I frequently see posts stating that chickens live to be 8-13 years old on average and up to 16-20! However, I rarely see information on caring for elderly hens. I had a pair of hens who turned 6 this spring and one creeping up on 7. They are all still laying, only late winter to late spring...
Chickens and humans are social creatures. Humans have communities and chickens have flocks, but what happens when the two intersect? Do chickens look at human owners as a part of the flock or a separate entity? I once had an injured duck arrive at the house to overwinter and it would try to...
I live in Texas where summers regularly have highs hovering around 100 degrees for three months straight. I am interested in adding three hens to my flock but want breeds that will not suffer during the dog days of summer.
I currently have:
- Easter egger
- Lakenvelder
- Sicilian buttercup...
A Very Merry Chicken Holiday!
This year in addition to making cookies for myself, I made some for my feathered friends. This is a gingerbread house coop I made from a modified sugar cookie recipe. I removed the sugar and substituted a touch of molasses and some corn meal...
Dear BYC peeps,
Almost every summer one of my hens gets bumblefoot at some point. You can tell as soon as they start doing that one legged stand while browsing in the yard. This summer it was Pepper, she is a fairly light weight easter egger hen, but is an intrepid explorer and as a result...
Hello BYC friends,
Today I want to post on treating fly strike without the nasty pictures that usually accompany these posts. My hen Salt tends to have a dirty bottom (the vets cannot find a reasonable explanation other than she is a lazy pooper). Usually it is not too bad, but today she was...
I just came home from work to find my 3 year old barred rock hen lethargic in the side yard. Her comb was pale and a bit scratched up, her eyes barely open with a small amount of blood at the top corner. She did not come for food when I put it out and only perked up mildly when I went to see...
Hello forum friends,
I have a two and a half year old Lakenvelder hen who came dashing to the door this morning with the most unusual stride. I picked her up to examine her and noticed that the 3rd digit on her left foot had a brown lumpy mass instead of a toe nail. We have had torrential...
My hen Pumpkin is a feed store purchased Golden Laced Wyandotte. She is 8 months old and started laying on Easter day. She laid regularly (every other day from March until June). On June 25th, she laid her last egg and has not laid since. She seems healthy. She is active and seems to be holding...
My easter egger, Pepper, recently completed her first molt and is finally back to laying eggs as usual. However I noticed her beard and muffs still looked a bit low on feathers. At first I thought the feathers were just slowly coming in, but them I saw something odd. My other hen, a lakenvelder...
Today is the one year anniversary of my chickens, Salt and Pepper, hatching! It hardly seems like it has been that long, but I could not imagine a backyard without the girls running amok in it. Here are pictures from the festivities.
The decorations are up and Salt is ready to get the...
This past summer my whole flock ended up sick with fowl pox. One hen died but the rest recovered after a few weeks. I currently have two new pullets in quarantine. They seem healthy and only have another week and a half until their 30 days are up. Now I am concerned that they might contract fowl...
I have long been told that egg production is light dependent and as the days grow shorter egg production will wane. In keeping with this idea, I have always added a light to my coop during the winter months. However, I had never considered how this affects the hens. Does anyone know? Are there...
I am looking to add to my current pair of chickens but want to be sure to get calm, quiet birds that are reasonable egg layers. I currently have a sweetheart of an Easter Egger and a trouble-maker Lakenvelder. In your experience, what breeds make the best city birds? I have heard Orpingtons and...
I have a 9 month old Lakenvelder hen who is a pretty consistent layer. However occasionally after a day when she does not lay she gets frantic and starts pacing and crowing. She will pace up and down the fence or inside the house. She jumps in and out of the nest box and is constantly clucking...
Salutations,
I am a new member and was redirected here to ask about getting a new chicken.
I have a wee flock of 2 hens and want to expand. I have a white layer, a blue layer, and now I want a chocolate layer. Does anyone know where I can get a single black copper marans hen near Austin TX...
Salutations,
I have a wee flock of 2 hens and want to expand. I have a white layer, a blue layer, and now I want a chocolate layer. Does anyone know where I can get a single black copper marans hen near Austin TX? I am interested in a pullet or chick but do not have the equipment for a...
Hello,
I am a newbie to urban chicken farming but have some experience with chickens. I currently have two lovely girls named Salt and Pepper. Salt is feisty lakenvelder and Pepper is a very mellow ameraucana (both pictured below). The girls love to eat cottage cheese, grapes and any new...
I have two chickens, an ameraucana and a lakenvelder. I recently lost my third hen to fowl pox and heat exhaustion. The other hens miss her and now that the flock is down to only two the girls scream like crazy when the other hen is out of sight. This is especially problematic when the other hen...
Hello,
I have three lovely chickens named Salt (Lakenvelder), Pepper (Ameraucana), and Paprika(New Hampshire Red). All three 7 month old hens. At 1:30 yesterday afternoon all three were healthy happy chickens when put in their chicken pen. When I returned at 4:00 Paprika was at the back of...