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I am trying to plan my next chicken flock, which is still a year or two off. Over the last 5 years I've rasied a mixed flock and now have experience with Barred Rocks, White Rocks, Black Australorp, Black SexLink, New Hampshire, Rose-combed Brown Leghorn, and Ameraucana. I am pretty sure I want...

My pullets (5 different common breeds) are 8 months old yesterday. All or almost all of them started laying in late August/early September, when they were about 5 mo. old. Over the last 2 month, however, they are laying at about 40-50% and at least 5 of the 18 have gone into molt - some quite...

I feed my chickens both oyster shell and roasted and crushed eggshells for calcium. They never finish the oyster shell. When I put out fresh, they are not to interested. When I feed at night, I put out eggshells with the oystershells and they go crazy for it - they leave their feed to eat the...

I have a flock of 13 hens, all 1 year-old last week - Barred Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire and RC Brown Leghorns. The NH always had the nicest shell quality (with a sheen) and the BPR the dullest shells, but lately (the last month), I've noticed a decline in shell quality with a lot of the...

I had a 10 month old pullet die suddenly today - was fine yesterday. On dissecting her, I found that her heart was encased in a thick white tissue. Has anyone seen this before or know what it is? And her liver was not looking right either. The liver is above and around the heart in this picture.

I read that "raw" beans are one of the foods NOT to feed chickens. I have a lot of extra green beans right now. I would think those would be okay for chickens, right? They are raw, but by raw beans don't them mean dry raw beans? And what about green peas?

I have 19-week old pullets. Five of them are Brown Leghorns and 3 of those developed bright red combs early - a couple of weeks now at least. Today, I noticed that the pullet that had the brightest red comb and face has a black tip at the back of her comb and the comb is faded red toward the...

Is it dangerous to the chicken to catch them by their legs? I have 2 17-wk old roosters that I am moving between a coop and pens (for security from bear at night) daily. That means I have to catch them twice a day. So far, no mishaps, but they are pretty strong, and I worry that in their fright...

For my first chickens I got straight-run PBR and NH chicks from a hatchery, thinking I would keep 2 roosters and butcher the rest of the roosters for meat. They are now 13 weeks old and I have 4 NH and 3 PBR roosters. I have lots of questions about how to proceed. 1. At what age do those of...

Our nearby non-GMO feed supplier offers a choice of 16% or 19% protein layer mix. I don't know which one to order. They call the 16% one their backyard poultry blend and market the 19% one as for "producers." Is 19% a better level of protein even for a backyard flock, or is it actually a bit...

I have 8 7-wk old Barred Rocks from McMurray. I thought I could separate males and females at a young age and that only 2 were pullets. But, 3 of what I thought earlier were cockerels were slow to feather, and now that they are feathering, they look in color more like the pullets. Still they...

I am struck again by insecurity about my first chicks. This time about letting them on pasture. I have an enclosed run ready for them, and I let them into it for a minute this morning and they began gobbling alfalfa like crazy. I know Bee lets her chicks out on pasture from almost day 1, but...

I know someone answered a question about treats and grit with a link to a grit size reference. I thought it was at this site (Raising Baby Chicks), but I can't find it again. If anyone could repost that, I'd appreciate it. My chicks are now almost 4 weeks old, so I suspect I could just provide...

I seem to have 3 new questions/problems a day! Sorry for all the insecurity, but if its not one thing it is another. Four of my 10 New Hampshire chicks (2.5 weeks old) are pretty clearly cockerels, which is fine with me, except I'm starting to worry about their fighting. I wasn't at all...

A couple of my 2.5 week-old chicks are trying to dust bath in the wood shavings. Today, one of my leghorns got herself fairly messed up trying to dust bath in the wet feed dish (it is a flat dish that I give for about 10 min. then take away). Would it be okay to give them some native dry soil...

I just noticed that my 2-week old chicks were able to peck and eat the foam packing I had put the corners to round them. I have removed it, but there is about 3-4 teaspoons worth of foam (not styrofoam, but like a fine sponge) missing among 24 chicks. They have had some grit with dandilions...

It appears there is disagreement on what kinds of treats and grit chicks can have at a young age. I've seen posts that say nothing but starter for several months, and that large chunks of food can block them up. I have given my 2-week old chicks whole dandilions and some fresh young alfalfa...

A full description of the situation is below -I posted it earlier but have had no replies. I am feeling a little desparate. I've been reading on chick diseases all morning - and have not been able to find a disease that fits. There are no respiratory symptoms that I can tell. But, the chick...

My 25 1 week-old chicks all looked healthy when I last looked them over carefully about 4 pm yesterday. I was gone last night, but checked on them and they were all under the heating plate by 9 pm and I heard no peeping when I checked on them through the night. This am, one Barred Plymouth...

My husband and I are having a disagreement about chickens - we just got our first chicks. He read a news article that says Salmonella is on the rise with the increase in backyard chickens and doesn't want chickens in the house ever. I do not have chickens in the house, except to treat pasty...