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I already deep cleaned the whole coop (including nest box and roosts) with a pressure washer. Didn't work and it makes sense because mites have plenty of other places to hide. But I don't think I can wash the whole backyard, I have at least 25 meters of grass and a little brick floor that I've...

I recently took my chronically ill hen Bianca to her annual checkup. There, we discovered that she had red mites. As soon as I went back home, I checked the other hens' feathers and yeah, obviously, they all have red mites. The vet prescribed Ivermectin to be applied topically in each hen's...

So, after an IBV outbreak in my flock, my remaining 3 hens have pretty much stopped laying eggs. They're only 3 years old, so the vet thinks they may have an atrophy in the ovary, as the virus "likes" to attack the reproductive system as well as the respiratory system. And in fact, at least...

Bianca, my chronically ill hen, has an appointment with the vet next Tuesday. Nothing is particularly wrong with her, it's just time for her checkup. However, I've spent some time with the flock today and I realized that Callia is having trouble pooping. It takes her a lot to expel the...

Today I held one of my chickens and her abdomen felt weird to me. I don't know how to explain it. I don't know if I've spent too much time without holding a chicken or if it's actually swollen/distended. I hadn't seen my chickens in about 10 days and I don't know if she is perhaps a bit...

Following BYC people's advice, I introduced the chicks to the dog and told him off as soon as he tried to put his mouth on them. He wasn't trying to eat them, he wanted to play with them, but I let him know that physical contact with them - of any kind - was forbidden. I reinforced that rule...

It’s 7 a.m. I wake up to the raging car motors and the rushed steps of people going to work. Living in a busy street, with your bedroom’s window against the sidewalk, you can’t really hear much more at that time of the day. Or at any time of the day. But at 7 a.m., it’s pretty clear what I am...

Today I couldn't find my ladies... They had hidden under the car to take a nap together. Hm, Callia didn't like my "awww"s In other news, Bianca is molting, her neck is still kinda nude but damn, look at that fluffy butt! She's so cute because she is so small, she's an adult but...

Thank you, but I can't cull birds that look and act healthy. I mean, I did cull Ruby (2) because of her complications, but the other ones are living a normal chicken life for the time being. The only "problem" is the egg production, but I don't care about that as I see them as pets. Someone...

I recently had a hen with internal laying and egg yolk peritonitis. She wasn't swollen like this, and it was a pretty bad case (I had to cull her). I agree that it looks like ascites, and this can be due to egg yolk peritonitis, but I don't think she'd be very active if she had that. Anyway...

I know! I don't have a picture of that, but I have a picture of -perhaps- a more important moment. When Bianca got sick, she was isolated in this "laundry room" and slept in a dog house. One evening, I turned on the lights to give her medication and I saw Mabelo on top of the dog house where...

Hello everyone, I have an IBV outbreak in my flock. There are no diagnostic tests available here, but I've had a team of vets at a local vet school study this issue and they've agreed it's most likely IBV, so that's what I'm going to call it. I'm going to tell you how it's affected my flock so...

I knew that Ruby had started laying when I got out to the backyard and I saw her squatting in front of the rooster, who was not fully sexually mature yet and didn't know exactly what to do. Hilarious scene 😂, I looked for the nest after that and I found it in Ruby's favorite bush.

Today I found out that Bianca is getting along with her former bully. After losing her sister, Bianca was kind of lonely. But then the rooster died, and Eris (the barred rock) stopped bullying Bianca, and even hangs out with her. Perhaps she was jealous? The rooster used to roost besides...

Not today's picture but a relevant picture. Bianca gave me a Eskimo kiss.

Gosh, I've seen chickens molt but isn't this, like, too much? Isn't she cold???

Thank you for asking. My ladies are fine, I'm free ranging them as much as I can so that they can distract themselves. I try to spend time with them but I gotta work, too, and it's never been harder to be away from them. After Ruby's necropsy, and the vets telling me that I have a virus in my...

Thank you everyone for your support. I have the results of Ruby's necropsy and I thought it could be interesting and educative to share them. The necropsy basically told us that Ruby had been laying eggs internally and eventually developed egg yolk peritonitis. If I hadn't euthanized her, she...

Oh, yes, he was very consented. He received his birthday gift one day earlier - a waterer with a design that made it easier for him to drink with his huge comb. Last time I saw him, he was using it right before bedtime. He never woke up after that. I talked to his vets, tho. They said this...

Exactly, what the actual ****? I understand this in older chickens, but 3-year-olds or, in your case, 8-month-olds??? My vet had even joked about the fact that Mabelo's health was perfect, he said during a checkup: "Mabelo will bury the rest of the flock himself". Sorry for your loss, too :(