INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Sounds like they're chest bumping. This is normal for both males and females at a young age. My two partridge Plymouth Rock hens used to run all over the place, and whichever reached their destination first would turn around and chest bump the other. It was so funny to watch.

 

[strssdmom]

It is really funny. I love to watch them do it. I just didn't know what they were doing it for. Glad it is normal!

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Behavior question: Just in the past few days, my chickens have been doing this little thing where they run full speed at each other, just before they collide they stretch up as tall as they can (reminds me of ballerinas on point), and they just hold that pose and lightly flutter their wings.

Is this normal? Why are they doing it? ALL of my chickens are doing it, not just a few.

It is quite entertaining!!!

Makes for great chicken TV (which is what we tell the kids we are watching when we settle in for an hour of admiring the chickens free ranging).

I love that, mine still do it at a year old, its adorable! I think its just part of their play/socializing

 

[me me me]

Talk about crash course chicken style. Lost 2 chicks today while at work pasty but got em I will never use medicated feed again I hope I saved the other 5. A lot of booty rubin with aquafore and warm water. I'm now going to soak all feed and use acvup in all their water. My older chickens are flourishing on soaked and fermented feed and raw ACV in their water I also had my 5 week old Marans plucked by another bird so my protein level needed to be raised and my fodder system is now under construction I just need to decide on an automated water delivery system

 

[me me me]

I kept asking myself if I'm crazy while I was massaging poo off chickens butts for 2 hours

 

[Mother2Hens]

Hi Everyone!
I think I need help. I'm so new to chickens that mine should be worried. They are 8 weeks oops and still living in my basement. Their house is a 48" dog crate with an attached 2x5.5' run that I keep very clean. They have food, grit, fresh water, scraps, and petting daily. Today I went down to see them and muffin (on my avatar) is limping. She (I hope) sits around with her legs to the side kind of on her own. I took her outside with me and she just stood with me and then curled up like a cat on my lap. I can't see anything specifically injured but I know that something isn't right. She just kind of flops down. Should I separate her so that she gets some rest alone? Their coop is about 1 1/2 weeks from done so I can't move her outside yet.

Don't feel bad about still having your babies inside~ Last summer, ours were 3 months before the coop was ready. They lived in a large dog crate in my daughter's bedroom, and luckily last year we had that wonderful, warm spring so I could take them out in the tractor every day.

Leg and Foot Issues: From my limited knowledge it seems like bumblefoot is typically caused from stepping on a sharp object like a nail, and it doesn't sound like you have debris lying around in your chicken area. I purchased the Chicken Health for Dummies book through this site so I suppose it's ok if I share these pages about troubleshooting leg and foot issues.

 

[Mother2Hens]

itsjustme~ So sorry to hear about your three hens! Animal instincts are so strong. Very sad to hear.

mememe~ Sorry to hear about your two chicks! Sounds like you know how to remedy the situation. I know what you mean-- sometimes I can't believe I am doing things like massaging coconut oil on my chickens comb!

pipd~ Did you ask me about an avatar or a map? I feel like I am forgetting someone who mentioned it in a post. Btw, I LOVE your broody hen picture! We all know it's tough being a woman sometimes. haha

 

[Too Fast]

I kept asking myself if I'm crazy while I was massaging poo off chickens butts for 2 hours

Sorry about the loss. Yes, you are crazy ha ha. You might go back to where you bought the chickens and ask for replacements. We had one die, probably from pasty butt. Went back to TSC, they gave us another for free. It helped that I had my very sad 10 y.o. daughter with me. The other 7 from the original 8 are doing fine, and so is the replacement. However, ours were only 2 nights old when we lost one.

 

[strssdmom]

Love my new avatar! Thank you Mother2Hens! It looks great!

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

[COLOR=008080]pipd~[/COLOR] Did you ask me about an avatar or a map? I feel like I am forgetting someone who mentioned it in a post. Btw, I LOVE your broody hen picture! We all know it's tough being a woman sometimes. haha

No, that wasn't me, but thanks for asking. And yeah, she takes it very seriously. I'd let her brood, but I don't really want her to raise chicks as she's absolutely terrified of me. She's in the broody-buster this morning, so she's throwing the stink-eye around like nobody's business.