I have had chickens for a long time and even had a few accidental cockerels. But I have never until now been able to keep a rooster. Usually once they started crowing, they had to go. Now I NEED a rooster.
My question is how to raise him (if possible) not to be an asshole. I am getting 8 week...
I am trying to decide on where to put my chicken coop. I have picked out a fairly level spot in a cluster of chestnut trees. It will provide deep shade during summer and has an open field on one side and woods on the other. It is far enough from the house I shouldn't (theoretically) have...
Happy Thanksgiving!
I went out to get eggs this afternoon and there was bright red blood splattered under the roost. Nothing on eggs. It doesn't appear to involve poop (it was on top of poop but not in it and had apparently splattered from a chicken sitting on the roost). Probably a couple...
Because there are always questions about whether or not to keep a rooster after it has attacked someone I found this article interesting. And sad.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11757591/Father-killed-chicken-Man-massive-bleeding-attacked-Ireland-home.html
You know that line on a rooster's legs that looks like a red vein and is a hormone/virility thing? 1) what is it called? And 2) is it strictly a rooster thing or just a mature chicken thing? I noticed it on one of my Delawares yesterday and I have been suspicious it's a cockerel for some time...
One of my mom's hens is consistently laying these eggs. They have free-choice oyster shell, layer feed mixed with scratch, boom worms (every day). Her chickens live to be over 8 years old regularly so don't tell her not to mix the scratch with the layer feed lol. She says the shell is thin and...
I have never had Delawares before but these two have totally different coloring. They're both super friendly so they are always hopping in my lap. I am thinking the almost solid white one might be a roo because of the comb and wattles. Or maybe they're both pullets. I have no idea. They are...
Blinky has eye issues that get exacerbated when she sleeps in the coop so she likes to sleep on top of it. Some nights I put her in the run to sleep but she ends up in the coop and her eye gets bad again so I have been letting her sleep on top. Its not smart and I've been lucky so far...until...
I put some fertilized eggs under my broody hen and of course the Naked Neck got in there with her to lay an egg and broke two of the fertilized ones. This happened last time too and I had to separate my broody. Why do they do this?! Am I an idiot? They aren't egg eaters normally just when I am...
Butterball's eggs are hatching!! It's late so hopefully they will keep it up tonight. I put food and water out for them but there's no way I am going to be able to sleep
I have been taking my hen off the nest every few days for poopies and a dust bathing. She has food and water in the coop. I have been leaving the pop door open for her but keeping her separated from the flock because my boss chicken was murdering her eggs (well...the dummy eggs but I'm not...
My broody has been sitting on viable (or at least fertilized eggs) for ten days. My mom told me I could take her off the nest to have a poop and a dust bath while the other girls were out of the run and so I could do some things inside the coop. So I did and she is out having a dust bath and...
My DH found this Rugged Ranch coop on the side of the road. Bonus! We are thinking of using it as a chicken tractor. The nesting box fell off cause....prefab prerequisite is crap hanging nesting box. I want to just put hardware cloth over the hole instead of reattaching it (I can use a portable...
I've had thus chicken since she was day old and her eye has always been weird. I used saline and terramycin when she was a chick and it seemed to clear up but every now and then it will get watery. It makes a mess of her feathers but she is perfectly fine otherwise-eating, drinking, trying to...
I have been accidentally making compost under my chicken coop again. It is a raised coop over concrete (with wood chips on top) and for a minute I was using straw in the coop which got kicked out the pop door and made a super gross mess which I mucked out today. It was all dry and crusty on top...
I just looked at this chicken and it was like he was singing "I'm a boy, I'm a boy" because his comb is so...fierce...compared to his three hatch mates. Opinions?
I think my Salmon Faverolle is going broody. Which I am totally fine with because I have a dozen chicks that are making a mess in my garage. The chicks are from 2-5 weeks old (ish. I can't remember. The Turkens are feathered out and twice the size of Orps.The smallest chicks are about a quarter...