We got a delivery of chicks yesterday and one (tiny bantam Easter egger) is super weak and won’t eat. We’ve gotten her to take a little sugar water over the last 24 hours if we hold her and hold the dish right up to her but most of the time she won’t take that either. If she’s separated from the...
we just got 5 new chicks to keep another pullet (whose 3 sisters were all killed a few days ago, I posted about it earlier and am so heartbroken) company. Unfortunately I was so eager to get her some new friends that I combined them right away and it was a total disaster : (
Our solo pullet is...
I am searching for advice after a tragic incident yesterday. A rescue dog we have attacked our flock and killed three out of four of our 10 week old hens that my daugher had hatched and were living in our kitchen waiting to be integrated into our larger flock of 7 hens. The dog also killed our...
I'm worried about the eggs in the incubator. My 12-year-old daughter is doing a science project about the hatch rate in grocery store eggs. The incubator humidity slowly inched up and she didn’t realize until today that it had gotten up to an average of 65% towards the end. She also didn’t get...
I'm in the middle of building a new coop (the Heather Bullard design) and have a question about the "ground floor". There is an elevated nesting and laying area, but then a larger screened in area they can go out into where the food and water will be. The entire coop with be enclosed in a...
I have a 4 year old hen who has been very weak for over a month now, sitting down every few steps, tail down, putting wing down to stabilize herself. She is very thin but still eating and drinking. I took her to a vet and paid $250 for exam + blood tests + medicines (antibiotic and calcium...
Will that disrupt the process? I have two moms sitting on the eggs (6), and 2-3 have small holes in them. I was going to move everyone inside once they've hatched but it would be great if the kids had experience of seeing chicks hatch. But I don't want to risk the moms not doing their job...
I went out today and noticed my 2.5 year old buff Orpington has lost nearly all her wing feathers. We did have loads of kids in the coop all afternoon yesterday for a kids party, so maybe she got overstressed? She's not a great layer, paper thin shells no matter what supplements I give, and was...
The one chick we got that turned out to be a rooster is a bantam Millie Fleur D'Uccles, has a deformed foot (walks w/ limp), and appears to be the total low man on the totem pole out of the group (always running behind, last to get a shot at the food, etc). Should I assume we won't be getting...
The one chick we got that turned out to be a rooster is a bantam mille fleur, has a deformed foot, and appears to be the total low man on the totem pole out of the group (always running behind, last to get a shot at the food, etc). Should I assume we won't be getting any fertilized eggs? We...
Help! Last week, one 2 year old rhode island red died in the laying box, no signs of illness that I noticed, but she was in laying box w/ no egg so I assumed egg got stuck. Now 2nd rhode island red is sick. Have two other chickens, buff orpingtons, who both look totally healthy, but my...
Beautiful Rhode Island Red, almost 2 years old, healthy looking, good layer - found dead in coop this afternoon. No sign of foul play, looked like it was sitting on egg w/ head tucked. Do I need to do anything to make sure other chickens are healthy? Any recs on what to do to respectfully...
Have my hens have begun eating eggs? They have free access to fresh oyster shells all the time and plenty of food, although it's been a really rainy winter. I found about 3 flattened whole shells in the shavings just now, and I change shavings every week, so I don't know what to make of this...
It's been nearly 2 weeks since I've seen eggs from my Buff Orpington, who was previously laying an egg every other day, at least. She'd been laying for about 3 months before that. She doesn't seem sick otherwise, and I've looked in all the possible alternate egg hiding places - what do I do...
It's been at least a week since I've seen eggs from my Buff Orpington, who was previously laying an egg every other day, at least. She'd been laying for about 3 months before that. She doesn't seem sick otherwise, and I've looked in all the possible alternate egg hiding places - what do I do...
We have 2 Buff Orpingtons, 2 RI Reds, and they just began laying 3-5 days ago. Don't know whose eggs are whose yet, but one egg came out brown with a white halo on half of it, calcified (can't scrape it off), and in the middle of the white is a oval of brown (base color of the egg) peeking out...
Found our first eggs today from our four, 4-month old hens (2 rhode island reds, 2 buff orpingtons). One was outside by rosebush, on the wood planter box (chicken was standing right next to it), one was in run, and one was in the two laying areas inside the coop. Why didn't they all lay in the...