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I noticed yesterday that one of my 3-year old hens, a red sex-link named PeeWee, was lethargic. Upon closer examination, I could see her walking funny--not like a penguin, but sort of swinging her legs out and around. She was spending a lot of time just sitting down and kind of rocking back...

My three-year old red sex link, PeeWee is usually my most rambunctious hen. She was fine yesterday--she had been eating and pooping normally. She has not started laying since she took a winter hiatus (she layed all winter last year). But today she is very lethargic, unsteady on her feet, and...

I just spent the weekend lowering the roost in my coop, which involved building new nest boxes since the roost and poop board were on top of the boxes--quite a project for a "re-do." I lowered the roost for two reasons: 1) my big, fluffy buff orpington was having trouble jumping down from the...

Hi, I agree with teach1rusl: use the back wall as a starting point for a coop that can be secured at night. The coop itself doesn't need to be big or fancy--it might not even need to be totally enclosed (see some of the Southern coops that are more like sheds enclosed in good strong wire...

Thanks, ddawn and Chick Named Lola. I gave all of them a can of tuna last night, with extra for the two affected hens. I also put some poly-vi (w/o iron) in their water yesterday and today. Fingers crossed!

Hi All, Two of my 2-year old hens are having ongoing egg-laying issues. The hens are eating Purina Layena crumbles, and they have free access to crushed oyster shell. They spend between 1-5 hours/day free ranging on grass, scratching in wood chips for worms, and trying to get into my vegetable...

One of my five hens is laying eggs with what look like calcium deposits on them. Usually they are little bumps, but today I got this one: Is this likely to be hurting the hen internally? What causes it? Thanks for any insights!

Four days ago, my 2-year old Red Star, Pee Wee Reese, was lethargic, not eating, had liquid poo w/only white stuff (ureates), and had a squishy water-balloon crop. I followed as much of Threehorses's advice as I could (probiotics, applesauce, boiled egg yolk, massaging the crop downwards...

My 2-year old Red Star hen, Pee Wee Reese, has had what I'm pretty sure is sour crop (bloated, squishy crop; lethargic; liquid poo; not eating). I followed as much of Threehorses's advice as I could for the last two days (can't afford the vet), and today Pee Wee seemed much better. She ate an...

I am in the middle of a similar problem with my Red Star Sex Link, Pee Wee Reese. I'm pretty sure she had sour crop--squishy, water-balloon swollen crop, lethargic, not interested in food. In my searches for information, I found a lot of conflicting advice. I wound up following the advice...

When you use food grade DE (which I do), can you put the shavings in the composter and then put the resulting compost in the garden without killing worms and other beneficials?

Every day's a new day when you're a chicken! That's one of the awesome things about them--they don't hold grudges!

My Barred Rock just began laying again after a hiatus of a few weeks. (She didn't go through an entire molt, but did lose a fair number of feathers while the other girls molted for real.) I have found two eggs on the poop board under the roost in the last week or so, and another laid outside...

I second the heated dog bowl suggestion above. I live in Connecticut and we had a pretty tough winter last year with lots of snow that stuck around for a long time. I put a heated dog bowl up on two cinder blocks laid flat and ran the cord alongside the coop and up through the roof of the...

Do a search on BYC for worming and threehorses. There's a great thread where Threehorses gives the dosage calculations for the cattle/pour-on type of ivermectin.

How about Frederick Douglass? The dude was fierce looking. http://www.frederickdouglassproject.org/Frederick_Douglas.jpg

I have never sold excess eggs exactly, but I did put some up for auction at my son's school last spring. I know, that's a different situation, but I think I did hit on a way to be honest about the hen's living conditions and yet "market" the eggs to folks who might be anxious about buying food...

Thanks to both of you! Keep your fingers crossed!!!