I've mixed 6-8week old babies in with my flock, and they've done just fine. But when I first introduce the babies to the big coop, I keep them in cages the first night/day, so the girls can meet them, but not peck. My coop is pretty good sized, so they have enough space to say out of the older...
One of my favorite Speckled Sussex pullets being very curious about the camera.
2 of my 8 Pekins, left is the boy, right is a White Crested female. Both females are below:
More Pullets, born March 29th 2010. Barred Rock, Speckled Sussex
My little stinker, named "little man" who I...
It does look like a soft shell egg, I had a girl lay one like that once, it seemed like she layed the egg with the yolk inside, but the white somehow ended up on the outside with the membrane and something made everything all gooey and squishy
Do you feed oyster shell at all? I didn't used to...
Cute!
Its always funny to see how many try to squeeze into the favorite dust and sunbathing spots. They do that in my laying nests too! I've sometimes had four hens in one little nest, when all the others are open!
I have Pekins, and I have to say, they're pretty amazing I have 5 ducklings, a hen, and a drake. My drake is very protective of 'his' hen; if we walk nearby he'll put his head down and chase us away, not threateningly; just
protectively. He'll also follow me around and take an occasional...
Here's my scenario
I have a White Crested Pekin female duck, and a plain ol' White Pekin male. About 2 months ago I took 5 of their eggs and hatched them under my little banty black tailed Jap hen.
2 of the ducklings have a crest like the mom, and 3 do not. But! 3 of the ducklings (2 have...
I agree with Eroc1_1, I have 2 adult ducks that are pretty friendly, the guy duck will follow me around let me pet him. But I recently hatched 5 ducklings from them, and they won't go anywhere without each other, and as soon as I try to pick them up or even just open the coop door they run.
Yes, it is hard sometimes. But that doesn't mean I'm not trying my best to see the problem before it becomes serious. I meant to add to that, that it is very difficult to know that many chickens egg laying patterns.
I did the search, thank you for the advice, when I first read it a few days ago...
@jjthink I've had chickens for quite a while, and have only had minor, cureable issues with them, and only a few deaths in 9 yrs. This is the first time I've had an actual injury/severe sickness back to back. I try to check each bird when I let them out in the morning. And the first time I've...
Thanks so much everyone! I would like to get a necropsy done, but I really don't want to pay for one, and I guess I'll just have to wait and hope it doesn't happen to this next bird . @ Wynette no, I really don't, I have over 70 chickens, its really hard to be able to know each chickens health...
UPDATE:
I checked her again for egg bound, her bottom had swelled up quite a bit since the first check, so I started to get a bath ready, came back, picked her up and she
closed her eyes, her little neck slumped to one side and she died in my hands. If it really was egg bound, and she was...
Alright, thanks for the bump chicknmania! No, before today, she was perfectly fine, running around free ranging with her buddies like always.
She didn't seem to be egg bound, but I will check again.
So, this morning I went out and found my 3yr old Buff Orp hen sitting on the ground, head straight ahead, acting paralyzed almost, except for the fact she is shaking/shivering, and barely blinking. There aren't any wounds or scrapes, nothing at all seems wrong except she just won't move, and she...
I've heard you shouldn't feed them strong things, like onions or garlic; I'm not sure if its because it will harm them, or just the fact it will give the eggs an off taste.