it's been years since i posted here. when i first got started in the chicken & egg hobby, this was a source of very good information, and it's good to see the place is still the same. I'm looking to expand my "hobby" into a small business and am looking to find 100, possibly 200 started pullets...
I have a 2 year old rose comb brown leghorn with a swollen vent or a swollen poop-hole. she won't let me get a good look at it (hence - no picture to show you) I assume it's the egg vent, as she IS pooping - all over herself. her behind feathers are matted w/poop cuz this swollen vent is 1/2...
my chix are almost 6 weeks old and i'm beginning to be able to figure out who's who. looks like i've got 3 roosters and 24 hens. this is my second go'round with chickens. i had 2 roosters in my last "flock" but got rid of 1 because he was way into "rough sex". i like having a roo, i like the...
this bird was a freebie from mcmurray hatchery, so i have no idea what it is. we call her "dino" as she looks like a dinosaur - very short wings, very long legs, runs fast. 5 weeks old and she is just now starting to feather. looks like she'll have feathered legs, so i'm thinking cochin? not big...
hi all! havent been here in a while. the last of my first flock are gone and we are going to get new chicks in april, which of course means one thing - where to get fresh eggs???
i could never go back to store bought eggs again, so i found a woman who lives a few miles away who raises chickens...
hello all. it's been a while since i was here. i am planning out my second flock to order in april or march. i was wondering if anyone has any experience with rose comb brown leghorn roosters. i always like to have a roo in the flock, and this bird looks beautiful in the pictures i've seen, but...
well, my first flock is coming to it's end. they are past thier prime and ready for the freezer. i have "culled" only one so far (a mean rooster this past summer) skinned him, cut him up and he made a nice stew, but i'm going to start "thinning the herd" before the winter really kicks in. my...
my hens are all just past thier prime at about 15 months, production has dropped off a bit, but the old girls are still laying o.k.
this weekend we got the biggest egg we've ever had - a light brown 3.5 oz whopper 6 1/2" around and 3" long. ? we are going to crack it open tonight. i'm guessing...
excuse me for my ignorance, i know nothing about canning, but my wife does a good amount of it. she wanted me to ask if any of my chicken friends were also canning experts, as she has a question.
she has tried twice now to can strawberry/rhubarb jam and both times the jam has "seperated" when it...
excuse me for my ignorance, i know nothing about canning, but my wife does a good amount of it. she wanted me to ask if any of my chicken friends were also canning experts, as she has a question.
she has tried twice now to can strawberry/rhubarb jam and both times the jam has "seperated" when it...
so, i went out to the coop last night to collect eggs and, much to my surprise, i find this tiny little egg in one of the nest boxes. this egg wasn't even an inch and a half long. about twice the size of a robin's egg. cute little thing, but i wasn't about to eat it. i cracked it open out of...
my chickens are insane. 2 have gone broody in the past 2 weeks, won't get out of the nest boxes 'till i drag 'em out, and when i do, the other hens chase them around and peck at them. they freak out and run around and end up jumping back up in the nests.
so...last night, i go to close up the...
about half of my 27 chickens are missing all or most of the feathers on thier butts.
when it first started happening it was the feathers on thier backs, so i was sure it was one of the roosters causing it as he was mean when he mated the hens, treading, pecking, pulling at thier necks, etc..(i...
well, this is not really an "emergency", but i figured this was the place to post this.
i've noticed several of my hens are developing big bald spots on thier butts, below the "vent" area.
i've done a little searching here and have read it could be mites..OR i could have some hens that are...
i have 2 roosters (not by choice) and 26 hens. they are all approx. 8 months old.
one rooster (lakenvelder) is an aggressive jerk towards me, but is sweet with the hens.
the other rooster (dorking) is totally fine with me. sure, he's given me the "stink eye" on several occasions, but has never...
one of my 7 month old golden laced wyondottes has gone broody on me.
what would cause a hen who has never been broody (not a broody breed either, i was told) to all the sudden in the past week not want to leave the nest?
she looks healthy, but i still worry she won't get enough food & water. i...
just had to share this - went to the coop this morning to check on water, food, eggs, frozen poop, etc.
as i do several times a week when the chicks are "cooped up" because of the cold, i hung a cabbage up from a chain in the coop for them to play with & eat durring the day.
well, my rooster, a...
probably a dumb question, but....
i usually collect eggs twice a day; once in the a.m. before i leave for work and again in the p.m. when i get home. in the a.m. they always jump out of the nest boxes to get whatever treat i have for them (they love oatmeal on these cold midwestern mornings) but...
my hens are starting to lay. i'd guess 4 or 5 of my 26 hens are laying now, and i have read not to worry too much about any egg "abnormalities" this early in the game, but i'm curious.... almost all the eggs i'm getting (only 3 or 4 a day right now) have a white-ish "glob" next to the yolk. i...