I found this curled up in an off-color (orangish) poo, outside on the ground. Flock is on mash in the morning and pasture range all day with donkeys and a goat. Everyone seems to be eating and acting normally.
Many thanks for your opinions and suggestions.
Our 12x14x14 nest boxes were built for a mixed flock of RIR, Rocks, Sussex and Crevecoeur. Recently we adopted a Austrolorp/Araucana (I believe) mix who has just yesterday laid her first egg. For the blessed event she chose the middle of the coop floor, within sight of but not in one of the...
:hitIt’s with a heavy heart that I offer up either of my boys - a white Cochin, Little John
Or a splendid Dominique, Aegis:
Raised together since their arrival as day old chicks, they have coexisted amicably until about two weeks ago when, I’m thinking, at a year old their hormones kicked in...
Happy Halloween!
A full moon, that’s also a blue moon, how cool is that?!? Halloween gets a full moon about once every two decades (every19 years to be exact) but also a blue moon?
Whole lotta shakin goin on these days - be safe, be smart, be kind, be in awe!
One Swedish Flower rooster and three double laced Barnevelder roosters, about 26 weeks. Currently running with small mixed flock, free ranging, crowing. Not lap birds, but do come quickly for food :D
For full story, see thread “My neighbors’s wife left him (and the chickens)”.
Just curious. When I look it up I find it’s an Australian term for a hen. Is there more to it? Does it apply to roosters, too, or would that be a chook and a roo? It’s a sweet sounding word, like a term of endearment.
My favorite chook and her roo, Sparky and Littlejohn.
He‘s working hard to make the best of a difficult situation, rebuilding the coop and trying to understand what all he has...
I‘m afraid there are way more Roos than he needs and they’re all magnificent. In some cases the sex is obvious, but others are not so (to me). We’re hoping for some...
The other night when I went to tuck in the birds this was under their ramp :
Copperheads are common here, but this was the first time I’ve found one actually inside the barn (the coop is in the barn).
My question is whether or not the snake was here because it was specifically interested in...
This morning when I checked on the flock, everyone was already out of the coop except for one of the Partridge Rocks, who was settled in a nesting box. I was there to scrape roosts and stir bedding, but I thought under the circumstances I should leave, so I said,"Pardon me", and quietly backed...
We have RIR, partridge rocks, a Sussex and two Crevecoeurs, all just starting to lay. Are the two lighter, smaller eggs from the Crevecoeurs?
Vents would indicate yes; am trying to determine who’s whose.
When I went to check my neighbors’ flock this morning I found the three ducklings had been killed in the night. Their little bodies are intact, just headless.
This is the same flock that’s lost two chickens and another duckling over the past week, probably to a dog. I believe the culprit...
My young homesteading neighbors announced they were going on a week-long road trip. The plan for their free-ranging flock of 15 five month old chickens and 4 half grown ducks was to “put out lots of food and let them fend for themselves”. They accepted my offer to check on the birds and...
I just spent an unbelievable amount of time going through a plethora of very helpful posts on training new layers to nest boxes, something that turns out to be a pretty common issue. I’d appreciate some opinions on something I’m trying.
This past week some of our girls presented us with...
I should have known sooner but honestly, these combs popped out overnight! That said, I think in my gut I’ve suspected for a while, just from behavior and growth, but one little guy confirmed for me this morning with a full blown cock-a-doodle-dooooo-
Two of our three Speckled Sussex she’s...
Initially I thought leaving the interior walls unpainted was best but have since read that sealing the walls helps deter mites and, if mites were to become an issue, they would be more visible on a painted wall.
This is a serious question. Are some colors better than others for coop...
We moved our little mixed flock (now almost 9 weeks old) into the coop/run about two weeks ago. The pop door into the coop is inside the barn, but the solar sensor that triggers operatoon is outside so the door opens and closes about when you’d expect it to.
There’s been a bit of a learning...
I’m hoping someone can offer experienced guidance for introducing our two indoor/outdoor cats to our 7 week old chicks.
These cats are loving pets and great mousers and earn their keep many times over, but left to their own devices they can be good (bad) birders, as well. We’re fortunate to...