My hens started laying 3 or 4 weeks ago. One of the easter eggers appears to have gone broody. For the last 4 or 5 days she stays on the nest day and night. I finally picked her up and put her out to free range. She "growls" she sees anyone but she hasn't been mean when I take the eggs from her...
We have 9 chickens that are 20 weeks old. A week ago we got our first egg from one of the EE's. There hasn't been any more since. Is this normal in the beginning of egg laying? I did notice a little bit of blood on the eggshell too.
We just found 6+ ducklings in our pasture and the mom is nowhere to be found. There are more we can't get to in the blackberry bushes. I put them in a tote so I can look out for them. Put a shallow dish of water, pine shavings, and chick feed. Waiting to hear back from Department of Fish and...
We have 9 chicks that are about 13 weeks old. We had 10 but our favorite one got taken by a hawk. So we wanted to replace her but figured it would be easier introducing two new ones instead of just one. When it's time for the new ones to go in the coop how should we do it? Our current girls are...
I had 10 chicks (down to 9 thanks to a Hawk). They are about 10 weeks and I've been watching for any kind of a pecking order. They are all very polite and sweet to each other. Just wondering if they will stay like this? And I'm thinking about getting a Buff Orpington rooster to guard them...
We have (had) ten 8 week old chicks and all have been extremely healthy and happy. Yesterday I let them out to free-range like I do everyday. My son and I were outside with them the majority of the time, so was our big dog (he is very respectful with the chicks) and two baby goats. I went inside...
We are getting two Nigerian dwarf goats in the next couple of days that will need to be bottle fed. We don't have access to goat's milk so we need to use something else. There is SO much controversy over goat milk replacer vs cow's milk. I'm so confused and frustrated and don't know which one to...
I have 10 six week old chicks that were starting to get super friendly. I'd put my arm in the brooder and they'd all take turns jumping up on my arm. A few days ago I moved them to the coop and they are loving it! However, now they just run away from everyone including me. I want to let them out...
I just got 10 chicks about 12 days ago and am using an organic chick starter (Payback brand). But after reading the ingredients I've been wondering if it would be better to use a soy/corn-free feed. I realize this is personal preference, but I try to eat healthy and be conscious of my food. I...
We have ten chicks and two are easter eggers (we thought we were getting Ameraucanas). They are twice as big as our other chicks but are so skittish and hate being held. Is this normal of Easter Eggers? Our other chicks are 3 Australorps, 2 Buff Orpingtons, 1 Delaware, and 2 Barred Rocks.
I have a six day old chick that keeps getting pasty butt. She's growing really great (she's the biggest one!), getting feathers,eating and drinking normally,and seems to act totally normal. I read that pasty butt if from diarrhea and then read that it's from constipation. Which one is it? I was...
This is my first time raising chicks and we've had them about 5 days. I've noticed that everytime you take a chick out of the brooder the other chicks freak out chirping and looking everywhere for the other chick. Is this a common chick behavior? The second you put the chick back in they are all...
We went to feed store yesterday to get our new chicks. They ended up only having 1 of the 4 breeds we are planning on getting. So next week we'll be getting 4 more chicks, and the week after an additional 4 chicks. Can they all be together or do we need to separate them?
I forgot to buy grit yesterday for our new chicks and it's a long drive into town.Can I just use a little dirt from outside? I'm next to a river so I can also get sand from there. As far as I know there haven't been any chickens on this property in years.
We have a dog kennel that's covered that we want to use for chickens. My question is do we need to build a little house in it or can we just put the roost and nesting boxes right in there? We live in a mild climate, but it does get hot in summer. Very rarely freezes or snows. Substantial amount...
Hi, I'm new here. Just moved to the country and we are getting ready to order our chicks from a hatchery. My question is are there any breeds that shouldn't be in mixed company with other breeds? We were thinkinf of getting 2 barred rocks, 2 buff orpingtons, 3 or 4 black australorps, and 2...