I bought 6 chicks today. I bought a brooder lamp and a 250w red brooder lamp bulb. The lady at Tractor Supply said was fine and I could move it around if it got too hot. It's A LOT of heat. It has a clamp and I have it clamped on the side of a plastic tote. I got the idea for the tote here but...
I have a couple Buffs that are just now starting to lay. One seems to lay eggs with the membrane on the outside. The shell is soft (no support from the membrane) and at the point of where the membrane is it's very weak or there's a hole there. They have oyster shell but I don't think that has...
I found her at a feed store. She has 5 toes. She is small but not quite bantam size. She rarely lays eggs (light brown). Her legs have only a trace of feathering.
I love her nonetheless. She has a really cute personality and she's so unique to me.
Bought these two yesterday and for some reason I started to wonder if they were Cornish instead of Leghorn. They are almost the size of my 4 year old Leghorn but they have no comb, waddles and they still chirp like babies. I wanted Leghorns (the feed store didn't say) because they are good...
I have never seen this before. This hen does something similar to a crow. She does this when people show up as if she is excited. She can do this for 15-20 mins. She eventually stops/calms down. This is just a small sample. She strains her neck out and really gets into it. I don't know what to...
Found this mutt at the feed store and could not resist. her mop top got me.
is that a silkie mix? she has the top but the rest of her is not. 4 toes, whitish skin. she also lays almost pure white egss (on the right. the one on the left is a white leghorn) so i'm thinking she was mixed with a...
Roosters are not worth the hassle. I don't see a real need for one. The are loud, they are overly protective (I don't blame them, it's instinct) and can attack you. They ruin your hens' back from all the mating. I keep my hens in a pen/run so they don't really protect them from predators. I see...
I picked up a silkie mutt the other day because she was just hilarious looking with her mop top head. When I introduced her to the flock the other hens ran away. I think this set the rooster off because he started chasing her and attacking her. This has been going on all week. The other hens...
I'm totally confused here.
One of my hens went broody in July. The first 5 eggs were dudes. Yes I have a rooster and he mates with them. I watched him mate with 3 chicks on a Wed. On Thurs I watched all 3 lay egss and I put them under the broody hen a few mins after they were laid. All 3 of...
One of my hens died recently from something parasitic. I have been looking at poop to see if I could see worms but I'm no expert.
One poop is very watery with perhaps blood and something stringy. I notice a lot of the looser poop has white/yellow strings in it (see 2nd pic). Is that normal...
My little EE (a fav) went limp Saturday. She was dead by Sunday night. I noticed her poop (see picture) was bright yellow. Her vent area would pulsate too. I have no idea what this was. I would like to know to maybe treat it if it hits the rest of my flock. She had been in the compound for over...
I noticed a lot of my chickens have orange eyes. The Australorp has amazing black eyes but orange or something similar seems to be the norm, right?
here's my rooster. Some times they look like they are on fire.
To me she is spectacular in her shape and feathering. I have never had a female like this before. She came from Mt. Healthy Hatchery so I doubt she's from show stock but she sure looks pretty to me.
Animal feces can be a big problem in farming communities with the waste getting into local water supplies. I collect my chicken poop on a poop board under the roost and put it in a bucket. After my garden was done for the year I took a couple of 5 lb buckets that were nearly full and spread it...
Got her yesterday. I guess it's an EE. They tried to tell me it was an Ameraucana but I thought those had darker more blue legs instead of green legs. Anyway, is she considered blue?
My chickens have been eating left over cucumbers, tomatoes, squash for a month or more. Is that a bad thing? They get a little scratch once a day and some BOSS 2-3 times a week but they really have been eating a lot of vegetables. Not sure how nutritious vegetables are for laying hens.
I was told this was a pullet but lately she has been acting like a he and I noticed what looks like a spur starting to come out. It is only 3 months old or so.
It has been running around with its head down then charging the hens and when they play fight it kicks its legs out like a rooster...
I slapped something together. The roof on my run is only about 4 1/2 ft tall but they seem to love it. No they don't sleep up there. They hang out up there throughout the day. I don't know what it is about a chicken but they love getting off the ground once in a while. Maybe it makes them feel...
My rooster was treated for cocci for 4 days. He was weak and barely able to stand. Now he's back on his feet for three weeks. He is very active but not long after he started getting his health back he started welping, honking, almost like a bark. This has been going on for two weeks. His...