Hi all! I'm happy to report that Angelica made it through and is now a happy, healthy egg layer again! I don't know what the original problem (probably the rubber egg idea) was, but man was she miserable! She didn't move or eat for months and didn't even get up on the roost at night. Her comb...
Hi all. My 2 Wellsummers molt AT LEAST twice a year, sometimes up to 4. It feels like as soon as they finish molting, they molt again. And my Easter Egger molts about 2x a year. My other hens molt once a year or less. So, any ideas on what might be going on? Thanks all!
Thanks all! I should have mentioned that the flock has free access to oyster shell and I mix some in with their whole grain layer feed. I tried giving her yogurt mixed with meal worms and black sesame seeds yesterday, but she wanted none of it. She did eat a bite or two of scrambled egg today...
Poor Angelica.
I noticed her acting a little lethargic last Saturday, but by Monday it was clear something was wrong. She had her tail tucked down, walked funny, waggled her tail a lot, spend her whole day laying in the coop instead of free-ranging with the flock and wouldn't (couldn't?) get up...
Thanks everyone! Here are Hermione (purple band and gray face) and Ginny this morning. I checked them all over at the base of their feather shafts and saw nothing but healthy looking feathers and skin. They both seem pretty healthy. Hermione pooped 1 second before I took a photo of her...
Hi community. Thanks in advance for your help.
In my flock of 7 hens, my two 17 month old Welsummer hens hard molted all summer long and had just begun laying again in late November when they both stopped laying again. They seem to be losing feathers again and their combs have grayed out again...
Okie doke. I staked out the coop and caught him in the act of crowing this morning. So it's official: Schuyler (sibling to Angelica, Eliza and Peggy) is a boy. He's going to live at an farm animal sanctuary an hour east of here and will live out his days there.
Now I just have to catch him...
Right? Isn't "he" pretty?? I think "he" could be a show bird. "He" weighs about 100 pounds (or maybe that's my fear of "him" marring the results. Regardless, "he's" HUGE.
When we brought home this "buff oprington" chick 4 months ago, we were certainly in for a surprise.
Not only is it clearly not a BO thanks to its huge comb and feathered feet, it's also 1/3 larger than the entire rest of the flock (even the 2 year old Welsummers), and we suspect it's a roo...
Thank you SO much everyone! Though he'll have to be re-homed (Roos are illegal in Berkeley), in the interim, we're thoroughly enjoying his juvenile crowing.
Here he is when he was just a few days old. I can't believe what a difference 7 weeks makes!