Maine

[suzMEchicks]

I have a question. I just went out to tend my chickens and 2 are in the nesting bix at the same time. Seems one if the leghorns was trying to do her thing but one of the RIR had jumped in with her. Leghorn was squawking like a hoarse sound and the whole bunch of them were making a ruckus. Now the leghorns , though smaller have always been the alphas-top of pecking order. The other thing is I saw no signs if the RIR pecking or being aggressive , just squishing into the box and upsetting the other one. Sometimes I cant figure them out. They havent been out for a few days because of the wind. Theyre probably getting sick of being confined. Any incite would be appreciated. BRW there are 6 of them in a 5 by 5 coop with 4 laying bixes attached to the back.

 

[suzMEchicks]

Sorry boxes not bixes. Where are my glasses?

 

[MustardTiger]

I am very sad and frustrated about chickens right now.

I have two roos and they have been very well behaved with my girls. We lost a few over the last few months and I know my chicken to roo ratio has been too low...I need more girls. Anyhow this morning I went to check on them and my lovely Lavender Am has a huge gash down her side. The roos dont have full spurs yet and they are not sharp so this must have happened with their nails.

I have come to the conclusion that until I have a coop with the capacity to separate boys and girls when needed OR I am able to maintain a larger flock consistently, I need to get rid of these roos.

I am waiting to hear if they are spoken for by someone with first dibs BUT if not, does anyone want 1 or 2 Black Copper Marans Roos?

They are gentle to humans - I can easily pick them up and handle them. They are NEVER aggressive. I think they would be totally fine with a larger flock of girls as well. They are not particularly aggressive with the girls either.

Please PM me if interested. I am near cumberland center. My other hens have some wounds as well so I need to be rid of these guys very soon. If no one is interested they will become our dinner.

ugh chicken drama. I was really looking forward to having a broody hatch some of my own eggs. Maybe one day down the line...

 

[CoopChick719]

Be careful of warm wet skin on metal! When I was a kid I actually licked a hammer to see if my tongue would stick. Well, it did! My cousin was with me and he yanked it off and my tongue bled for a bit. Not a good idea. 

Did the same thing when I was a kid on my double runner sled, stuck my tongue to the metal crossbar on the steering handles, ripped it off, left some skin on the sled!! Good times!!

I have a question. I just went out to tend my chickens and 2 are in the nesting bix at the same time. Seems one if the leghorns was trying to do her thing but one of the RIR had jumped in with her. Leghorn was squawking like a hoarse sound and the whole bunch of them were making a ruckus. Now the leghorns , though smaller have always been the alphas-top of pecking order. The other thing is I saw no signs if the RIR pecking or being aggressive , just squishing into the box and upsetting the other one. Sometimes I cant figure them out. They havent been out for a few days because of the wind. Theyre probably getting sick of being confined. Any incite would be appreciated. BRW there are 6 of them in a 5 by 5 coop with 4 laying bixes attached to the back.

My RIRs do the same to my Leghorns (also the alphas). They usually give up when they see Mrs. K & Estelle aren't moving for them!

 

[CoopChick719]

BTW thank you to everyone who weighed in on the tax question. We're going to get some advice before proceeding.

 

[anyasmifya]

I am very sad and frustrated about chickens right now.

I have two roos and they have been very well behaved with my girls. We lost a few over the last few months and I know my chicken to roo ratio has been too low...I need more girls. Anyhow this morning I went to check on them and my lovely Lavender Am has a huge gash down her side. The roos dont have full spurs yet and they are not sharp so this must have happened with their nails.

I have come to the conclusion that until I have a coop with the capacity to separate boys and girls when needed OR I am able to maintain a larger flock consistently, I need to get rid of these roos.

I am waiting to hear if they are spoken for by someone with first dibs BUT if not, does anyone want 1 or 2 Black Copper Marans Roos?

They are gentle to humans - I can easily pick them up and handle them. They are NEVER aggressive. I think they would be totally fine with a larger flock of girls as well. They are not particularly aggressive with the girls either.

Please PM me if interested. I am near cumberland center. My other hens have some wounds as well so I need to be rid of these guys very soon. If no one is interested they will become our dinner.

ugh chicken drama. I was really looking forward to having a broody hatch some of my own eggs. Maybe one day down the line...

I feel your pain. I am also sad and frustrated with chickens. My poor polish hen (BigBird) is bleeding on her head because I am not sure why but probably feather plucking. I really wish we didn't get these stupid roos! My one Roo is still refusing to leave the coop on his own and lost a toe nail due to frostbite. Stupid bird. Also another bird a polish Roo is bleeding from his head probably feather plucking. I am very frustrated, and am still only getting 4 to 5 eggs a day from my 11 hens! They eat and eat and eat and eat and aren't giving me enough eggs. I think their inbredidness may be the cause of many of their "issues'. The birds with these problems are all of my polish. I will only get birds from reputable breeders in the future and no more roos! Plus only birds without combs that get frostbite easily. I don't care how cute or pretty they are. I wish I had an extra coop now. Hopefully in the spring someone will buy our generator so I can turn that shed into another bigger coop!

 

[suzMEchicks]

I cant wait for spring to do a million things but one is definitely to build a run. After I figure out how to move my chickens house. My neighbor and I built it but it is in the wrong place by about 15 feet. Stupid really but I'll figure it out.

 

[lazy gardener]

Be careful of warm wet skin on metal! When I was a kid I actually licked a hammer to see if my tongue would stick. Well, it did! My cousin was with me and he yanked it off and my tongue bled for a bit. Not a good idea.

How big is it? We moved our 8 x 8 coop by putting it on (3) 2" x 10' PVC pipes.

 

[Cknldy]

SuzME- one of the russian orloff roos did the same thing yesterday. I thought it was so funny to see a cockerel squeezing in beside a laying girl like he was going to earn his keep that way My kids and I call the occasional poo ball in the nest boxes a 'rooster egg' and that boy made it seem plausible yesterday. We can definitely tell Spring is on the way with all of the cockerels beginning to crow and a bit of spatting amongst the almost 15 week olds. I had 2 standard size hatchery silkies separated from the other chickens because they are aggressive towards others. Those 2 found a way in with the others and were fine for a week. This morning I was in another coop and hear a commotion- the mean cock took a one inch square chunk of skin off the neck of a docile cockerel! I could tell the hurt one had submitted but the mean one was determined to kill before I flopped him out of the coop. Salve wouldn't stick to the wound and the skin could probably be stitched back together but that isn't my territory:-( I didn't want the little dogs to think it is okay to chase my chickens so I had to put the aggressor back in while the hurt one went in a recovery cage. I need warm weather to finish more coops!!!!!

 

[lazy gardener]

When defrosting my freezer, I once got my finger stuck to the side wall. Just far enough from the sink so I couldn't reach it to get some warm water. I ended up pouring some juice over it to un-stick it.