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  1. Nashville Hen Mom

    Getting started in Ohio!

    Hi! I just wanted to let you know that I have had all kinds of coops over the years and the last one we got (and probably the last one we will ever get) is a large Nestera coop with an automatic opener. My first chickens many years ago were housed in a converted shed that was already on the...
  2. Nashville Hen Mom

    Anyone have a Nestera coop with automatic door opener/closer? Ours has been working well until the cold...

    UPDATE: Hey, everyone! It finally got warm and dry enough to thoroughly examine the system. I applied lubricant to the parts of the door in contact with the track and that improved movement somewhat. However, I ran a screwdriver down the length of the track and found a tight spot at the...
  3. Nashville Hen Mom

    Anyone have a Nestera coop with automatic door opener/closer? Ours has been working well until the cold...

    Thank you for your suggestions! We have so far determined that the problem is the door getting stuck: something keeps freezing at the very top of the track. I ran some thin metal through the track and felt nothing. The batteries are good: I check everyday and these have lasted since we...
  4. Nashville Hen Mom

    Anyone have a Nestera coop with automatic door opener/closer? Ours has been working well until the cold...

    Anyone have any issues with the freezing weather? Suddenly, the coop door won't go down. It looks like the machine is working, but that the door is possibly freezing in the open position. A simple tap and it closes (with much vigor), but we are not always home to give it the required...
  5. Nashville Hen Mom

    One Sapphire Gem lays HUGE eggs!

    I was looking for some fellow Sapphire Rock-keepers. We have one that lays a HUGE (definitely jumbo) egg nearly every day. She is two months shy of 2 years old and has still not molted or gone broody. I wondered if others experienced the same thing with this breed or whether she was special...
  6. Nashville Hen Mom

    Help! What’s going on with this “Brown Leghorn”?

    She has been drinking and eating like crazy—almost too much. Prior to this, she was often pushed away from the feeder by the other birds, but now that she has her new best friend, the other birds are leaving her alone. Thanks for your reassurance!
  7. Nashville Hen Mom

    Help! What’s going on with this “Brown Leghorn”?

    That’s reassuring as really, that would be the best ending to this situation. Hopefully, that is what it is. It’s been so hot here, I wouldn’t be surprised to see such things happening at strange times.
  8. Nashville Hen Mom

    Help! What’s going on with this “Brown Leghorn”?

    For the past month and a half, our Brown Leghorn, Ruth, has been broody in a nesting box along with one of our Black Australorps. She shows all the classic signs of broodiness: puffing and fluffing feathers, sitting on the eggless nest (no rooster), not wanting to be touched, and pacing around...
  9. Nashville Hen Mom

    Coop Talk: Husband and Wife need to settle flock-mixing discussion

    An excellent idea! Do you remember how big the opening was? We could even try it with altering the garden gate somehow. Will keep you posted.
  10. Nashville Hen Mom

    Coop Talk: Husband and Wife need to settle flock-mixing discussion

    Thanks pointing that out. The older birds are not really laying a whole lot at their age, but we still provide calcium. The feeder we have for layer feed is not really usable by small birds so that might help prevent them from eating it. You are certainly right about hens eating the starter...
  11. Nashville Hen Mom

    Coop Talk: Husband and Wife need to settle flock-mixing discussion

    That sounds like good advice. You are right about that little coop. It is generally only used if we need to isolate a sick bird or when we have small chicks. Luckily, there is plenty of room inside for the four small birds to sleep. They are free to roam the garden area during the daylight...
  12. Nashville Hen Mom

    Coop Talk: Husband and Wife need to settle flock-mixing discussion

    Dear BYC Friends, For 5 weeks, we have kept four pullets from between 8 to 10 weeks old separate from two much older hens that are of the same or similar heavy-breeds as the young birds. Our somewhat large city backyard is divided into “Henland”, “Foodland”, and “Dogland”. Currently, pullets...
  13. Nashville Hen Mom

    Help! Our best layer is suddenly laying soft-shelled eggs.

    We are in an established suburban area without any waterfowl. Lots of rain, but no streams nearby (yet).
  14. Nashville Hen Mom

    Help! Our best layer is suddenly laying soft-shelled eggs.

    Thank you for the information. She gets crushed oyster shell in her feed and also eats eggshells (though not always because we offer them, grr). We haven't tried administering vitamin D. Is that a supplement we could get at our local feed store? Could we use regular Vitamin D capsules in their...
  15. Nashville Hen Mom

    Help! Our best layer is suddenly laying soft-shelled eggs.

    This week, our seemingly healthy White Leghorn started laying soft eggs and we don't want to lose her. She is acting otherwise healthy, but we know from experience, that this is a sign of bad things to come. We lost another bird a few weeks after she started doing this and don't want to let...
  16. Nashville Hen Mom

    NO EGGS this winter in Nashville—a first!

    Finally got a beautiful egg this morning after a four month dry spell. Yay!
  17. Nashville Hen Mom

    NO EGGS this winter in Nashville—a first!

    Thank you for your thoughts. Yes, we are planning on getting two new hens this year. We were definitely spoiled before, though. The first three hens we had layed enough through the winter to keep us supplied with eggs year-round until they were three years old. Is it possible that there may be...
  18. Nashville Hen Mom

    NO EGGS this winter in Nashville—a first!

    We have had a small flock of heavy-breed backyard hens for about five years. On October 11th, we lost our young Barred Rock, Millie, due to what appeared to be (after my amateur autopsy) internal laying. Since two weeks after her death, we have not gotten eggs from any of the remaining three...
  19. Nashville Hen Mom

    Ideas concerning sudden hen death? (Warning: photos)

    Thank you so much for your information! I really didn't think that I could do this to my beloved pet, but I felt that it was important to rule out communicable disease. Also, I am a pharmacist and had to do this stuff in school. I did poke around at the other organs (I had an internet link...
  20. Nashville Hen Mom

    Ideas concerning sudden hen death? (Warning: photos)

    I am so sorry to hear this and hope that the rest of your flock is okay. After reading several journal articles and general discussions about the syndrome, it was me who kept seeing SLW birds mentioned. Here is one such link: https://hencam.com/henblog/2015/07/fatty-liver-disease-in-hens/ The...
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