I have a small flock of 7 hens & 1 rooster. There is a hen that lost her back feathers a year & 1/2 ago. She starts to grow pinfeathers then they disappear. She made it through last winters cold & this summers extreme heat but I am afraid this won't last. She is a good layer. The other 7 are...
I recently posted about missing eggs & egg whites in the nest box. I placed wooden eggs in each next box. The other day I discovered one missing. Then a few days later there was a 6' black snake curled up in the nest box with a big tummy bulge. Gee, I wonder who the egg thief was. Now, with...
Something is eating an egg a day in the nest box. There is no shell left but they leave yolk on the remaining egg. The chicken yard is fenced in with chain link fencing. The top is covered with wire so there is no way a skunk or racoon can get in the coop or yard. We are wondering if it might be...
I have 1 hen that lost her back feathers to some over-active roosters over a year ago. They started to regrow but now the other hens keep pecking at her & she has lost most of her back feathers again. (Poor girl-she even made it through a very cold winter!) I went to Tractor Supply & bought a...
Lately I have read several articles on how to store your eggs. One said NOT to wash them until they are to be used. They can be stored at room temperature or in the frig. The other article said to wash/dry the eggs right after collecting them & to refrigerate them. Does anyone have any...
My 7 girls & boy are 1 1/2 YO Sapphires. Last year we did not get any snow. This year is making up for lost time. The chicken coop is heated & the run has a tarp over 3/4 of it. The other 1/4 has no tarp. The snow accumulated in the 1/4 area with no tarp & blew in a little on one side. Those...
There's a farm nearby with a chicken that roams freely, and with the days getting shorter, they've put a little safety vest on him. It's honestly the cutest sight I've come across in quite some time!
We have a ""PET"" rooster who became dominant after the bad boys left. Sometimes he likes to show his authority & run after you or now he'll try to attack the plastic shovel I take in to stop him. My neighbor suggested spraying vinegar at the aggressive bugger. I don't want to hurt him. Is this...
We bought 11 chicks at Tractor Supply last spring. We ended up with 7 hens & 4 roosters. 3 of those roosters were really mean/fighters so they went to auction. The other rooster was really laid back/docile-I named him Buddy-he liked to eat greens from your hands. The other day I walked into the...
Today I didn't get my normal number of eggs. However, there is egg yolk splattered all over 2 nest boxes (the ones the hens don't use) There was no other trace of any eggs. Could they be eating their eggs? Wouldn't they leave the shells? Could it be a slimy snake? We DO have big black snakes...