I have always had a possum living on my property without any problem. I know possums are controversial, but I was leaning on the pro side until tonight. As I was headed out to shut the coop door just after dusk I heard a commotion and walked in to a possum with a hold on my favorite hen...
I have a 6 month old rooster. I added 4 new chicks and gave them to my broody cochin. I ended up with a rooster who I am going to try and keep. I have 5 older hens ranging in age from 2-6 yrs. Since the young ones were raised by my broody who was second in charge, everyone is coexisting nicely...
This is my Cochin who goes broody all the time. She is currently considering broody but has not committed. I know that they will pull feathers when broody, but this seems extreme. Is this bare bottom normal or should I be concerned?
She seems to be eating and drinking as normal. I don't see any...
I had a broody raise two RIR chicks in the fall and they are now laying. I also did this the previous year and everyone integrated fine. Things seemed to be going well with the everyone util now. One of my young hens has been scalped. I have never had bloodshed prior. My 2 yr old RIR is second...
I have a small flock of 6. My top hen, Marble, is a 4 yr old Barred rock, her best friend is a docile Cochin who by nature of this relationship gets to be number 2. This Cochin was broody again so I let her raise two RIR chicks. Once the chicks were a few weeks old, Marble started to roost in...
I have a hen being treated for bumblefoot and I know we cannot her eggs for a while. My question is can she? I hate to throw them away and since she is already on the medication can I feed them to her. I wont let the other chickens eat them because we do not want any drug resistance in the...
I have a 3.5 year old barred rock who is losing weight. Her comb is also pale, but she is fresh out of a hard molt. She is my top hen and still acting fine and bossy as ever, but she is eating less. I can feel her keel bone. She used to eat everything and now she is picky. Her crop is not...
I have a RIR with bumble foot. She is acting fine and not even limping, but I'm sure it's bumble foot. Its swollen with a black scab. However, I will be gone for the weekend (two nights). Is it ok to wait another few days to do surgery? I am afraid to leave her with an open wound (She is an...
I have a broody who I just put two day old chicks under last night. Everyone was alive in the morning. I went out again to check in the afternoon and everyone is alive but Mom pecks them quite hard when they are not under her. She had gathered another egg, which I removed in case this was an...
I have a persistent broody Cochin. I keep breaking her and she keeps trying again after a week or two. I am considering letting her raise 2-3 chicks from a hatchery, but I am concerned about the weather as I am in Michigan. If I let her raise chicks, will they feather out in time to not freeze...
I have a 3 year old full size Cochin who is limping. It has been extremely dry and the girls hang out in the woods, so lots of sticks and pinecones. Her feet look similar as in they always look big and swollen, but she is a big chicken. The picture I posted is before washing and I thought it...
I have a flock of 6, Barred Rock - my top hen, two full size Cochins next in line, a RIR, a Maran, and an EE. The last three were raised by my broody Cochin last summer. Everyone except the EE has integrated into the flock. The EE is low bird in the order. This is fine, but she is always alone...
I have two Cochins who struggle with always having a dirty bum. The rest of my 6 girls are fine, but the Cochins sit a bit lower to the ground and are heavier than the rest. I do wash them periodically and trim feathers. However, it is pretty cold in Michigan so I try not to do it too often. I...
I have 3 six month old pullets that are not yet laying. I am in Michigan, so I was not expecting any eggs until Feb/March. I have three egg boxes which my young girls have seen my 3 older hens using throughout the summer and one box has a wooden egg in it. Tonight when I went out to say...
I have a flock of six, three hens age 2 and three young ones age 5 months. It has just turned cold and snowy in Michigan (within days from 70 to 50 to snow). My older birds are all sleeping in the wood shavings under the roosts. This is new behavior. The younger birds are all roosting up high...
I have a 3 yr old Barred Rock Hen who is acting a bit lethargic, her comb is a little pale and her crop was pretty empty when I checked tonight. She is ranging with the group and appears to be eating, drinking, and dust bathing. However, she is my top hen and usually a bit of a spit fire and...
I have 6 birds, three adults and 3, 9 week old chicks. My indoor coop space is 5 x 9 and my outside run is 21 x 10. (see pics)
I was down to one hen (Barred Rock) so I bought two 12 week old Cochins about 6 months ago. The lowest in the pecking order went broody and I let her raise three chicks...
I have three chicks from a Tractor Supply Bin. The black one is supposedly a black Maran. I think the red is a RIR. The last one is supposed to be an Ameraucana which after reading these threads means its an EE. Does that sound right? They are 7 weeks old and I am guessing all pullets, but I...