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Unfortunately, one of my hens was killed the other day and all that was visible was a pile of feathers. No body parts or even signs of blood. In the week before this happened there has been a huge hawk hanging around the yard and circling low about 2-3 times a day. So while the hens were out...

My head hen and I are buds as in, she follows me all over when I'm outside and wants to stay near me. I have always greeted her with a soft "cluck cluck cluck" verbalization. I've noticed for quite awhile that it's almost as if she is copying my greeting. She always does a repetitive soft...

I left out of town last week and before I left I noticed two of my hens had been on the nests for a couple days but since I was leaving, no time to deal with it. I got back a couple days ago and they were still on the nests so for two days and nights I have been locking them out of the coop...

I've had my flock for a year now and other than one hen mysteriously going missing, I've had no known issues with predators going after my flock while they are foraging. Until now... A few days ago the flock was out and they were just off the back patio and my DH was sitting out there reading...

So I went out to tend my flock and I saw one of my Ameracauna's in a nest box...ok so no big deal. But as I was scraping poop trays, she jumped out of the box and laid on the floor next to me. Clearly in distress so I picked her up (no fight) and brought her inside. She's currently in a dog...

I was just reading the following article on here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-to-raise-mealworms.48416/ Sounds easy enough but the question I didn't see answered is...do they stink? If I have them in the house in a mesh covered aquarium, is there a bad smell eventually?

I see posts on here all the time asking if people should give their chickens treats and what kind of treats they can give them. There is tons of information on here on this subject so I'm not trying to debate if you should give them treats or what to give them. I want to discuss the human...

I have a Dixie Rainbow (hybrid) that is shown in my avatar that went broody about 2 1/2 weeks ago. she is almost 9 months old. I know she is getting off the nest in the mornings because each afternoon when I tend to the flock, she is in a different nest box. Question 1: Is this normal...

This will be my first winter with my flock and I have chosen not to provide supplemental lighting to keep egg production up. The reduced daylight has lowered their production which is completely expected but I have a few hens that haven't laid an egg in 3 1/2 weeks already. All my hens are 8...

I have had my flock for 8 months now and the other day a friend sent me the following post from Lisa Steele's site: http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2015/01/why-should-eggs-be-stored-pointy-end.html I had never heard this before! I have always stored mine pointy side up since that's how they are...

I discovered yesterday morning that one of my Blue Andalusians was missing. I immediately thought maybe she hadn't made it back to the coop the night before but it was rather dark when I closed the run gate the previous night so that didn't really make sense to me. Also, I've had that happen...

It's been a very hot, dry summer here in the NW and for the last couple weeks, termites have been taking flight in the early evening and my chooks are loving every minute of it! They have taken to staying out longer than usual in the evening just to partake in the termite fest. It's like a...

I consistently let my flock out to range at around 3pm and they obviously are expecting it because they squawk and push against the run gate like there is a fire behind them when it's time to let them out. They excitedly rush out, initially, to the same spot in the yard every time before they...

Yesterday, 3 of my hens, at different times throughout the day, came up to me and squatted at my feet, tail up and just sat there...so I petted their backs and then they just got up and walked off. They are about 6 month old and all laying at this point. I have reached out and petted them on...

I'm sure my flock of 20 hens do not have any worm issues going on at the moment but after a lot of reading, I decided prevention is the best medicine. About every 3-4 days, I make a mash using oatmeal as the base and then I add the following in combinations depending on what I have on hand: 1...

I feel very fortunate that up to this point all my chickens have been healthy and happy with no early losses. I put a lot of time and effort into my flock to keep them that way but.... Last night, as they were heading back into the chicken to run to enter the coop, one of my Ameracauna's was...

I have a hen that started laying about 3 weeks ago and she is full of drama when it's time to get the egg out. She spends a couple hours walking and squawking in front of the nest boxes before she decides to sit in one of them. Even then, she's squawking the whole time until the egg passes...

I have a young flock of 21 chickens. I let them free range every afternoon as long as someone is around to keep an eye on them. We have over 5 acres for them to range on but early on, they insisted on hanging out under our very large covered patio regardless of the weather. Often, regardless...

I have 20 hens and 1 rooster. All my chickens are almost 4 to 4 1/2 months old and only one hen has recently started laying. I've been looking around on here but not quite found an answer for my question which is, can I feed flock raiser or any other starter/grower long term and just offer...

This happened yesterday afternoon. A wild, young deer, came into the yard and the chickens were out free ranging. Some of the chickens were immediately curious about this visitor so they went walking up to it. The deer was curious too but not alarmed. They were all looking at each other and...