I didn't do a necropsy, mainly because I don't know how to properly do it or what exactly I would be looking for. I just looked her over externally for anything that looked or felt wrong. No, I have never wormed them but I've also never seen anything in their poo that would suggest worms...
This hen was 19 months old (as are all of my flock). This was one of the strongest birds in the flock and had shown absolutely no signs of weakness. She had been foraging well the day before and went to roost with the rest of the flock that night with a full crop. I initially thought maybe...
Went out this morning to find one hen very lethargic, sitting down near the water fount. When the others all came to greet me she just sat there. At this point her head was up and she just looked tired. Eventually she slowly stood up but didn't move from the spot and made no sounds. I...
I have three 60 year old black walnut trees. If you peel back the husks when they are at that stage where they are really black and gooey and stain everything that comes in contact with them,you will find that they are filled with dozens of insect larva that resemble maggots. Once my girls...
I could use a good hawk deterrent too. I free range my girls daily and haven't lost one yet (although we've had two failed attempts by feral cats). Yesterday afternoon I let them out to roam and had just put a few handfuls of BOSS on the ground for them to snack on. They all came running over...
Scott6150,
I'll refer you back to my second post in this thread on page 3 (and also to many of the comments that followed) in case you offered up your opinion before reading the entire thread. There are no set space requirements, only general recommendations, but every situation is different...
I'm growing strawberries in rain gutters too. Mine aren't on the coop though, they are elevated above one of my raised garden beds. My girls will practically take your hand off for a ripe strawberry.
Same here. Now unfortunately, all emails from BYC will route to my spam folder. Just not worth the risk of falling victim to phishing, malware or getting hacked by whatever third party some offer comes from.
All of my girls have been laying for 6 months now and are well up to speed on things, so not a new layer thing. I know it wasn't overlooked from yesterday because I open the top to do a head count before I lock up each night, and if I'm short any eggs (which I was yesterday) I always check for...
9 eggs from 8 hens! Pulled 7 eggs from the nest box this afternoon and happened to glance into the roost area and saw an egg under the roost (a rarity with my girls). Opened the top to retrieve it and discovered not one, but two eggs, both clearly from the same bird; my Buff Orpington. Pretty...
My Buff Orp is the largest bird in my flock and lays the smallest egg. She lays a pale pink egg that's always perfect and I get 6/week on average from her. Her eggs are always size small with an occasional size medium.
My chickens rip through the dog poo like a high school football team at a pizza buffet. Likewise, the dog laps up the chicken turds as fast as they hit the ground. It's all rather gross but no one seems to have suffered any adverse affects and there is almost never anything to step in in the yard.
You know, if you go with the sheep/goat panels instead of cattle panels, they are actually 5' wide by 16' and the openings are only 4"x4" rather than 8"x6". Or go with the horse panels (also 5'x16') and the openings are only 2" x 4". Costs a bit more but you gain 10" in width and can skip the...
No and she wasn't sitting on today's eggs when I got home, so maybe a fluke. I guess I shouldn't be too concerned unless she starts doing it often. I've no need for a broody since we don't have a roo.
So probably 3 or 4 times over the last couple of weeks, I've gone out to collect eggs and found them all arranged in a perfect circle. Seemed a bit odd but I didn't really think anything about it. Then on Sat. I was home all day and spent the entire day outside working on my garden. My girls...
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Please keep in mind that my hens spend very little time in the coop, only roosting and accessing the nest. The attached run is really just to give them some protection from the weather when they need it. They free range every day and also have a 50' long scratch pen for when we are...
I don't believe your coop is too small but it is at the low end of the guidelines. My coop is also 4'x4' and the nest box is external. Mine is housing 8 and I'm not having any issues associated with overcrowding. Mine pretty much only use the coop for sleeping and accessing the nest box as...