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  1. SamLockwood

    Thinking of getting Rooster

    Like the others said, wait until the hens are older before getting a rooster. At least laying age, or better yet 9 to 12 months old. Adult hens are much less likely to put up with a.young cockerel's nonsense. Otherwise they tend to bully and stress out younger pullets when their hormones kick in.
  2. SamLockwood

    Can’t stop flying over fence.

    Even with clipped wings they can assist a jump with their wings and leap surprisingly high. I even have a few birds that are agile enough they can climb straight up a solid fence with enough foot-holds by flapping their wings as they climb. They have more trouble with fences that arent' as...
  3. SamLockwood

    Extended broodiness?

    Some of them are like that: they'll stay broody much of the summer. I have some others that will phase in and out of broody for a couple weeks at a time. I have noticed the ones that stay broody longer in the summer are the ones that tend to lay more frequently in the winter, but if you have a...
  4. SamLockwood

    Cream legbar 9 months - egg strike.

    On the hidden eggs thing, you'd be surprised some of the places they'll decide to lay an egg. I've even had some bury them in the bedding to hide them.
  5. SamLockwood

    What predator may have attacked guinea fowl with no evidence of struggle?

    In my experience, the ones big enough to hit and run off with an adult bird that quickly are coyotes or bobcats. Both will attack in daytime if they're hungry enough.
  6. SamLockwood

    Is my rooster getting aggressive?

    Following you around isn't a problem by itself. All chickens will do this if they imprint on you. I have a two and a half year old roo that follows me around when I'm in the years and he's never been the least but aggressive to me. If he's rushing you from behind, or trying to herd you, or...
  7. SamLockwood

    16 week cockerel behavior questions

    It's normal for a cockerel to be passive among adult hens at that age. If they're aggressive that young that's actually abnormal and not the best sign, plus having adult hens beat manners into an uppity cockerel actually helps things out in the long-run. Otherwise you'll get a rooster that has...
  8. SamLockwood

    RIP, Paris-- honest question about chicken bullying and predators

    Unless you've got a LOT of birds and they're severely malnourished, they're not going to be able to kill and strip an adult chicken that quickly. Without knowing anything about where the attack happened it's hard to say. If she was killed out in the open it could be virtually anything, if it...
  9. SamLockwood

    Sudden death of Guinea Fowl

    Absent a necropsy or any noticeable symptoms beforehand it's pretty much impossible to tell without more information. As others noted, it could be nutritional. It could have been heart failure, I've had a couple die young that way (all chickens in my case). It could have been heat stroke if it...
  10. SamLockwood

    Taming Guineas

    In general guinea fowl are going to be more stand-offish than chickens, especially the hens. Both chicks and keets will initially be very friendly when they first hatch, and within a week their instincts will kick in and they'll get shy. Personally, I try to handle my birds as little as...
  11. SamLockwood

    Why is a hen doing this?

    It could be the lack of space, it could be jealousy: they'll sometimes fight over anything. Sometimes one will just take a disliking to another one for no apparent reason at all.
  12. SamLockwood

    Pullets and cockerel going into the coop before the automatic door closes

    I don't use an automatic door, but usually they have a more or less set "time" they'll start getting ready to roost. I think they go by the angle of the sun and the overall light level. The chickens tend to start getting ready about an hour and a hallf before sunset, and my guinea fowl tend to...
  13. SamLockwood

    Are My Leghorns Close to Laying?

    Hens getting red to pink combs & wattles is one sign of imanent laying. Another one is they'll suddenly get interested in looking for nests. If you free range them this will often include "inappropriate" areas. They'll also start going through mood swings and personality changes shortly before...
  14. SamLockwood

    Are they eating the dirt?

    It's also why you've got to be careful about what you leave out if you free-range chickens. If it's small enough they'll try to swallow it: chunks of plastic, styrofoam, small screws, even bits of broken glass.
  15. SamLockwood

    Are they eating the dirt?

    It's normal. It's how they "chew" their food without teeth: they'll ingest small amounts of dirt, ash, grit, or sand and as everything passes through their crop the "grit" helps grind their food up.
  16. SamLockwood

    Possum problem

    Unless your coop and run are very insecure they're not much of a threat. They will kill a chicken if they can get their hands on one, but they're not nearly as strong, persistent, and devious as raccoons are when it comes to breaking and entering. Ever since I built the new coop, the only time...
  17. SamLockwood

    Confused

    I have a couple hens that are pretty loud and have some unique vocalizations. There's one I call "Wailer" because her way of being social with me is being extremely loud: "Waaaaaaaah, wah-wah-wah-wah wah! Waaaaaaah wah-wah-wah-wah-wah!" I've got couple others that do this weid throaty...
  18. SamLockwood

    Rooster behavior stomping

    Keep in mind that while chickens have better daytime vision than we do they have terrible night vision. If I'm poking about in the dark and not making any noises my flock gets agitated, too. It's really bad news if I've got to grab somebody to work on injuries at night: sometimes I'm dodging...
  19. SamLockwood

    Coyote attack in the middle of the day.

    That's a cute sentiment but these are animals we're talking about, not the Cherokee. Plus, the OP mentioned they put a fence up so your shark analogy really doesn't work. Essentially, it's like saying "if you didn't want to have your house burglarized you shouldn't keep such nice stuff in it!"...
  20. SamLockwood

    Coyote attack in the middle of the day.

    "Nocturnal" is really a preference, it's not mandatory for them. Although it's infrequent, I've gotten daytime "visits" from raccoons, opossums, owls, coyotes, and a bobcat.
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