Hi,
I rehomed three chickens in September that I had raised for a year and a half. I was (and am) attached to them, so I was a hard decision. I think it was the right one though, as it was getting to the point where it was causing my parents more stress than pleasure. And I was unsure about...
Is this bumblefoot? If so, does she need surgery, or is there a chance I could get by with soaking? She is going to my coworker's in September, and I would like to have her in good health by then.
Update - I'm pretty sure based on feedback I've gotten that it is bumblefoot. The poultry vet...
I've had a mild cough the past few weeks, and my mother was panicking (unecessarily, I think) that I might have caught histoplasmosis from taking care of our chickens. I plan to check into testing to appease her.
This does beg the question though, of when/if I should be wearing a mask to take...
The feathers around one of my chicken's vent always seem to have dried stuff on them, and don't clean up very well or stay clean very long with water alone. Lately they've been damp as well as messy - Not sure if that's related to the hot weather and drinking a lot. It does seem to have a...
So, I think I figured out why I was thinking vent gleet with my messy tail girl. Her vent feathers were damp when I put her to bed tonight and did seem to have a bit of an off smell to them (that's happened before also). Her vent looked normal as best I can determine last time I gave her a...
When I picked up a comparison chicken today (my Mom wanted to see a chicken to compare with one I thought might have vent gleet), she dripped water on the ground. Is that a sign of vent issues, or could that just mean that she had a lot of water in her system? If vent issues, I would want to...
I'm having my perpetually messy tail chicken checked out on Monday. Assuming she checks out ok, I would consider doing a sanitary trim on her. I had a couple of questions. One is if that should be necessary? My other two chickens seem to be ok, so I'm not sure why this one would be different...
My Rhode Island Red hen likes to snuggle next to my Welsummer at night. Normally, they seem fine with that arrangement. They also get along well during the day. However, recently, there have been three instances where I saw the Wellsummer peck at Red when she tries to get next to her. I also...
For those of you that use outdoor nestboxes when it gets hot, may I see pictures of them? I considering that for our set up, after seeing my RIR have a hard time with the heat in our coop this weekend (and refuse to come out after she laid today). I would love to be able to close up our coop to...
Hi, I'm wondering if my production RIR hen could be going broody? If so, she seems to have chosen a bad day for it (95 degrees inside the coop by our coop thermometer). We have three chickens, I picked up one egg this morning, my dad says that he picked up a second egg, and then when I went out...
Any tips on keeping nest boxes cool? I have a RIR hen today, that was panting like crazy while waiting to lay (she's a small bird, and it seems like she usually takes longer than the others). I poured some coolish water on her back, which she seem to like at first, but then she got up and...
Is it normal for hens to help each other groom? I have a RIR hen that makes me nervous by pecking at her flock mates tail feathers when they are wet (after having a bath). And today I caught her helping another hen groom her (dry but messy feathers). I don't think its mean spirited (she's...
I noticed when I put the hens to bed tonight that Red was jerking her neck (it look to me like a hicup or a tic) and didn't seem to be able to stop it. Does this sound like a neurological issue, and if so what would be the next step? I will have her see the vet if she's not better in the...
This is a followup to my chickens in the backyard post. Our chickens had such a good time yesterday, that my Dad let them out again yesterday and today. I'm happy, because it provides more enrichment for them that I can provide in their run.
I did have some questions about chicken proofing our...
I discovered today that one of my favorite chickens is an escape artist, and has mastered flying on top of our leanto (in the background by the fly trap) and down to get to the grass in our backyard. Which wouldn't bother me, but my parents don't want them there and I'm not sure that all of the...
I'm not sure what to tell my parents. My Dad likes to give our three chickens the grass clippings when he mows the lawn. My Mom was trying to persuade him not to because he used fertilizer on the front lawn (not sure how long ago).
I'm guessing the grass had little or no fertilizer on it...
My parents and I gave our chickens a partial soak today with my goal being to get some dried poop off their feathers and some dirt of their feet. I found that they liked the warm water I also found that it was hard to get the dried stuff off even after soaking them without pulling feathers...
I had an interesting experience when I arrived home late (about an hour after sundown), and went to shut my 3 birds in. Two of them were standing up with their eyes open and one was under the coop (She came out when she saw my flashlight). I did check them over, and did not see any signs of...