Hi - we had a hen loose with 6 poults. Looks like she may have been attacked. We found 3 poults and put them in a brooder. They seemed very healthy when we found them, but now after 2 days 1 died and the others aren't looking good. I'm not sure they are eating and drinking adequately. We...
I haven't done this myself, but my neighbor put 2+ week old chicks in with her broody and they did great. Not sure how long she had been broody. Good luck!
Not sure, but it's probably fine. Have you checked out the poop chart? Might provide some comfort or point you in the right direction. http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0
Good luck.
The treat thing can be a little controversial. I gave my mail order chicks access to grit and treats pretty much from day 1. In the future I hope to let broody hens raise all my chicks and figure they will eat real food from day 1 too, so how bad can it be? The grit is important though. No...
I started letting mine out a little younger than yours. They were pretty cautious and only slowly explored further and further from the coop. They still don't range nearly our full 10 acres. They mostly put themselves to bed without a problem. I did have one or two that would try to roost...
My understanding is it's usually a dietary deficiency of some kind, most likely protein since feathers are mostly protein. Or just bad behavior. In my case, I just think it's really weird that only one hen is picking and only picking on one other hen and she seems to like it.
This is interesting. I'm doing my first hatch, dry method and had planned to up humidity at lockdown on day 18/25, but this sounds good.
I'm curious, what day do the rest of y'all raise the humidity?
I have on three occasions now seen one particular hen (Lise) pulling out and eating the neck feathers of another (Ivanova). I haven't noticed Lise picking at any of the other hens. They free range on 10 acres and have been outside when I've seen this. Ivanova could just walk away, but she...
I think the general recommendations for egg bound hens are first to give them calcium (like a few TUMS). If they don't pass the egg in an hour or two, you can try giving them a warm bath, lubricating the vent, massage. Search the forums for egg binding and you'll find lots of info. Glad your...
First, separate her from the other chicks.
Do you have any Blue Kote? It will disinfect and cover the red, so hopefully the other chicks won't want to peck any more.
Hope that helps.
I think the only real dangers are predators and weather. Are they in a secure run? Is the weather nice? If so, they're fine. What kind of roost do you have in the coop? You can try moving them every night. I've had mixed results with that. Or get rid of the plant, so they have to find a...
It could be normal, periodic sloughing of her intestinal lining. Probably you'll need to post pictures. :) Does she have any other symptoms? How long has this been going on?
If you haven't seen it already, check out the poop chart http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=17568.0...
Is it an adult guinea? I've seen recommendations to keep them locked in the coop for as much as 3 months to imprint them.
We brooded day old keets in the coop with our chickens. They all get along fine. The guineas roosted with them for a while, but eventually started roosting in the barn...