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  1. mestenos

    Blue Easter Egger and Other Assorted Breeds Hatching Eggs

    I have hatching eggs available from Easter eggers from Whitmore Farm lines (the farm no longer sells chickens), cuckoo marans, buff orpingtons, black australorps, and various other Easter eggers. The rooster is a blue easter egger. The chickens free range for an average of two hours a day...
  2. mestenos

    First time OB Mama attacked her chick

    Wow, that looks horrid. You could clean it with warm water, bactine, or some other mild disinfectant. I wouldn't put gauze on because it might irritate her flesh and her in general. When I first read your post's title, I thought the chicks might have already grown up a little and the mother was...
  3. mestenos

    Bizarre behavior.

    I've noticed that when weaker hens go broody, they suddenly get picked on a lot more. I think part of it has to do with the broody hen acting more distressed and because of that others are more likely to act domineering. Also, an unfortunate thing about not having a rooster is that "lead hens"...
  4. mestenos

    Was this an egg or just poop

    Yeah, an egg. Looks like the hen wasn't expecting it. Need calcium.
  5. mestenos

    Molting or Not?

    Well it's that time of year, but wow, is that hen molting hard.
  6. mestenos

    Help, I have a feather picker!

    I've had a couple of hens before that pecked all the others while nobody else bothered them. They had plenty of protein, got to free range a lot, etc.. Eventually I had to cull them. There was one year when I had a bunch of chicks that missed a feeding or something and learned to be cannibals...
  7. mestenos

    Silkie Hen can't/won't (?) open her eyes

    Perhaps she ate something toxic? Sometimes inbred chickens are genetically predisposed to certain illnesses that get triggered by the slightest things. I've had chickens suddenly get really sick on me, but an autopsy revealed that they had some horrible stuff going on inside for a while, like...
  8. mestenos

    Fighting together

    It's always nice to see a chicken with spirit! Unfortunately, most of my "problem" chickens that were aggressively pecked at and pestered with unusual antagonism remained as outsiders in the flock until I had to cull them. Unless she gets respect and ends up near the top of the pecking order, or...
  9. mestenos

    Ingrown feather? Treatment?

    I've had a couple hens that were bullied really badly. Some areas were completely picked clean of all feathers. Not even follicles remained and they were a bloody mess. After a couple of weeks of separation though, and a lot of good food, their feathers started to grow back well. I recommend...
  10. mestenos

    Chicks’ first mealworms

    Now if they had a mama hen to show them that a mealworm is some good stuff, they'd be chomping them down like crazy. I had one little rooster grow up with my last batch of chicks and he simply had the instinct to eat everything, which got everybody into a frenzy too. Without some other chicken...
  11. mestenos

    How Many Eggs Did You Get Today?

    3 eggs out of 14 hens. Five of them are pullets that should start laying soon. Have a heat lamp on at night and doesn't seem to be much of a help!
  12. mestenos

    Strange egg

    I wouldn't make an omelet out of it! Over the years my hens have laid strange eggs. A couple of them looked like yours, my brother claimed that one had had a feather inside it, and others didn't even have yolks. Young hens and older hens have them every now and again because their body is...
  13. mestenos

    Blood spot on eggs 2 consecutive days

    That's a weird place for blood to be. I would think that the egg should be streaked with blood if the cloaca was damaged. It looks as if the blood was smeared on after the eggs were laid. Interesting to see what other people think. It is really difficult when a rooster finds a favorite hen and...
  14. mestenos

    Why aren’t my hens laying eggs!

    I've gotten chicks in early summer and not had them lay until the following spring. My hens, in general, are very poor layers in the winter. I have 14 hens right now and only get about 2 eggs a day. If you're in a cold climate, I get it shouldn't be a surprise that your young hens aren't excited...
  15. mestenos

    Buff Orpington acting strange

    Chickens would not act so poorly if they were just molting. Something is hurting her inside. I've had a couple of hens die because of egg binding and they acted just like that. Perhaps she ate something toxic. Make sure she gets water inside her. Fasting for a little while is good, but after...
  16. mestenos

    Why does Oreo (my hen) spit fluid out of her mouth? HELLPPPP!!!

    Over the years I've had a couple of hens suddenly start to have clear liquid pouring out of their mouths. They soon became lethargic and died. I never found out why, and none of my other chickens ever got the same sickness, so it's not transmittable. Hopefully your hen isn't experiencing the...
  17. mestenos

    Help with diagnosis: molt, parasite, or other? Pics inside

    I've never had hens molt in their first year, but that's what it looks like your hens are going through. The new feathers coming up look fine, so I wouldn't worry.
  18. mestenos

    The good thing about free-ranging chickens

    They've absolutely decimated our insect population. And garter snake too. (They eat the little ones like worms and pester bigs ones until they slither away.) Another good thing is that they are so happy when they do have to go back to their fenced runs. Instead of jabbering and picking on each...
  19. mestenos

    Lost our beloved Silkie to a Hawk

    It's so sad to lose a little friend who enjoyed life right along with you nearly every day. Chickens are sometimes as good of friends as the best of people. She had a good life here and her passing away will help save other chickens. Hope you feel better soon.
  20. mestenos

    Free ranging worry

    I have two cats and they actually used to be afraid of my chickens. Now they just pass by foraging hens like they don't even exist. Maybe if your neighbor has very big tomcats you should be concerned, but otherwise, I don't think that they should cause much trouble.
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