Maine

[striperon]

Took a few shots of my little flock on the deck this morning. Blue Laced Red Wyandottes from a Maine breeder. Hatched about June 1, no eggs yet. They are not show quality in coloration, but funny personalities and pretty to look at. The rooster is very full of himself. So funny.

 

[IZZYBELLA]

Pretty flock, striperon!

Question for those familiar with hard molts... my heavy molter is walking around as if she is drunk. I've read online that this can be normal for a bird undergoing a hard molt. Have any of you experienced this and is there anything in particular I should do to make it easier for her? (I am giving her extra snacks with protein, since I know making feathers requires a lot of her.) She is still roosting on the highest perch, still is the first to treats and is still most definitely in charge of the flock, all of which I take for good signs. It is hard to watch, though.

 

[lazy gardener]

Izzy. I have a hen who has shown some neurological issues which most often show up early in the morning, if it's cold, or when she's under stress, such as molting. (She tucks her head down and does the backwards "moon walk") When I give her extra vitamins, she looses the visible signs. You might try some vitamin E or Poultry Nutri-drench.

 

[IZZYBELLA]

Izzy. I have a hen who has shown some neurological issues which most often show up early in the morning, if it's cold, or when she's under stress, such as molting. (She tucks her head down and does the backwards "moon walk") When I give her extra vitamins, she looses the visible signs. You might try some vitamin E or Poultry Nutri-drench.

Thank you, LG. I will give those a try.

 

[suzMEchicks]

Lazygardner: its just so freaky to see the detached head of the crow. There's only a small piece of it otherwise and lots of feathers.i have seen a huge owl in the vicinity about a year ago.

 

[striperon]

Thank you, Izzy.

 

[buckabucka]

Lazygardner: its just so freaky to see the detached head of the crow. There's only a small piece of it otherwise and lots of feathers.i have seen a huge owl in the vicinity about a year ago.

I imagine lots of things could have done the crow in. I have seen a seriously injured crow at my school (perhaps flew into a window?) and the other crows were circling and dive-bombing it, so they can be cannalbalistic like chickens. The janitor hauled the dying crow off so the kids wouldn't see what was happening.

 

[CoopChick719]

That is scary, Suz!

I did not know that squirrels ate meat!! I watched 1 of the 3 well-squirrels in the pines above the coop steal a piece of turkey I had put out for the girls crawl up to a branch and chow down!! I figured by the time I went to get the gun, it would be gone.

 

[lazy gardener]

Squirrels make very good target practice. One season, we took out 29 chipmunks and red squirrels with combination of rat traps and pellet gun. The chickens do a pretty good job of keeping them away now.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Wow. I wouldn't put it past a squirrel. I've seen a chipmunk eating a frog before. So they're definitely carnivores. But, I can't imagine a squirrel catching a crow. So, the breast was eaten off the bird? That makes me think it was a hawk. I thought they'd all migrated south. ? Owl?

I'd bet it was a hawk. They are still around. Hawks and crows are mortal enemies. I've watched a group (not sure when the official number becomes a murder) of crows attack a hawk and drive it out of their area.