As others have said, does she stay in the nesting box two nights in a row? A broody hen has to get up at least once a day, often more, to eat and drink so you will see her out of the nesting box sometimes by day. Often, others will go broody too and sit on her eggs while she's up, if they don't...
Curious what breed this rooster might be? He's the dominant bird in my flock and likes to chase a big Bielefelder we've got around and around the chicken run. He came in a mixed straight run from Meyer back in December. I'm guessing he's a black Ameraucana? I've also been told he might be an...
I've got an assortment of hens from Meyer. 3 Silver Laced Wyandottes, an assortment of eggers, and several breeds and hybrids with single combs. Guess I'll have to wait a bit longer and see.
The comb on the brown one is definitely broader than the other two, though I've got some pea and rose combs in the flock and one could definitely be its mother. (It had a chipmunk pattern at hatch which suggests to me the father was a legbar).
Chickens are much easier to catch at night. It's...
Good to know, thank you. Part of what makes it so difficult for me is not knowing breed and not being skilled in figuring out what a chicken's comb will look like once it's grown. Legbars and Bielefelders have much more prominent combs than most of the breeds I've got.
I let a broody hen sit some eggs and the chicks are four weeks old now. Breed is backyard mix, but I'll speculate about parentage below. I'm mainly curious about their sexes.
You can see all three chicks in this picture. 1. Black frizzle 2. Grey frizzle 3. Brown
1. Black Frizzle: Mother...
It took weeks and I had to remind Matt after he forgot to send a replacement part, but my chicken door is working again. To be fair, I could have been more active in reminding him, but it still took almost a month. The door works well now and i want to love it. I've got a friend who has had one...
I freeze treats for my birds and provide a lot of water. And the coop is shaded by both an oak and crape myrtles. The chickens get hot anyway. I'm in Texas, it can't be helped. The birds that exhibit the greatest heat stress are culled from my flock either directly or, at a minimum, ensuring...
Thank you. She's improved markedly the last couple of days and I did see a darker brown egg that I think is hers about the time she started moving better.
I'm no expert, but have you examined the leg and foot for obvious signs of injury? Something like bumblefoot may be treatable. And pictures of any visible injury could help folks with more experience to provide more information.
I've got a 6 month old Maran hen acting sick. She seemed fine yesterday, but is standing hunched in a corner alone and walks very slowly today. She doesn't seem terribly interested in food, though I've seen her peck at the ground a couple times. She's got some crust at her rear end and a clear...
What ended up happening? I had a problem with mine in April and Matt was quite responsive at the time. We were able to trouble shoot the problem and all was well until a couple days ago when the problem recurred and the solution from last time didn't work.
Anyway, I'm wondering what I'm in for.
15 eggs out of 16 hens! We haven't had a perfect day yet, but it doesn't get any closer. And, I'd say that we're in full production. Chickens hatched in December.
I've thought about a chickshaw. This was quicker, easier, and cheaper to build. I could get electric netting and may one day. Our front yard, where I'm keeping these boys, is very open though and I worry about hawks. But, the chickshaw has definitely advantages and I may well build one someday.
T
Thanks, this was very informative. I wound up building an 8x8 Salatin type tractor. The cockerels seem ok in there. They peck and squawk a bit, but it's nothing like the chaos of when they were in with the pullets. In my location, a taller style with a roosting bar is favored to protect from...
That one looks a *lot* like my Bielefelder. I don't have a pic handy, but they're definitely a match. The one I can't identify is pictured below. His neck matches a Bielefelder, but see that red and the different tail color? And he's significantly smaller than the Bielefelder. Maybe some sort of...