We've had chickens for years, but this is our first batch of babies.
The 12 RIR chicks arrived 9 days ago from hatchery. I don't know which hatchery because this is a "chick chain" project my daughter is doing through 4-H and our local extension office. They are in a brand new box, with a brand...
We have had chickens for less than a year, and have never had a sick hen. Injuries, yes, but never anyone sick.
My son's 10 mo. old Black Australorp appeared to have an impacted crop last night. We were just putting the girls in for the night and her crop was HUGE. It was a baseball sized hard...
It is a very long story, but three of our hens were eaten alive by another hen, who eventually killed herself. One hen died before we knew anything was wrong, we caught the other two in time. Tissie had the smallest hole in her belly, about 3 inches in diameter, and she is fully healed and back...
Get chickens, they said.
It will be easy and fun, they said.
Those people never had a murder-suicide in their flock.
So we got 8 mixed breed hens at 16 weeks of age, and a lovely 12' x 4' tractor with the coop upstairs, which we move daily. Everything went flawlessly for about 2 months until...