for keeping hens in the city...
  9. sjmjrgkmg

    What to look for w/sick chicken?

    Hi folks, If you have a hen down with no obvious cause (i.e. no previous sign of illness, no observable injury, fine in the morning and near death by afternoon...) what do you look for first? This is not the first time I've had a chicken just flop over in the run. This particular hen is not...
  10. sjmjrgkmg

    short-term homemade feed question

    Hi all, Oops - ran out of feed, and my "chicken guy" has limited hours during the winter. Since I might not get out there for a couple of days, I thought I'd throw together some feed out of my pantry. I have rolled and steel cut oats, millet, sesame seeds, mung dal (a small legume akin to red...
  11. sjmjrgkmg

    Very sick older hen - advice?

    Hi all, One of our "elderly" hens - about 6 y.o. - has been doing poorly lately, but went downhill very quickly. I found her on the coop floor, unable to stand. She seems to have paralysis of legs, very messy diarrhea (brown - profuse) and is not eating. If I prop her she'll stay in that...
  12. sjmjrgkmg

    Older hen, "tucked in" tail, messy vent, low energy - ideas?

    To expand upon this, we have two "elderly" hens (both White Rocks, 5+ years old) who are suddenly showing their age - difficulty hopping onto roost, slow moving, etc. One has a very messy vent, but eats fine. We generally put cider vinegar in their water and also have been giving some kefir or...
  13. sjmjrgkmg

    green diarrhea, listless hen

    Hi all, One of my seven hens has started to act sick - green diarrhea, not interested in food. Earlier, I thought I saw something that looked like an egg membrane coming out of her, but I wasn't able to get a close look, and when I checked her out an hour later I didn't see it. It might have...
  14. sjmjrgkmg

    Vicarious First-Time Mama worries!

    Hi all, I put eight fertile eggs under my broody hen four days ago and am wondering if what we are observing is typical for a setting hen. She's completely still and spread out like a big floppy sack of chicken over the eggs - very Zen - but we never see her get up to turn them at all, we have...
  15. sjmjrgkmg

    very strange egg - any ideas?

    Today when I walked into my coop there was an awful smell, and there among the "normal" eggs, I found the source. One of my hens laid what I suppose could be called an egg, only it was more than twice the size of a large egg (goose egg-sized), covered only with a tough membrane - no shell - and...
  16. sjmjrgkmg

    Keeping new hens safe - need advice from experts!

    Hi all, We introduced two new 1 y.o. hens to our mini-flock and, naturally, much pecking has ensued. I made a temporary run for them which they stayed in during the day for about 3 weeks and put them in a dog crate in the shed at night. For the past week they have free-ranged together and...
  17. sjmjrgkmg

    Chickens without water for 36 hours in 90+ - ?

    Hi All, We just got back from a week long trip, during which a neighbor's 10 year old was to take care of our flock of four. We came home to find a nicely filled water jug - UPSIDE DOWN in the coop! A call to mom reassured us that she had witnessed the water jug being put in correctly for the...
  18. sjmjrgkmg

    giving up on day 25 - sad and curious

    Hi all, We were incubating eggs as a homeschool project and day 21 (and days 22, 23 and 24) came and went with no sign. Finally this morning I took them out of the incubator and candled to see what went wrong. We had candled a few of the eggs on day 10 and saw air pockets, blood vessels and...
  19. sjmjrgkmg

    millet - cooked? Raw?

    Hi, Someone from my co-op gave me a five gallon bucket nearly full of millet (in which some grain moths had taken up residence). Will be girls be able to digest this raw? Is cooked okay? In the wintertime I sometimes spoil them by making them warm "oatmeal" (pouring boiling water over some...
  20. sjmjrgkmg

    How much is your license fee?

    Hi all, I live in a Rochester NY where we do need a license to keep chickens. I was appalled to find that the already steep (in my opinion) fee of $25/year was increased to $37 - plus we have to get it notarized, bringing the annual cost to about $40/year. A dog license is $7. I only keep...
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