Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[wannahomestead]

Anyone got any ideas as to why my hens have decided to single out one of my girls and peck on her? they've all been together nearly a year and have always gotten on fine, but for some reason the last few days have taken to pouncing on and pecking at one of the flock in particular. It usually only happens when I put out treats/scraps for them in the afternoon, never been a problem before. I'm a bit of a worrywart I guess, she's not sick, is eating and drinking fine and being her usual chickeny self

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Is it beyond normal pecking order type of behavior? Maybe check her over real closely and make sure she doesn't have an injury. They'll apparently peck at wounds and what not.

 

[Stacykins]

Anyone got any ideas as to why my hens have decided to single out one of my girls and peck on her? they've all been together nearly a year and have always gotten on fine, but for some reason the last few days have taken to pouncing on and pecking at one of the flock in particular. It usually only happens when I put out treats/scraps for them in the afternoon, never been a problem before. I'm a bit of a worrywart I guess, she's not sick, is eating and drinking fine and being her usual chickeny self

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Are you certain she isn't acting at all sick? Birds in the earliest stages of illness are very good at hiding it...but the other members of the flock will often single them out to drive them away. Give her a very close look over. Look at eyes, feathers, color/consistency of stool, listen to her breathing, etc.

 

[vintagegem]

She's not injured or bleeding anywhere, and seems fine, she backs off when they pick on her, and its usually when I first put out scraps for them, it seems to be 2 main culprits out of the flock...I have 5 hens in total. They free range from about noon to bedtime and I don't see them pick on her other than snack time

 

[Peep-Chicken]

Can chickens eat asparagus. I just moved into this house and have it growing wild in my ditcH. I didn't know it was there and I found it yesterday but it got to big so instead of letting it go to waste I figured I would give it to them if it's ok

I don't see why not. Mine have the option to eat some, but usually leave it alone.

 

[ijon]

I have a blue bantam cochin, She getting old and has been a good setter and mama. I would like to get some of blue bantam eggs you are talking about.

 

[justplainbatty]

Good Morning everyone! Here's my little story:

This last Monday, the first warm/hot day getting into the 80s here. BF and I had the coop open, the girls were mostly in the run and in the coop. It was in the afternoon, so the hottest part of the day. The coop gets full sun, and when the big door is opened to let them come free range it faces West, and so the afternoon sun can pound it. I observed the girls were sunbathing but also panting. I was thinking "Why don't they move to a cooler part of the yard if they're hot? And also, it's only early May. It's going to get much hotter." But really, they might not know where to go yet. And then I saw the little one, Taco, doing something that really scared me: She was standing (in the direct sun, silly thing) but her wings drooped away from her body AND she was panting. I grabbed her and took her a few feet to the shade where the breeze is nice. Put her on the ground in front of me and held her wings out so she could cool down. After a minute or so she stopped panting. BF told me that another chicken was acting like Taco, so I grabbed her and did the same thing. Then another. They all responded pretty well. And when I let them free they stayed in the shaded area and quickly resumed acting like happy chickens. We figured the coop was probably too hot, so we propped open the egg collection door. (Extra info: Their combs are still small and they really don't have wattles yet, so they can't cool that way. We'd had the pop door open since morning, and we do have holes drilled for ventilation, which I'd thought in combination would be adequate. Apparently not, at least in our afternoon sun.) And so the moral of my story is this: Your birds CAN overheat, even in mild May weather. Ventilation is critical. I've been wanting to share this story for all the new chicken keepers I see in this thread, as this is my first year with chickens also and I don't want anyone's birds lost to the mentality "meh, good enough."

Going forward, we're going to augment the ventilation in the coop. We're sure to check on the girls especially in the afternoon heat, and when we let them roam we prop open the egg collection hatch to let the coop cool. The huge maple across the street will help with shade once the leaves mature. We'll probably procure a shade structure of our own as well. I hope my story helps someone's chickens stay happy and comfortable.

Well, you know, the past two days have been awfully hot for the birds, they haven't shed all their winter down yet. I opened the bay windows in the coop and had both doors open but it was not enough in the eve. So, it was time to get out the fans! I always put a dual fan in the coop, about 5 feet off the floor. It seems to help them a great deal, especially when the air is still.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Holly ~ what type of fencing are you using for the pastured area?

Well the posts I found are lumber, the actual fence I haven't got yet. Probly one of the 330 rolls on CL lol

 

[SillyChicken]

The babies finally arrived! 4 kids, born Friday, 1 buckling, 3 doelings!

 

[TreeTree411]

I go downstairs to check on the girls and the chicks and this is what I find.

 

[bigmrg74]

So, my brother and me went to go pick up some more diesel tonight. Right as I got the cans out to the pump, the sky opened up and I got soaked. Wind was blowing just hard enough that the pump was blocking it enough to set the cans there in the shadow and fill them. Felt like a drowned rat.

Miss Belle after a bath this week.