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I have an Ameraucana (probably an EE, but with all the Ameraucana genes including slate legs), about 10 months old. She stopped laying two weeks ago. This morning there's a small blanket of white feathers at the bottom of the coop, so I assume she's beginning her first moult. Can you Ameraucana...

I have four hens. I was sure I had 3 egg layers, because I was getting three different colored eggs. But today I had my first 100% day. One blue, one pink and two brown. I have no idea how long my barred rock has been laying, but today was confirmation that she's doin' it. What a relief. Now I...

I have four hens that are 29 weeks old. My Ameraucana and Welsummer are laying for sure. I've seen them in the nest, and they squat for me. But most of the time they lay when I'm at work and I don't get to see it. My Welsummer doesn't lay dark eggs, they're just ordinary brown eggs. I also...

I have a small suburban backyard that is shared by two people, four chickens, two dogs, a cat and 100,000 honeybees. It also has four apple trees. The chicken coop and enclosed run are in the back of it. The house and deck is in the front. There are a couple of chairs under the trees for the...

My barred Rock laid her first egg (a pretty good sized one, not a little pullet egg) a week ago. Two of her sisters of the same age (but different breeds) have laid multiple eggs. Our Brahma has not yet laid her first. Is it unusual for there to be that much time between the first and second...

My sweet little Ameraucana, Anne, pictured with her sisters below just laid her first beautiful blue egg! I'm so excited! The picture below shows it with (our last) store bought large brown egg. Then, drama queen that she is, she spent the rest of the day in the dust bath recuperating.

If a chicken lays a soft egg, can you eat it?

I have four 20 week old pullets. They aren't laying yet, but they're getting ready. A week ago I became worried that their nest box is too bright and doesn't afford enough privacy. It's a small coop (16 sq. ft.) with a single large nest box. The coop has an open side and two large windows, so...

I watch my four 20 week old pullets. They fly at each other, chests out, hackles raised. Then they stand and give each other the stink eye. Then they go on pecking at the ground. Or they chase each other. Then go on pecking at the ground. I see the role of top-chick change hands. Except for poor...

I have four pullets, about 18 weeks old. Three of them have been vying for position, but the undisputed bottom girl on the totem pole is my Welsummer, Lizzie. The other three shoo her away from treats, sometimes they won't let her out of the coop during free ranging time; when she starts to come...

I'm feeding my chickens layer crumble in a bucket type feeder with a small plate at the bottom. I've hung it chicken back height so there's little waste. But the food won't drop down into the little plate. It gets stuck. Unless I go in every day and push it down into the tray, they would not be...

I have two bags of organic layer crumbles to feed my four 11 week old pullets. I know flock raiser would be better at their age, but I couldn't get that organic locally. So I went with organic layer crumble. Now I'm re-thinking my choice. I've had it for a couple of weeks, so I'm reluctant to...

I have four pullets: Eleanor is a light brahma, Fannie is a barred rock, Anne is a white ameraucana and Lizzie is a wellsummer. Can you tell me how old they are?

I have four pullets in a suburban backyard. Today was the first day the dogs and the chickens were in the back yard together. So far, so good. But it's sprinkling. Is it okay to let them free range in the rain? They have a nice warm, dry coop and a dry run. If they want to be out, is it okay to...

I just got four 14 week old pullets. A week ago. My first ever. I'm already in love! But the run wasn't complete. It became clear right away that we had to finish the run so they could get out of their nice but small coop. We did it today and for immediately introduced the girls to their new...

I'm going to be getting four pullets from two different sources. They will be 6-8 weeks old. Would you quarantine them before putting them in the coop and enclosed run together?

Can someone tell me what this is? I need to find out if I need to remove it from my run or build around it and leave it for the girls to play with. It's about a three foot cluster of wedge shaped leaves in the spring. Then the leaves die back by mid-June revealing a cluster of stalks with green...

I'm building a coop and enclosed run in my suburban back yard and am debating with myself about the size mesh in the run. My biggest pest is likely to be rodents and I'd like to keep them out of the run. I've heard that a committed rat can get through anything larger than 1/4", but I just can't...

I live on the west coast and have a readily available source of assorted seashells (especially lots of crab shells). Is there any reason not to grind them and feed them to chickens?

I am planning an enclosed coop/covered run in my small suburban backyard. I have a 4' X 10' space to devote to it. I'd like to have 4 chickens. My question is how to divide up the space between coop and covered run. The girls might also get some free range time, but only when the birds and dogs...