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I have wondered about this, and really appreciate reading your thoughts and observations. I am in the process of renovating my chicken coop and run, and will be including a safe pen for the babies in my new design. Many thanks!!

The Polish seems quite "girly" to me. The second is getting red around the wattles quite young which makes me think "boy". Easter egger could go either way at that age, but my gut says girl.

I scaled my flock down to just two of my two older hens, bantam Cochins, due to some health problems last year. I just got six baby chicks this year, and popped them under the hen who had gone broody. She took to them right away and has been a great mom. The chicks are about two weeks old now...

HI all, I've had bantam Cochins for the past couple of year in my tiny flock. I've had several different colors, and they're all so laid mellow and sweet. Except the red - she's the boss of the flock. I just picked up another little red today, and she is again the BOSS. Is this a red Cochin...

Oh, that's interesting. I have noticed yolks getting paler as the year went on. Any ideas of what to focus on in terms of replenishing their system?

Thanks so much for the information. I'll add some oyster shells to the mix and see if that helps. I feed a locally made layer crumble that has always worked well for my girls, plus lots of vegetable trimmings and cuttings from the garden. I'm in Albuquerque, and spring is already springing. I...

Hi all, I have two little runner ducks, about 10 month old. They laid like gangbusters up until about a month ago, when their shells started getting thinner. I assumed they were just done for the season, and indeed they stopped laying altogether a week and a half ago. Now they look extremely...

That's good to know. We got 9 straight run chicks this year, hoping for 4-5 hens. Usually I get sexed chicks, but the breeds we wanted to try only came straight run. It's kind of agonizing waiting to see who's who, because we're attached to them all. I'm Googling every day, trying to guess for...

Thanks for the response - I was thinking the same thing myself, but with no combs or wattles I wasn't sure.

Thanks so much for this informative post! I especially appreciate the second round of photos with definitive answers. I'm wondering about my little Calla. She's 4 weeks or so, and I'm new at guessing sexes. Her coloration and tail suggest roo to me, but her comb is quite small and she generally...

This has been such a helpful thread. I need some help guessing on my two Polish, a silver and a gold laced. I've never had this breed before. They are about 13-14 weeks old. They seem to both be bearded, with messy combs, no wattles or combs under those feathers on either one. No crowing from...

I'm so glad your chicken is doing better! I had a duck that had the unfortunate experience of being a sole survivor, too. She was so unhappy on her own that I sent her to a friend's home, to be with their flock, until I could get more birds. In the end, she was so happy there that I never did...

I have a weird situation. I've been integrating my little flock, I have two runner ducks that were raised with two Polish chicks, so they all get along. They're about 3 months old now. I have a group of 7 younger chicks (ranging from 3-7 weeks) that I've been integrating for the past couple...

I had good luck putting a small pen inside the main run, and letting the girls get to know each other for a few days. Then I put a little door in the pen, so the babies could get out, but the big girls couldn't get in. There were some moments of bullying, but no bloodshed and everyone is a lot...

No, I'm not interested in sprays. And the last thing I need are more birds = more manure! LOL I'm an organic gardener, and in the past controlled flies pretty easily with homemade fly traps. However, this year the flies are happily ignoring my crafty traps. I'm baiting with some yucky compost...

I'm just restarting my flock, mixed ducks and chicks. Already I have a major fly issue, and I need help! I'm using deep litter in most of the run, which helps a lot, but I have moisture from the duck tub, and that seems to call to them. Any tips on how to control them?

Maybe putting them in the coop at night, in a carrier would help. There is a fair bit of harassment from the older girls, but it's not too mean-spirited. Generally, the two older chickens are hanging out on "their side" of the coop, and the littles are staying pretty much in their own area. I...

Hi all, I had to restart my flock from scratch this year, and I started with two runner ducklings and two Polish tophats. The four get along very well, and all appear to be female - they're about 10 and a half weeks old now, and all are in the main coop. I have 8 new chicks, a mix of silkies...

I've had several fawn & white runners over the past 10 years, and some have laid those lovely light green eggs, and some have laid white eggs. Seems to depend on what hatchery they come from - I've used different local feed stores, with different results.