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Mine love meat more than anything else. They get very limited handouts of leftover meat when I have some (but never chicken meat), and whatever they catch for themselves is of course fair game. They all go nuts when they catch a frog.

Awwwww....

I don't know anything about what effect the illness and medication may have, but it's not uncommon for first eggs to have thin or soft shells, so maybe these things are unrelated?

Mine always do it AFTER they lay the egg. Although sometimes they just do it for fun (or to confuse me). Sheesh.

Sounds like they're still a bit too young,

Quote: In short, EVERYTHING. We actually bought an already made "tractor" and frankly it's impossible to move since the built it to withstand a nuclear war. So instead of having a mobile chicken tractor, we effectively have a really tiny chicken coop. We don't have enough nest boxes and...

Regarding the chopping of greens - I should have said more on this. I don't go out of my way to give them greens because there are plenty growing wild, but if were giving them veggie scraps from my kitchen, I would cut or tear them smaller than I would for the chickens. They can't break things...

Sadly, we're getting so few right now (less than half a dozen) that I carry them inside in my shirt, or in my hat. I don't have a proper egg basket, so I've always used whatever is available - egg cartons, coat pockets, buckets, bowls - whatever is nearby. I did break an egg inside my...

Quote: Maybe they have...*ahem*...other things on their minds besides swimming...

Quote: Ha! Agreed! Ours want NOTHING to do with the shelter we built them. They sleep out in the open every night, and we can't make them go in. On the upside, they sleep very close to our house, so the risk of predation, while certainly not absent, is not as high as it would be if they...

Quote: Sounds like this is your problem! If the little one is 10 weeks old now, she probably won't mother it too much longer, I wouldn't think. I had a Barred Rock go broody, and by the time her babies got to be about six weeks old or so, she was SO done with them! I know it varies...

We had twelve hens and a rooster, and lost about a third of them to our dogs all in one shot. The only change I saw in their behavior was that they were rather subdued for a week or two after that. They didn't venture far from the coop, were unusually quiet, etc. They eventually got back to...

The younger ones sound like they aren't quite old enough to lay yet (if they are in fact girls). Are you positive that the older one is female? Could you tell us a little more about the situation? Where are you keeping them? Are they confined or allowed to free range? Do they have a nest...

Yeah, I'd give them a little time. They shouldn't be stinky. The only time my birds are smelly at all (at ANY age) is when I have to keep them inside the house for any length of time - you'll notice it then! Otherwise, no, they really shouldn't smell bad. I would guess that it's a product of...

My hens don't seem to mind when I collect eggs, but my duck gets VERY UPSET. It's sort of funny AND it sort of makes me feel bad.

Yes, it's my understanding that the offspring of Muscovies crossed with Mallard breeds are "mules" and are sterile.

Awwww...Dewdrop is adorable.

okay, I can't resist. We love our scovies!

Quote: I have one who has taken a liking to a seed flat on a shelf on my porch. After a whole YEAR of laying in the coop, she has decided she likes the seed flat better.

Quote: As for ammo, good luck getting any anyway. Everyone seems to have gone on a buying binge and we're hard pressed to find any at any price (at least here). Something that hasn't been mentioned much is that it's not necessarily just criminals that give guns a bad rap. It's true...