This is cross posted. I wasn’t sure where to post and I’m feeling very defeated right now.
It’s a long story but here’s the short version. We have new chicks. 7 chicks to 3 broody hens. Today, one of the hens attacked her chicks. We aren’t sure which hen, but we have an idea, no proof ) She...
I have a chick that is with her mom. I finally saw her come out from under her today and she’s stumbling about. I noticed that her right leg looks to be internally rotated a bit so she’s not able to walk properly. I’m not sure if she just can’t put even weight on it or if it doesn’t function in...
What behavior should I expect from a lone 6 day old chick with her broody hen?
The chick is still constantly under the hen. I haven’t seen the hen teach her to drink or eat. Although that could be happened my obviously when I’m not there.
The chick chirps underneath her. I have never seen the...
I have 3 broody hens. Between the three of them we let them keep 24 eggs. One hatched 3 days ago. It had been 24 days.
We put one of the hens with the chick in a separate area (still in the coop) so she could mother the chick and have accessibility to food and water easily. The other two...
I just left town and my 19 year old son called and said “come back we have a chick!”
We have had broody hens. I know I should have been more prepared but I’m not. I wasn’t sure when they started sitting on eggs.
What should I tell my son to do? When does the chick need food and water?
He can...
My hens are about one year old. They have been laying eggs like gang busters all through our frigid winter. I get about 10-12 a day from 14 hens.
For the past 5 days, I have only 4 eggs.
They are not free ranging currently because of snow on the ground, so they are not laying elsewhere...
TLDR; I’m afraid of my rooster and he won’t let me close to the hens. I need to check one specifically for some health issues I am worried about.
We got chicks last May so he’s almost a year. I got the rooster specifically to take care of the hens. And he does. He’s an amazing caretaker and...
I built my coop late summer last year…after mud season! I have limited places to build because I live on a hill. My run floor is downhill of some drainage- not a ton, but enough to be wet a lot. My plan is to put in a french drain on the outside of the run to divert water away and then put in a...
I have only had chicken wire on the roof of my run this winter. I am now replacing it with polycarbonate sun and rain roof. I have rafters 20 inches apart and perlins 20 inches apart. My question is, do I need to put hardware cloth over the rafters Perlin before I attach the polycarbonate? I...
I’m looking for a Multigenerational Olive Egger hatchery in New England. I’d love to get some darker eggs but I am in Northern Vermont. Our mail system is almost non-existent so I’d like to pick them up myself.
Can anybody recommend a reliable hatchery to me?
Does anyone have a gravity feeder that goes to a tray instead of a port?
My rooster has badly damaged his comb because he’s caught it on the edge of the food port. I travel sometimes so when I’m gone, I need them to have access to food. The 13 gallon kitchen can with two ports has been great...
We went skiing today and came home to a dead chicken outside the coop and run. First, we have no idea how she got out. Totally stumped. She was killed right next to the coop, a pile of feathers and my husband says a lot of her body (I didn’t look very hard).
We have some tracks. I’m wondering...
I think he caught his comb on the feeder pets a couple of weeks ago. He has also suffered frostbite. Although it has not been as cold here as it could be. Lows in single digits though (Vermont).
I have given him an open feeder so he doesn’t need to use the ports anymore. But it is either still...
I have 16 chickens, so it’s hard to tell, but I think my buff Orpington is sneezing or maybe coughing every once in awhile. It sounds like a fast little squeak.
I noticed it about 3 days ago and then at least once a day while I'm futzing with something in their coop.
Is this something I need...
I adore my coop! It is almost perfect. And I built it alone, so I’m pretty proud. What I don’t realize, and I’m a little embarrassed…I didn’t know hens stood up and laid their eggs. Without this knowledge, I’ve made the nesting boxes too short and maybe too narrow. I’ve got some very big...
My roo is very protective of his coop. Which is great. But sometimes I need to clean it out. And I have to go inside at least once a day. Today was the first day he went at me with both feet. How can I tame him a little and show him I’m not a threat. I actually thought we had a great...
My rooster has blood on him. I also see blood on one of other chickens. They are very interested in a corner but we can’t figure what has happened. I’m not sure what to look for. A few of the chickens are pecking at the rooster now, in the I just red spot. There’s also some blood in the feeder...
trying to fine tune my winter water method like everyone else! How many watts would I need to keep a 5 gallon bucket with horizontal nipples deiced in say 5°?
I know there are so many factors. That there’s no way to know exactly. But I’m wondering if a bird bath deicer of 60watts would work? I’d...
I’m so excited to get finally electricity to my coop. It was quite a process (lots of trench digging!). I went out to purchase a heated waterer because we went out of town for 2 days. Oh my gosh. It’s the worst!
You take off the top, fill the container then put on the bottom and quickly flip it...
We left town and came back to 3 eggs!! I thought perhaps they’d wait until spring since we are very cold and minimal light here in northern Vermont.
I found one egg on top of the feeder and the other two randomly in the coop. I do have two fake eggs placed in the nesting boxes so they see...