With the big egg recall in America and worries about salmonella infecting hens and eggs, is there a way to make sure any rodents who sneak into the hen house (and leave droppings) don't spread this to the hens and the eggs? I'm sure hens being hens, they have ingested at least some rat droppings...
My 2.5 yr/old PR hen that molted in January/February (and then had to have crop surgery for other reasons) went back to laying within 2 weeks and seemed normal; now she has stopped laying for about 2 weeks and is beginning to molt again. It's been horrendously hot here in FL, so I figured she...
5 of these muscovy ducklings have the typical 2-tone coloring with stripes and 4 spots on the back, 2-tone feet/webbing; the dark brown one with the yellow chest and black legs/feet came from the same clutch. I could only find one photo on the internet where the ducklings looked like him/her-...
Question: with one muscovy duckling having hatched about 12 hours ago, and the next one just over an hour ago and 4 eggs left to go, when should they be moved to the brooder to keep them from rolling the remaining pipping eggs, or should they stay because the others need to hear them peeping to...
I've got 7 Muscovy eggs that came from a nest where the mother was killed by a predator at the beginning of the week- I put them in the incubator, hoping to get them along to hatch, but I don't know exactly where they are in the 35 day cycle. They must be close, as the chick side of the egg is...
A setting muscovy hen was killed last night or early this morning by a predator- there are 7 eggs in her nest, cool but not cold. How long can they have gone without incubation and still survive to finish up in incubator? The neighbor says she's been setting close to a month, so they ducklings...
I got 6 chicks, all different breeds, from a local NPIP breeder in late March, and brooded them to 5 weeks when I exchanged 2 roos for 2 hens with him. I had already done a 1 week run of antibiotics on them early since they didn't have medicated feed and their poop looked questionable, and when...
Out of 6 chicks around 3 weeks of age, which ones look like they're a sure roo? My earlier post belonged in this category I guess. I was hoping I got pullets, but you know how that goes
In order, they are: Light Brahma, Buff Orpington, Cuckoo Maran, Blue Laced Red Wyandotte, Ameraucana, and...
After reading some posts on sexing chicks and seeing pics, I'm wondering what I have I was hoping 6 pullets, but what do you all think? The seller was looking at their little wings to try to tell when I bought them 2 1/2 weeks ago. There's a Light Brahma, Buff Orp, Cuckoo Maran, BLR...
One of our RIR hens ended up with a horribly impacted crop, worse than it had to be because I didn't check her through a cold spell we went through. I thought I'd give a run-down on how it happened and what we did so hopefully someone else can avoid the same situation.
I had been picking grass...
I've had my hens on plain contractor grade sand for a little while, and I'm seeing a lot of sand in their droppings - that makes me think they must have a lot of sand in their digestive tracts. They aren't really thrilled with their layer feed (tried Dumors and Purina brands may go with a new...
I guess we forgot to caulk where the Lowe's playhouse sits on the platform in our 4x8 run it's been raining nearly all day and night for a couple of days and more to come all week, and the water is leaking in and soaking the bedding from 3 walls inward. The rain has been blowing in the front...
This 10 m/o BO hen was originally one of 2 I bought and kept at my house in February, then transfered to my friend's flock a couple of weeks later. She has since then been through a period of illness in various phases, initially just showing lethargy and loss of appetite, then weakness but still...
I've been checking this hen as I've been syringe feeding her, trying to keep her off death's doorstep, and today I saw tiny light brownish things running through her feathers on her side, wing and back. Is Sevin dust OK to bag-dust her, as I think a bath at this point might chill her and finish...
These are my friend's hens, both Buff Orpingtons, about 8 months old, on Purina layer feed with access to some greens and scratch daily.
The first one went through a period of listlessness and weight loss but perked up and is free ranging as well as having layer feed available and...
After much doctoring, moving hens around, making an extra coop available, and cutting number of hens together, one of my 1yo RIR went after her coop-mate today and picked her apart pretty much the same as they did my Chickeepoo in January I'm ready to take the sharp end off of the beaks of at...
This is a 6 mos old Buff hen, just started laying a week or so ago, and is not getting better. Goldie hasn't been here 2 weeks and she is suddenly lethargic, seems to have lost weight, and stands off by herself. She has one other BO hen buddy who is acting normal and 5 other hens that she...
I have one large 1 yr old hen who would make a good pet but has stopped laying- she never laid consistently, and the factory seems closed now. She seems OK otherwise, but I am very limited on space and need my hens to produce eggs. If you're interested, we are in E Orlando, Florida- reply or pm me.
I don't think they realize the black oil sunflower seeds are edible- they just look at them like they're carcinogenic or something. How are they going to learn to eat them?
Large Marge never lost her balloon butt or laid an egg (unless the soft-shelled egg that someone dropped from the roost a couple of mornings ago was hers), but her color did come back to her comb and wattles. My concern is that the skin on her backside is rosy PINK today, and she has either some...