I currently have 40 hens, 10 are several years old and 30 are two months old.
I let then free range on the weekends and evenings when I am home.
For the most part I'd say they are fairly helathy. A few years ago, I lost 4 or 5 within a 2 month period .
All seemed slow, and sitting in the corner...
Im not really sure whats going on here. I have a Brahma hen that is around 2.5 years old. All of my hens have not laid in close to two months.
this particular lady has been acting different than the rest. Stays in the coop during the day and just recently was outside and would not go back in...
i have an americauna who is near the bottom of the totem pole, she is the smallest and was the last to start laying. she insists on sitting on every egg the other chicks lay. Sometimes she will push the other girls off the nest before they even lay. I will take her off the nest and place her out...
she was in the nest box before our early Easter dinner.,, laid a small egg before dinner, I went out to give them all dinner scraps.. then she ate some ham and ran to her secret spot to lay another egg??? which was more her size egg,,, what the heck? didnt think id see that happen.
how rare is...
So my EE or americauna is close 30+ weeks, she squats, shows interest in the nest box, even sits in there for 30 minutes gets out and squaks as if she laid an egg,,,, but NO EGG..
well about a week ago i had an egg in the nest box that was of green color and cracked/smashed with a very soft...
The other day i posted about a cracked egg. Well i discovered my RIR who has been laying for almost 2 weeks now, lays while on the roost. She is not the brightest chicken in the coop to begin with. I have been watching her to see how the eggs get cracked, she hops on the roost and lays, how can...
So i have two older girls that are laying,, have been, everything is good with them. I have a RIR that is a few months younger and just began laying, she is at the bottom of the totem pole. the older two peck at her every once and awhile, as they do to the other 2 smaller chicks. The RIR has...
so i have had 3 of my girls for 7-8 months now 1 is a barred brahma one is a RIR mix of some sort,,, she is black but looks like a RIR, these two have been laying regularly an egg a day or so. my americauna... Hawk, squats, sits in the empty nest, comes out and free ranges and puts her self...
so i woke up and heard one of my birds making a loud screech several times,,, i thought this must be the day.,,
so i went out and sure enough my RIR is sitting in the box acting weird.
i gave her some space and came back about an hour later,, sure enough there is a little brown egg.
she is...
so its been a few weeks over 6 months now,,, and my americauna and barahm have yet to give me an egg...
i have a 5 month old RIR and a RIR mix and nothing,.,,, they have been checking out the nest area,, have their waddles red faces big round white poo,,, eating 50/50 layer starter as well as...
so my girls are almost of laying age, and the americauna has been getting a littledaring, she keeps flying on top of the coop or venturing out to the neighbors property, this just started.
Anything i can do to discourage this, besides "shoo" her back to where i want her?
what about clipping her...
so my oldest are close to 5 months,, no eggs yet but their faces are red and finally showing interest in the nest boxes. i went to check on them in their run/coop and the four of them are all in the coop area checkin out the nest area and fluffing the shavings i have in their, i cant wait...
So i found a chcken 3 months ago.. i guess it to be about a month old at the time.. i built a coop added some new friends and have learn t alot from this site. well the last few days. (started about a 2 weeks ago) at 6 am i hear a crowing bird.. I researched and from what i can find some hens...
SO o am about to add a coop to my run,, its going to be about 4'x4' by 3' tall, and sit 2 fee off the ground. All ply wood sides and i might insulate it.
My question is.....
I see every one have the nest boxes and "egg gathering" doors on the outside of the main structure.
why is this? to...
so i guesss "chicken" wire isnt really strong enough to protect the chickens. Is it because predators can rip through the wire? ir is the way the wire is attached to the frame? i have 2x6 horizontal boards as my support and was going to sandwich the wire in between another 1x6 board attached...