I just lost my first hen and I still don't know what went wrong. I started my flock 2 years ago. All of my hens went into molt this past August but feathered out wonderfully by November. My black sex-linked hen feathered out more than the others. Her feathers where as shinny as a peacock...
I have 4 hens and have only laid maybe 12 eggs since this past August. At first I thought the heat and molt was to blame but their feathers grow in over a month ago. Only one girl, an Easter Egger, is laying anything at all. The weather here in Southern California is mild at its worst and our...
I have an EE that started slowly losing the feathers at the base of her back and just above her tail about 3 months ago. Nothing alarming just noticeable. She is now mostly bawled in that area and looks stressed. Her blue eggs also have a coarse black dust that I thought was just...dust but now...
My EE is losing fethers around her preening glad and the skin at the base of the gland is swollen. I dust the coop, run and my 4 hens with food grade D.E every other month so I don't think it is mites, lice or ticks. Also, no other hen showers any signs. What can I do to help my EE?
I am new to raising back yard chickens and my 7 month old pullets are new to laying eggs. All in all things are going rather well but sometimes there is bright red blood streaks on the outside of the egg shells. Anything to worry about or that I should be doing for the girls?
I started my first flock of layers with 4, 3 day old chicks from my local feed store this past October. I am glad I took that step. I of the girls is a RIR . There have been 2 feather tips that have turned white on her. Just the top 1/2 inch of the feather. Is this normal?
Hello- my girls should start laying in March or April. My question is;should I wait until they start to lay before I put the nest box in the coop? I have read many posts that say to block off the nest so they don't get into the habit of sleeping in or roosting on the nest box. They seem to...
I purchased my girls , RIR, EE, and Sex Linked, on October 21. I was told they hatched out on October 17. They seem happy and healthy. Going by the numbers they should be old enough to start laying in March. Yes? I am planning on adding the nest box in 2 weeks or should I wait longer? I...
I know it is important for chickens to have a dust bath in either dirt or sand but mine ( Easter Eagger 2, RIR1, and Black Sex linked)hatched on October 17 could not care less about doing it. We are in Southern California and I have provided a space both inside and outside the run for them to...
I am new to raising chickens so forgive me if this sounds a bit odd. I use a putty knife to scape the chicken poop off of the roost everyday. I then put the putty knife blade side down into the dirt all the way up to the hilt and leave it there till I need it the next day. My daughter friends...