California - Northern

I think maybe I've got someone pretending to be a rooster... Quiche has a not-bald ('tis fuzzy, but the outer feathers are gone--I know it looks like skin in the photo, but she moved) spot at the top of her neck, just under her skull, and Curry's back feathers are just fluff. They are the only 2 that have any broken feathers--then again, 2 out of 5 is 40%... The 3rd photo is to show that she used to have feathers all the way back...


Last spring my rooster Ray died at the ripe old age of 10+ years. He had a favorite and her wing tops were bare. I was surprised that they didn't heal after he died and that her back looked even worse. I was even more shocked when I saw my top girl chase this one down and mount her. She grabbed her comb the whole 9 yards. I think you are right. one of your girls thinks she is a boy.

this is a pretty nice little book, and has a good list of "chicken resistant plants" (p. 141) -- but a lot of the trick is the have the ratio of plants to chickens right, so even if they nip a few leaves, they move on to nibble something else, rather than staying and chowing down.
http://www.timberpress.com/books/free_range_chicken_gardens/bloom/9781604692372

other plants my flock ignores: scented-leaf geraniums, calla lilies, foxglove, thyme, oregano, borage, love-in-the-mist...

edit: all the plants in my garden are also ones that deer don't like to eat, since they are a far bigger plant-predator around here than the chickens are!
Thank you for posting that AND I am with you on the darn deer. They are lovely but they are vermin!

The only things in the garden that my chickens will leave alone has been green onions. They seem to love the garlic though.... weird chickens. I have eggs pipping in the incubator!!
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Day 21 is tomorrow, but we might have a couple babies tonight!!
Goooooood Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first year I moved here a deer jumped the back fence and took the top of ever plant in the garden. Bite ohh thats no good bite... ohh more peppers....bite.... she didnt like it enough to finish anything and I had 4 rows of short plants grrr.

The "Deer Make Me Angry Haiku"

Weeping Cherry Love
One Planted then One Eaten
Where is my Rifle?
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No pips yet im sitting on my hands to leave the eggs alone
ATTA GIRL!!!!!!!!!!
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Spring is coming!

One of our Mini Nubian does had a beautiful doeling yesterday. So excited for this year's kidding season! We've got more does waiting.
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Last spring my rooster Ray died at the ripe old age of 10+ years. He had a favorite and her wing tops were bare. I was surprised that they didn't heal after he died and that her back looked even worse. I was even more shocked when I saw my top girl chase this one down and mount her. She grabbed her comb the whole 9 yards. I think you are right. one of your girls thinks she is a boy.
Should I try to watch and see who it is? I'd have to be sneaky, though--they come running when they see me, because I might just have snacks! Heck, if the garage door opens when they're out and about, they're guaranteed to get a handful of BOSS flung into the driveway... Anyway, are there likely to be any problems other than fuzzy areas on some hens? Egg production definitely isn't affected--I'm getting between 30 and 34 eggs a week from my 5 girls! Curry's back's been like that for a couple of months, I think, and I first noticed Quiche's thin spot 2-3 weeks ago, maybe longer.

Actually, it might be Souffle--her former name was Spurs, for self-explanatory reasons, and her comb's the biggest.

Edited because I can never remember how to spell "Souffle" until after I hit "Submit"
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