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  1. banananutmuffin

    Can you tell me what killed my chicken?

    My kids are devastated. :( It was a pullet, ranging in my backyard which has a 4-ft tall fence. This attack happened during daylight, probably around 3-4pm. Carcass was still there. Feathers were plucked and laying around body. Head missing, some innards (heart, liver) eaten, but gizzard and...
  2. banananutmuffin

    Are these eggs fertilized?!?!

    I don't have a rooster, but my hens free range. Lately, my eggs have had these little circular spots in them. I seem to recall someone mentioning that this was the sign of a fertilized egg. But, like I said, I don't have a rooster! What do you think?
  3. banananutmuffin

    My best layer has stopped laying! Why?

    My red sexlink hasn't laid an egg for 5 days. She used to lay every single day without fail. All the other birds (EE, Australorp, Prod Red) continue to lay as usual. She doesn't look ill. She eats fine, runs over and digs in when I toss scraps, is the first to jump over the fence to free range...
  4. banananutmuffin

    If you had to live off just the food in your house...

    ...assuming you had water and could cook as usual (you just couldn't go to the store and buy more food), how long would you and your family be able to eat?
  5. banananutmuffin

    Calcium-rich foods besides oyster shell and eggshells?

    Two of my chickens are laying soft-shelled eggs. I've heard that upping calcium can help. I've tried giving them a bowl of oyster shell, mixing oyster shell in their feed, and scattering oyster shell in their run. No dice. They just turn their beaks up at it. I know I could grind up eggshells...
  6. banananutmuffin

    Is there anything else I can do to stop this egg eating?

    I have a flock of five hens, four of which should be laying. Up until yesterday, they free ranged all day long. There are 2 nest boxes for the birds. I was averaging 1-2 eggs per day and couldn't figure out the deal. Didn't spy any nests in the areas they tended to congregate when they ranged...
  7. banananutmuffin

    What breed is this chicken? I thought Welsummer, but now I'm not sure

    I got this chicken in a mixed batch of "brown egg layer" chicks. As a chick, it was a rust color and then developed black streaks. (I included two pictures of it as a chick below) It's about 22 weeks old now. In the photo, it's standing next to a red sex link that's about 2 weeks younger for...
  8. banananutmuffin

    Any suggestions for pretty ways to package eggs as gifts?

    I only have 5 chickens, so not enough to sell my eggs. But I might sometimes have a dozen or half dozen to give as hostess gifts, etc. What's a pretty way to package them? I was thinking in a small basket lined with a pretty dishtowel. Any other suggestions?
  9. banananutmuffin

    Will a hen lay different colored eggs?

    I have 5 birds: an australorp, a red sexlink, a welsummer (I think), an easter egger, and a maran mix. The maran is young and is definitely not laying yet. So far I have found eggs sporadically in the nest boxes (I actually think they may be laying some eggs in the woods next door to me where...
  10. banananutmuffin

    What's going on with my eggs/chickens?

    I have a flock of 5 birds. Last week, one of them started laying. I got 4 hard eggs for four days in a row. The next two days, the eggs I got were soft-shelled/rubbery. (I do supplement their feed with oyster shell.) For three days now, I haven't gotten any eggs at all. Is this normal for a...
  11. banananutmuffin

    Free Range Birds: How do I make sure they lay in their nest box?

    My chickens are "accidentally" free range. (They have a fenced yard, but every morning they fly over the fence and spend the whole day in the field/woods beside me.) As far as I know, they haven't started laying yet, but I expect they will soon (they were born April 10, give or take). I tried...
  12. banananutmuffin

    Advice? Flock won't let a new chicken into the group...

    For various reasons (i.e. discovered some roosters among the group), I've had to integrate new hens into my flock. First, I had 3 chickens and added 2 more for a total of 5. I tried to separate the newbies, but they kept flying into the run with the rest of the birds, so I just let them go...
  13. banananutmuffin

    Help! What is wrong with these chickens?

    So I wanted to add two more hens to my flock. I sent hubby to a local small farm (advertised on craigslist) for 2 Ameraucanas (knowing full well they were probably just easter eggers). Anyway, he brought home the birds (which were supposed to be hatched April 2/3). Both seem kind of listless...
  14. banananutmuffin

    Can I integrate 9 week old hens in with my 7 week olds?

    I have three 7 week old hens (a red sexlink, a welsummer and an australorp). I was thinking about adding two 9 week old Easter Eggers. Is this a bad idea? Is the age difference too dramatic? Any tips for successful integration? Thanks!!
  15. banananutmuffin

    Tell me why I should or should not keep this rooster

    I ordered 4 sexed chicks from MPC. They are now about 7 weeks old, and I am almost 100% sure one is a rooster. I can't decide if I should keep it or not. On one hand, I really wanted 4 hens because that's the quantity of eggs I can use. Also, I have a toddler and infant, and I've heard that...
  16. banananutmuffin

    How much ventilation do my 5 week olds need in coop?

    So I sent my chickens to the coop last night for the first time. The coop is only 3x4, about 50" tall. It has a ventilation hole in the back (covered in wire) that I can open and close. This hole is about 6" tall and 30" wide. Across from it is a small window that I can also open and close...
  17. banananutmuffin

    Can I let them outside now?

    It's high in the mid-70s here, low in the mid-50s. They are 5 weeks old now, and fully feathered except for their heads. I have a 50 watt bulb on them that they snuggle under at night to sleep in my unfinished basement, but otherwise they don't need to want to be under the light particularly...
  18. banananutmuffin

    Can I use straw in my coop?

    My coop isn't deep enough (the pop door is too close to the floor) for the deep litter method, I think. It's a 3x4 coop and I'm housing 3 standard birds. Straw is readily available to me and free. If I use a layer of that on the coop floor, how do I go about cleaning it? Would I just have to...
  19. banananutmuffin

    What's in YOUR run: sand, dirt, pine nuggets, etc?

    I was completely sold on the idea of sand until I used it in my brooder. It kicks up a ton of dust. We *sometimes* can get a drought here in the mid-Atlantic, and I'm not thrilled with the idea of all that dust stirred up all the time. What else do people use in their runs? Mine will be about...
  20. banananutmuffin

    Can anyone identify these chick breeds?

    All I know is that they are brown egg layers. The yellow one is a salmon faverolle, but the black and brown ones are unknown to me. Thanks! Link to photos: http://www.theglasshalfempty.com/2011/04/introductions.html
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