winter

Back in january I posted about how 3 of our hens plus our rooster had started having combs similar to those during molting that just didn't go away and how we had thought it was just winter combs due to them acting normal. Until a fourth hen had dropped dead out of nowhere wich led us to giving...

We have eight girls. I recently notice a bare bum on one and now that's up to six. I don't see signs of mites or lice but beyond the occasional tap I haven't see excessive pecking. They have layer feed but do get some kitchen scraps as well - but not an excessive amount. I may add some...

Hello! Attached is a photo of 1 of my 6 inherited chicken babies. We’ve had them since September, all has gone well, but this morning I noticed they all have a degree of this black spotting on their combs - some worse than others, some with hardly any. Bullying? Illness? I’ve been doing my best...

This week is VERY cold at my house, so we had to bring my 9 ducks into the garage in a box for the next week. The problem is, I only have one big box to have them in the whole week, but they are bored and are peeling the box. Any idea what toys I could make to hang in their box so they are not...

Hi Everyone, new here and looking for some advice for my 13 ladies. I posted a thread here. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/extremely-cold-weather-please-help.1444125/#post-23977938

Hi everyone, This is our first year having chickens. We have 13. We live in Southern Alberta Canada which is usually known for their mild winters because of our chinooks. Every now and then we do get some colder weather so we weren’t to worried about our chickens, until this week when we ended...

My Melodramatic Pep Talk guys I am new. I know I need a better feeding system to keep the snow off their food. I am doing my best with my very first flock but for now I submit this for purely entertainment purposes!!

hi my sweet baby Felicity Anne would not leave her nest yesterday starting around 3pm or so. I figured by around 5 that she might be broody because she wouldn't eat or go roost. she is a VERY rambunctious and adventurous chicken who is extremely food motivated so this was certainly unusual. I...

I have a single gal. Almost 1 year old Barred Rock. She was a rescue, may be getting her a sister in a few months. Anyway- For now she has a custom built freestanding coop courtesy of my brother in law. We live in central Illinois. To winterize her coop I applied black plastic sheeting to avoid...

Long story short I hatched out some chicks in late December, Bielefelders to be exact, against my better judgement. My access to hatching eggs from this breed is quite limited where I am so I jumped on it despite the inconvenient timing. Now I'm not sure how or if I should be transitioning them...

We've had a spate of cold and windy weather and I'm having quite the time of it getting some of my girls to emerge from the coop. Our coop isn't big enough to house food and water--it's mainly for sleeping and laying. And with the deep litter method I worry about spillage that may cause issues...

With snow accumulating in the area, our flock has become pretty aggressive towards one another. Our two guard geese have given a handful of our chickens a very hard time. 💔To try to counteract these behaviors we extended their winter “run”. We are struggling to alleviate the winter boredom. We...

Hello! I have a flock of about 12 girls. A couple Roos. I typically get between 9-12 eggs a day. But the last three days I’ve only gotten one egg. Is this normal? I know it’s normal to not get as many, but will some of them just stop playing completely In the winter? Or do I need to check them...

I am one of those chicken keepers who relies 100% on free ranging for chicken entertainment :oops: BUT - I now have two resident red tailed hawks in my backyard. So, I need chicken toy/entertainment ideas. I have seen a lot on here already (swing, hanging cabbage, etc.) but I'm sure people are...

Ok you all I’m wondering what I should do...my first winter with my hens. I live in Michigan 3 blocks from the shores of Lake Superior. Cold cold with lots of snow. Our temps are now in the single digits. And we have about 12 inches of snow. my coop is about 40s feet with 6 hens, and a attached...

Hi, We have 9 mixed laying hens about 10 months old, a surviving guinea hen and one accidental rooster. I want to check to make sure we are feeding and maintaining them appropriately. They seem amazingly healthy and have provided us with between 7-9 eggs a day since the mid-summer, and are...

I will be adopting a new hen (Americana I think) in a few days and I'm very excited to add her to our flock of 5 hens! However, I've learned that the hen is brought inside the person's home at night, but put outside during the day. It is about a 6 month old hen, raised as a single chick, and was...

Good morning! I have a tiny bantam hen who has been broody for over a month now. It’s winter here and the first time she sat on her egg, the other chickens kicked her off so the egg never hatched (too cold). She was still broody so we put two eggs underneath her from a different hen and she has...

Hi. Happy holidays! I live in Wisconsin and got my first 4 chickens this past summer. Buffy is an Orphington, Rhoda is a Rhode Island Red, and Peggy Sue is an Americauna. Spice Girl is a Cinnamon Queen, but since she turned out to be a rooster, she went to live on her cousins farm, as our...

Pardon the long winded preliminary explanation. This is my first winter having chickens and my understanding is that they're pretty cold hardy as long as their coop isn't drafty and has good ventilation in order to keep the moisture down. I bought a pre-built 8x10 chicken coop earlier this...