IIf they are going
I see them yanking long pieces off and swallowing it, I hauled lots of that out.

The hay is the main problem I think. It’s dried and fibrous. Most of the stuff I hauled out was hay.

I have been removing all hay now from
The stalls, and will give them more items like cabbages to enjoy.

This is the first time I have had issues like this, not sure what’s changed as I have the hay all the time.

They have feed in front of them all the time but that hay must be tempting.
If they are going outside less, perhaps the hay smells extra yummy.
 
I’d have to get rid of all of them! They all eat long grass and hay - may end up doing 50 of these surgeries! I’ll get good at it!
You're already doing what most owners are doing when they have lots of birds or need to separate bantams or problem birds away from others ~ separation areas... SimpleJenn, RoyalChick, ChickoryBlue, etc, have done it. Not much else you can do:idunno.

Us, in a small suburb yard w/ a 5 hen/no roo zone limit, we dont have room for separation areas/pens. When a problem bird arose we did our best to remedy behavior but sadly had to rehome problem birds in the end. SimpleJenn has a roasting pot for her troublemakers... how I miss her farm life ...but thankful we at least can have some hens in our little property/zone.

FLUFFY BUTTS ~ their whole bodies are one big fluff 😁
DSCN0486.JPG
 
TY for the Shetland info... let us know how they develop, temperament, broodiness, egg laying, etc. Breeders are forever coming up w/ new birds.
Shetlands aren't new at all (if that's what you meant?) - they're an old landrace that was brought back from the brink of dying out by a few breeders in Shetland, particularly Mary Isbister of Burland Croft in Trondra who's been working with those and other native Shetland breeds since the 1970s.
 
DH took Suzu in for her nares followup treatment. Vet removed a sliver of straw caught in her eye too. Vet did a bit of nares infection cleanup & said her eyes were also good & to continue Tylosin & electrolytes in her drinking water a few more days before releasing her outside. So happy to see her breathing thru nostrils again rather than her mouth. As long as she improves she wont need another followup.
DR Z SUZU 1 10-30-2025.jpg

The vet commented that in older birds it's not unusual for the nictitating eye membrane to go cloudy. We've never had that issue but passing along the info just in case for those of you w/ older birds. Usually the clouded nictitating membrane is not a problem & only means the bird can't see around them while dustbathing. Otherwise it should not impede them targeting food when eating/foraging.
 
Shetlands aren't new at all (if that's what you meant?) - they're an old landrace that was brought back from the brink of dying out by a few breeders in Shetland, particularly Mary Isbister of Burland Croft in Trondra who's been working with those and other native Shetland breeds since the 1970s.
Sorry... I meant new to the USA. I forget sometimes you're on another side of our planet :love
 
@RebeccaBoyd @Ponypoor & @RoyalChick
You all mention your broodies....well...
I have 3 'moms' brooding chicks right now (2 with 2 chicks each, 1 with 1 chick. Thankfully the 1 chick mom's chick hatched shortly after my gentler hen with 2, so the 2 moms & 3 chicks are being raised in the same broody coop/pen - so the lone chick has some friends to grow up with & play with.

I also have 4 that are sitting on eggs, and 3 more that keep thinking about hatching, but I steal their eggs, and they go back to laying then go broody again. thankfully, my 1/2 broody girl quit!

I will say, these last few weeks my egg production has definitely gone way down, what with so many broody girls!

And @RoyalChick ... you will never guess who is sitting on eggs this spring/summer.....

Crop girl went broody again this year - after a year off. She is a fierce defender of her nest (pecks the heck out of me when I check to see what has been gifted to her during the day!), but she was a great mom, so I am happy about this :)

Never mind found out who has Crop Girl 🥰

@bgmathteach

- When did you start giving her soft food? I plan on giving Jaffarra some starter mash tonight. She desperately needs calories.

- Did you give antibiotics after her surgery? Where you worried about the crop being distended and not working properly?

- How much crud did you haul out? You see my photo I posted was it more than mine?

- Was she very quiet after? Jaffara is quiet but she’s also all alone in the warm feedroom and needs calories so this is why she is quiet.

- Any other gems you can give me? This is my first time dealing with this.

Thanks!
 
Never mind found out who has Crop Girl 🥰

@bgmathteach

- When did you start giving her soft food? I plan on giving Jaffarra some starter mash tonight. She desperately needs calories.

- Did you give antibiotics after her surgery? Where you worried about the crop being distended and not working properly?

- How much crud did you haul out? You see my photo I posted was it more than mine?

- Was she very quiet after? Jaffara is quiet but she’s also all alone in the warm feedroom and needs calories so this is why she is quiet.

- Any other gems you can give me? This is my first time dealing with this.

Thanks!
I am sure @bgmathteach will respond, but I noticed there is a whole thread started recently on feeding after crop surgery. If I find it I will link it.
 

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