Recent content by Shirley531

I bought a wrought iron gate off ebay for $10 for my coop. Covered it in wire mesh. Looks brilliant and does the job.

Not necessarily. Mine are fast enough to catch mice, and (see my comment below) behaved in exactly the same way with my newborn (s).

I'm sorry to say this but I've had two freshly hatched chicks eaten by another hen (two separate occasions). I can't say whether they were healthy or otherwise, but the sight of a chicken running around ripping apart a new baby is not something I'll forget.

Mine love cat food - it's my 'last resort' food to get them in to the coop when they want to stay out longer. Which is great, because the cat just licks the jelly off and leaves the lumps, while the chickens like the lumps but not the jelly.

I never knew avocados are toxic, so thanks for that info. Although you'd have to have really posh chickens to feed them avos in the UK as a good ripe one will set you back $2 (USD).

ACV is normally mixed in with drinking water. It's a good tonic generally and can be given to all birds. Please check on the internet for concentration bearing in mind the size of your drinking vessel. Don't use it with galvanised vessels. Hope that helps.

My roo - Colin - had a thing about my red Crocs!

They do get something that resembles a cold. With mine, it's only ever happened in association with stress eg new birds or changes in the flock. Have once resorted to antibiotics from the vet, but there are also herbal remedies such as apple cider vinegar.

PS my chap (Colin was his name) never went for my husband, only me. There's a big size difference between us.

Some animals fight for supremacy. If this is what's going through his mind, and you fight back, he'll just think 'game on!' ie that you have accepted his challenge and he'll just keep trying. There's some excellent info on this site about feisty roos. That said, only a few weeks ago I had to...

I've my first chicks and it's as though they are invisible to the other adult hens (buff sussex). The mothers - that's a different matter. They are low down the pecking order and there's the usual bossing around, but not the slightest hint of aggression towards any of the babies.

I've got two mothers with 3 chicks between them. Two are 3 weeks old and one is 10 days. The two mothers - previously inseparable buddies - are really aggressive towards each other. I have them separated so far but my logistics are being stretched as the younger baby starts to need to roam...

I don't have an answer for you - I guess there could be many causes - but I used to have a chicken that would stand and stare at me. For hours. Coincided with me having lots of jobs to do in the garden, and this thing would just stand and watch. I now suspect she was just getting older, and...

My Buff Sussex hatched a single chick which last night looked robust and fine. When I checked first thing this morning it had become separated from the nest and was cold and stiff and dead. I cupped it in my hands and breathed on it (keeping its lifeless little mouth open to the fresh air) and...

Alas only last week my roo had to go. He's normally fine, but (as with last year) a rush of spring hormones (?) meant he started acting up and challenging me. In the past the 'put him under my arm' method has resolved. He's a big lad, I'm only petite and he just caught me with his spur that...