Recent content by Kazzandra

I have had egg box mites before that came in the wood shavings. They might have been wood mites. They are creepy as all heck, but seemed to not have any interest in being parasites. I imagine the chickens don't like getting in the boxes but they did anyway when I had a spell of them. Do a good...

Asking for an update, because I got two TSC midnight majesty marens that were marked as pullets with head spots. As i have 7 roosters to 10 females right now, I can't do more roosters, I just can't. Does TSC have a policy on this? I already got one rooster out of another store's pullet box and...

Ah yes, more propaganda suggesting people feed farmed meat to chickens as if that should be okay. While I agree with the assessment that it's better to just offer oyster shells than layer, I would never feed farmed animals to chickens on purpose. Infrequent scavenging is not equivalent to being...

Still failing to understand all the micromanagement. I've kept chickens 15 years this way and have only once had a contagious sickness (a chicken cold) and on average lose a chicken (usually age 6 and up) to an illness every 2-3 years or so (I usually keep around 20 at a time, with many...

@Laurakh8814 What were the results for the animals pictured as far as sex goes?

My hen died overnight as well. She was a nearly 3 year old Houdan. Pretty sure we both had this relatively common issue. I tried giving supportive care to my hen, like aspirin, tumeric, and oil in and around the vent, and also checked up her vent to see if there was anything I could remove or...

My hen is presenting the same way, but with the typical penguin stance. Yours sounds like how mine was yesterday: check for hard distended abdonmen, because it could be oviduct impaction.

I just bought and set up the Tractor Supply Plate wanting to finally break free from infrared lights and what worries me is just how chilly my thermometer is measuring it as on ground level: at 83 (edit: was using a faulty thermometer) for day old chicks? But the chicks seem fine and aren't...

It's literally a pan or tray under nightly roosts-- supposed to be placed where the birds poop the most. People who clean every day! Wow. I don't have or clean poop boards and that's always been waaaay too much work for me. I tried having poop boards once but just realized it was moving waste...

Growing up we called hens like this hensters. When there is no one doing rooster duty, sometimes a female will step into the role, try to crow, stop laying, vocalizing more, becoming more aggressive, and even growing mini-spurs in some breeds. But yeah, as someone who has raised a lot of...

I know it's all been said at this point, but I have 6 roosters and 12 hens in one mixed flock and they get along fine and have been for three+ years now. And aye, yes, 3 are silkies, and 2 are half silkie. I will say there can be some strain for the females but no quality of life is decreased...

Really amazed to see this isn't behaviour more of you all to have experienced. I've had lots of dominant hens like this. This behaviour is not mean behaviour from the description I'm reading. Every day I have a cochin hen that I named Bitty (for this behaviour, actually) who will peck to groom...

I found it odd there was no specificity about what kind of quail were being raised. Button quail and bobwhite might both be quail, and need generally the same thing, but... I'd say it makes a difference in diagnosis.

I count every night. Never had more than I could count. It's a good habit, and as other people have pointed out, you can easily lose a chicken to sickness or predators that might otherwise be saved if you had just paid attention. Many times I've had chickens roosting in weird places because of a...

I think some of this thread is infected with corona paranoia. People with their pet chickens or backyard flocks are not substantial risks to cross-species disease transmission. I've lived my entire life cuddling chickens, as did my entire family for generations. Not going to stop because...