people with house chickens

Yeah, we had to give her plenty of protein.. this molt was a bad one. She looked like she'd been put through a tornado she lost so much apparent mass. We had to keep her out of the bedroom because feathers that escaped our notice would end up drifting up and multiple times got snored in to one of our noses in our sleep LMAO! She hated the change of routine, and any touch seemed uncomfortable to painful. At the peek of it I had to put her on pain killers just to keep her acting like a normal chicken, otherwise she just wanted to stand in a corner whining. I hope next year's fall molt won't be so rough but she'll be 3 1/2 then.

Yep, extra protein at start/during molt and feather regrowth is always needed. Protein is tricky because too much at the wrong occasion can be harmful on their liver, so I'm told. Amazingly, we've only had a couple chickens that molted like exploding pillows but they never showed bare skin -- I'm hoping it's because we feed a good organic diet, chicken vitamins, with extra protein supplemented at the right times for them.

Our Blue Wheaten Ameraucana molted in increments - molted, stopped, molted again, stopped. Here is one afternoon's lesser feather molt. She hid behind the wheel and wanted to be reclusive when she molted.

Chickens are uncomfortable and lethargic during molt and I found giving a drop on the side of their beak of children's no-iron liquid Poly-Vi-Sol vitamins perks them up a bit. My Silkies love the Poly-Vi-Sol and will drink their drop right out of my palm or from a plastic teaspoon. I think it's the vitamin E in it that they crave. Some owners actually use vitamin E capsules to squirt onto wet food or directly into the chicken's mouth. The bigger fowl I have to drop Poly-Vi-Sol on their beak to lick it up. I also supplement with Rooster Booster vitamins into some cooked organic brown rice a little each day -- adding Bee Pollen, Brewer's Yeast, and a tiny sprinkle of Selenium powder too. Sometimes they need the nutrition and gobble it up and some days not so much. They eat what their body needs. My vet always ends our visits recommending that we continue supplementing chickens with vitamins. He's a stickler for good feed and vitamins.
 
My house chickens Scratch and Pek. 14 week old cochins.

Pek
400


Hair by Scratch anyone?
400


400


Of course scratch had to go out and get muddy after our storm yesterday.
 
Last edited:
lol cute! I have a chicken that comes in the house! to bad she doesn't like daipers so she as to stay in a towel and if she is in are lap she has to be on a paper towel but love the spoiled girl!
 
My house chickens Scratch and Pek. 14 week old cochins.

Pek


Hair by Scratch anyone?



Of course scratch had to go out and get muddy after our storm yesterday.


Chickens are so much fun! We currently have a Cuckoo Breda in-house until she's ready for outdoors:




Is Pek a Cuckoo also?
 
Ok today was the second egg she layied but I feel like I have just given birth myself.....please help my house chicken family ideas on a nest. she had such a hard time today serched for hours crying for a place I kept offering The best options I could think of even in her place she sleeps at night because that is how she had her first one. Then finally she walked up to me like help mommy so picked her up put her on her bed petting her till she calmed then could tell she was pushing and after about 5 min she layied it. I have never seen the process is it always that difficult on them to pass it or was it just harder on me? But need help ideas please. And should I be worried she needed to be calmed by me in order for her to do this.
 
Ok today was the second egg she layied but I feel like I have just given birth myself.....please help my house chicken family ideas on a nest. she had such a hard time today serched for hours crying for a place I kept offering The best options I could think of even in her place she sleeps at night because that is how she had her first one. Then finally she walked up to me like help mommy so picked her up put her on her bed petting her till she calmed then could tell she was pushing and after about 5 min she layied it. I have never seen the process is it always that difficult on them to pass it or was it just harder on me? But need help ideas please. And should I be worried she needed to be calmed by me in order for her to do this.

I wouldn't worry too much - she's still learning. Some chickens will fuss around for hours. Do you give her extra oyster shell? She will like a dark, enclosed space to lay and I'd put some fake eggs in there as chickens like adding to the egg pile. Our 2 year old outside chickens will only lay in the boxes that have fake eggs in them and they get very worried if there aren't any eggs they can add to. And if I have lots of broodies (which frequently happens) then everyone gets very upset as the broodies steal the fake ones and don't like giving up their nest so someone else can lay!
 
Ok today was the second egg she layied but I feel like I have just given birth myself.....please help my house chicken family ideas on a nest. she had such a hard time today serched for hours crying for a place I kept offering The best options I could think of even in her place she sleeps at night because that is how she had her first one. Then finally she walked up to me like help mommy so picked her up put her on her bed petting her till she calmed then could tell she was pushing and after about 5 min she layied it. I have never seen the process is it always that difficult on them to pass it or was it just harder on me? But need help ideas please. And should I be worried she needed to be calmed by me in order for her to do this.

My Black Silkie is 5-yrs-old and still acts that way. In the house we have a lidded storage box with a side entrance -- it's dark, we keep straw in it, and eventually she'll use the box to lay the egg. But she will go in and out of the box for hours squawking the whole time and hardly interested in eating. Drives us nuts but that's the way she's acted since laying her first egg. Our other Silkie (a Partridge) is such a quiet girl we don't even know she layed an egg unless she decides to announce it after she's layed it. We used to worry that something was wrong, but after 5 yrs of listening to the squawking Silkie it doesn't bother us so much any more. Good balanced layer nutrition/protein, chicken vitamins/selenium, oyster shell/calcium carbonate, produce greens or green grass/weeds, and some fruits, all will keep a good diet going for good production. Not much can be done about the complaining the Silkie does.
 
My Black Silkie is 5-yrs-old and still acts that way.  In the house we have a lidded storage box with a side entrance -- it's dark, we keep straw in it, and eventually she'll use the box to lay the egg.  But she will go in and out of the box for hours squawking the whole time and hardly interested in eating.  Drives us nuts but that's the way she's acted since laying her first egg.  Our other Silkie (a Partridge) is such a quiet girl we don't even know she layed an egg unless she decides to announce it after she's layed it.  We used to worry that something was wrong, but after 5 yrs of listening to the squawking Silkie it doesn't bother us so much any more.  Good balanced layer nutrition/protein, chicken vitamins/selenium, oyster shell/calcium carbonate, produce greens or green grass/weeds, and some fruits, all will keep a good diet going for good production.  Not much can be done about the complaining the Silkie does.

Makes me feel so much better thank you. Wow ya I am such a over thinker I have found that out about myself since I have had these chickens freak out about everything... Now I feed scratch and they free range in back yard grass bugs , have show bird food available. And oyster shell. Once and awhile treat. What vitamins do you get and also they won't eat much anything else.
 
This is what they are offered but hardly touch it when they are able to free run backyard. Someone gave me great advice to make it mush because I was having a hard time finding anything they would eat.
400
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom