My head Momma is my oldest gal. She is boss of the flock but she's an older chicken, now just over 6 years old. My understanding is chickens generally live 8-10 years. ANyhow, her wattles and comb have gotten quite pale, a light pink color instead of their normal bright red, as of the last 2...
I have been having a problem with "whining' chickens for a while now. From time to time I like to give treats to my flock, such as greens, or bread, cooked rice, or really anything other than their standard feed. I also like to let them out to forage in the backyard once in a while. But the...
I have a question for those of you who are experienced with chicks. I have some bantam chicks that I bought "straight run", eg unsexed, so it is not known if they are male or female: two silkies, and 5 mille fleur d'uccles. In these two groups, I have noticed that one of the silkie chicks is...
I have a male quail who started crowing a lot, both early in the morning (before the sun rose, when it was still dark, around 6am) and now, also in the middle of the night! Today I woke and heard him crowing at 3am. I was wondering if he was trying to find other females -- I have 3 quail cages...
I have a chicken who is sick, and I am very concerned because other chickens who have acted like her and been sick in the same way have all died. She has become very quiet and inactive, standing still, not resisting being touched or picked up (in her normal state she would not readily accept...
I went to a local shop that sells live poultry, mostly to people to eat, and noticed they have pheasants. Not sure what type...but it got me wondering if a pheasant or two could be kept with chickens. What are the advantages to keeping pheasants? Do they lay eggs? ARe they raised mostly for...
I have kept chickens for several years, and was wondering if it is possible to keep a duck in the coop with the chickens. Are they able to live together? Also, (if they can), I am wondering if anyone can give me an idea of what to expect regarding duck noise level...the coop is pretty close to...
I have chickens and quail, and will be having more eggs than I need. One of my neighbors has expressed interest in buying some of my eggs, and I am wondering what would be a reasonable price. I was thinking $5 per 18 quail eggs and $5 per dozen hen eggs. I know this is higher than supermarket...
I have 8 week old pullets, and right now I am closing them in the henhouse at night, with a sliding door, to keep rats out. I did not do this with my adult hens and never had a problem with rats hurting the adult hens, though rats would go after the feed. BUt the pullets are smaller...
My chicks are now 8 weeks old. They have been eating the chick feed since I got them. At what point do I switch to giving them "laying feed" , or is there a "pullet feed" that is for pullets in between chick and layer feed?
I slaughtered one of my chickens for the first time today and had some questions about some of the organs I found in the bird.
First, I found that the liver was an odd color: not the pinkish red color of chicken livers I buy in the store, but rather a striking ochre color (see 1st photo...
I got several sexed day old chicks at the local feed shop...one of them ( a Welsummer) appears to be turning into a rooster not a hen. I love the lil' thing and am sad to think I have to give him up because I live in an urban area where roosters are not allowed to be kept. I was wondering if...
I have 5 chickens I am going to either give away or slaughter or have slaughered. They are 3 yrs 3 months old and slowing down in their egg laying. They still lay eggs but less frequently. I have obtained new chicks to replace them. If anyone would like any of these chickens either to adopt...
Our 7 chickens are getting old and not laying many eggs. THey are now 3 years 3 months old. I find myself quite reluctant to slaughter them (though I suppose I could if I had to) since they've been pets all this time. Yet I have to either find homes for them or slaughter them, because I am...
Today I bought some day old chicks. I have 5 different breeds, and 2 of them I have not heard of before. One of them the shop salesman said was a "Feathered Kookamaran" but I can't find that listed anywhere, though I do see "Maran" listed as a breed. Anyone have any idea what a feathered...
I have one quail who produces an odd sound. She's my only Tibetan (she's female). She makes a nasal sound that sounds like a cross between a fart and a snore. None of the other quail do anything like this. Is this something Tibetans do, or might she have a deformity in her nasal passages, or...
I am new to quail. The quail I obtained are I think fairly young adults, about 7-10 weeks old. I have noticed that when my male quail tries to mate, each female he latches onto, is unreceptive, and runs away as he is trying, and so I don't think he's very successful: he ends up just chasing her...
I was traumatized yesterday to find a cage of 3 lifeless bodies and one badly inured quail, who'd had her leg chewed off. Earlier this week one quail had vanished from the cage, and I found feathers below, and concluded a rat had gotten into the cage. So I covered the entire cage (which had 1...
I"m considering getting Tuxedo Coturnix. Are they similar in size to the Standard Japanese or Pharaoh/Brown Coturnix, or are they larger? Are their eggs the same size as the standard Coturnix, or larger?