Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Mommy 2 Wee Ones]

Hey Bee if you are still out there. The Butt Wiper attacked the neighbor when she came into the silkie run today. So I picked him up, grabbed him by his ankles & hung him upside down for a minute. He left her alone after that. Am not sure I would try that with Owl, my GLW roo, he is a big too big for me to hold.

I also had to make a saddle for one of the EE, Owl has been a bit too loving with her. A big chunk of back feathers are gone, so I made a saddle out of some old jeans. She ran away the first day, and the other hens kept pecking at it. The next day all was fine & Owl has not been on her.

I have two more hens that may need saddles, am waiting to see if Owl will spread the love to the other 11 girls, so the 3 that look a bit worse for wear, can grow out some feathers.

When I got some new chicks last month, 2 were Banties, one is a Frizzle. Hubby says, "Oh Sh** Another Fugly!"

So I hope by July, the 5 oldest will be mature enough to give the other hens a break from "Owl Love"

19 hens to 1 loving roo should not be bad. The Butt Wipers are not real chickens, so I can't consider them Roo's

 

[NYREDS]

I don't think it was the orange so much as the yolks, as in more than one. Which is common for chickens to lay in the spring whether they are young or not. I have several girls that are three and they lay double yolkers every day five days a week. It's not always a bad thing, but is something to keep an eye on.

Why would a double yolked egg be a bad thing at all? Having kept an eye on it what would you do about it?

 

[Celtic Chick]

Many back yard chickens have orange yolks, it's not a bad thing....I think I read somewhere that it indicates high Omega 3's.....

Is the leg scale leg mites? The easiest way to treat leg mites is to coat the legs in oil...cooking oil works, vaseline works, I'm sure motor oil would WORK, but not really non-toxic. The OTers can tell you how long you have to treat the legs....(cuz I do not remember the answer to that) You could google (here on the site) Leg Mites and get good info.

If it is just one scale it might be the site of the injury that is causeing the limp.

Here is a link to a thread about scaly leg mites. I don't know if your bird has it, but if she does, it can be pretty serious, and can spread to your other birds.
I soaked my bird in a warm bath with a vet shampoo with tea tree oil in it, then I tried the vaseline but found mineral oil to be better/easier/more efficient. HTH.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/33903/scaly-leg-mites-need-best-easiest-quickest-solution-scaley

 

[flocksalot]

Why would a double yolked egg be a bad thing at all? Having kept an eye on it what would you do about it?

Those larger than normal eggs can cause a hen to prolapse. Not such a big deal for me as I just poke it back in with my finger on the rare occurance. I say watch because if you see blood smears on the egg then she could be straining to get that huge egg out. The excessive size of those eggs could stretch and possibly weaken cloacal muscles. Which would/could lead to lenghtened time of it outside the body. Which in turn will increase chances of infection or injury.

I just keep it in the back of my mind, so if I see blood smears on one of my double duty girls I check their rears. I have had to poke it back in a few times, but for the most part they do fine on their own. I still keep an eye on it though.

 

[hannahransom]

yeah not the orange, i know that's good and normal. it was the yolks, plural, i was talking about, sorry for the confusion!

I looked up leg mites and it looks nothing like her leg I was just hoping this would correct itself quickly *sigh*

 

[hannahransom]

Two rooster questions: Will roosters help keep hens together so they can protect them all? I have one that is fearless and will go off on her own and I found her on the neighbors property yesterday (not even sure how she got over there as it's a 6' fence). I was hoping she would calm down a bit when she started laying, but as I found out this morning, she is my layer! She didn't lay yesterday, so I suppose it was exploring time, but she's one crazy bird. I've been giving them less time out because of her.
#2: Anyone have an opinion on barred rock roosters? That's what I'm leaning towards.

 

[Lollipop]

Two rooster questions: Will roosters help keep hens together so they can protect them all? I have one that is fearless and will go off on her own and I found her on the neighbors property yesterday (not even sure how she got over there as it's a 6' fence). I was hoping she would calm down a bit when she started laying, but as I found out this morning, she is my layer! She didn't lay yesterday, so I suppose it was exploring time, but she's one crazy bird. I've been giving them less time out because of her.
#2: Anyone have an opinion on barred rock roosters? That's what I'm leaning towards.

1)Yes they will keep them reasonably together, but their protective duties are usually limited to sounding an alarm for winged predators. Very rare that any rooster will defend against ground preds and those that do usually sacrifice their lives.

2) Barred Rocks are as capable as most any rooster...........Pop

 

[Beekissed]

Hey, all!

Glad some of you OTs are taking care of business on the thread and I thank you!

Here's a shout out to Dawg...our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Hope everyone's chickens are laying, your feed barrel is bottomless, and your predators only have a taste for the neighbor's dogs.

 

[DingleBay]

I thought this would be a good thread but so far all I see is people jawing about nothing chicken related.
I am an old timer with 1 year of chicken raising. My sage advice is that chickens are chickens and will do what chickens have been doing for centuries.
Why isn't my chicken doing this yet? How come they do this. What if they.... Give them food, water and shelter and they will give you eggs and a great deal of pleasure. Don't sweat the details.

 

[Lollipop]

I thought this would be a good thread but so far all I see is people jawing about nothing chicken related.
I am an old timer with 1 year of chicken raising. My sage advice is that chickens are chickens and will do what chickens have been doing for centuries.
Why isn't my chicken doing this yet? How come they do this. What if they.... Give them food, water and shelter and they will give you eggs and a great deal of pleasure. Don't sweat the details.

Hey Dingle, welcome to BYC. Glad you caught on right away, but the truth is, many people don't. Also there are situations that arrise that have a lot of folks stumped. Now I get really frustrated with the day in and day out repetitive questions, just like a lot of folks. However, I'm here to help and not throw stones at newbies. If it gets under my skin, I just move along and pay no mind. Ya might wanna start in the front part of this thread and get the skinney from the get go. Lots of good stuff there. Most of the end of the thread is devoted to helping those who need it or are confused about a certain detail. Make yourself at home, but don't be too rough on those that can't figure it out for themselves.........Pop