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Although the American Buff girls are usually quiet until it's light outside, I heard one of them chatting loudly when I took out the dogs. About two hours later, I took in Gussie and Golly's feed and opened their coop door. Golly, who is NEVER one to pass up a meal, hightailed it out of the run...

Marietta, my Blue-Laced Red Wyandotte, was dead in the coop yesterday morning. I am sad, but not surprised, because she was clearly slowing down recently. She was fully grown when she came to live with me almost six years ago. A family that was friends with friends of mine was selling off its...

Honey, a Buff Orpington and the last surviving member of my original flock, was dead in her coop this morning. She had been slowing down for some time, appeared okay Tuesday but was extremely lethargic Wednesday and refused any feed or treats. She didn't get out of the coop when I opened it...

Came home to find a dead rooster pheasant in my yard. At first, I thought it was probably killed by a mink because I couldn't see the head. When I picked up the bird, I realized it was just lying on top of its head, with its neck bent. There was a big chunk out of the pheasant's side and a...

One of my runner hens, Drew, has been disappearing as soon as I release the ducks from their shelter in the morning. I was pretty sure she was sitting on eggs somewhere. But by the time I got everyone fed, she would be out of sight all day, and I couldn't find the nest until today. As I was...

Yesterday, my red frizzle Cochin Bantam was out with the big hens, wrestling chilled grapes away from them and scooting away with her bounty. Today, she was lethargic and wouldn't eat even a single grape. I made the first possible appointment with the avian vet, but Gabby died a half hour before...

As I looked out the window, I thought I saw one of my runners carrying an egg in her bill and then dunk that egg in the baby pool. I dashed out, and sure enough, it HAD been an egg. But it was just the emptied and very clean shell that remained. The runners like to hide their eggs in...

I have a hen who has been living indoors since suffering severe frostbite and dehydration last winter. I have been raising some chicks to live with her when she moves outdoors since her former coop mates attack her and she can't fight back with partial feet and nearly no toes. She and the...

Sir Henry was a magnificent Iowa Blue rooster who came here as part of a breeding trio more than seven years ago. He and the two hens, Lady Emma and Lady Louise, were mature birds then, so I don't know how old he really was. But he was the last of the original three. Yesterday morning, when I...

In December, my Midnight Majesty Marans, Eleanor, experienced extreme frostbite on both feet. Despite multiple vet visits, she lost more than half of her toes and is left with feet that look like clubs. She has been living in a dog crate indoors ever since Christmas. At first, she wouldn't...

Billy Boy, my jerky Blue Cochin Bantam rooster, is good with his hens but has a nasty habit of launching sneak attacks on me. As I was walking down the driveway a few days ago, I became aware of a tiny presence racing up behind me. I turned and tossed an empty plastic water jug in its...

Sally, a Barred Cochin Bantam, was lying dead in the coop doorway this morning. I have no idea what happened, but it's bitterly cold here again today, and sometimes, that seems to be all it takes. Yesterday, she was sitting outside the coop, soaking up the sun. Sally came to live here five...

I am sure my American Buff, Gussie, is livid and is determined to show me such. The geese will only lay in their shelter if they have no other nesting choice. Like when I'm too slow getting out to do chores. But I released them on time today, and Gussie rushed out to nest in her favorite spot...

Does anyone have any experience with this technique? A friend showed me on online article that says applying butter to the shells of warm, freshly laid eggs -- which it says is an ancient Irish method -- helps solidify the shell, protects the inside stuff and imparts a bit of buttery flavor...

On Christmas evening, I realized that my Midnight Majesty Marans was suffering from severe frostbite. Eleanor, who had molted very late (and extremely hard) was acting "off" and refusing to roost with the other hens in her coop, which I attributed to her molt. When I picked her up, I was...

Only one of my two Katahdin ewes was waiting at the fence line for me when I went out to do chores this morning. I knew what I would find in the shed when I didn't hear her call. Betsy, who ate hay last night and got head rubs yesterday, was lying dead inside the building. At least, she died...

It's been snowing since before dawn. Still, it's not terribly cold, so I bundled up and scooped all the nasty straw and poopy mess out of the runner ducks' shelter as soon as I let them out. Snow is now coming down horizontally and piling up. I looked out, expecting to see the runners all...

Yesterday, Cordelia, one of my Buckeye hens, was euthanized. She and her sisters, known as the "ABC girls" (Aletha, Beatrix and Cordelia), came to live with me 3 and 1/2 years ago. when they were just days old, a gorgeous mahogany trio. I had to deworm after one of the girls' fecal was...

Golly finished up her 10-day run of Baytril two days ago, and she was walking fine. This morning, she is limping again and holding up her foot when she's standing still. The foot feels warm, and is now dark on the bottom, but still squishy, no hardness at all. I am going to call the vet clinic...

My runner ducks eat out of an old frying pan, which I had just filled this morning before I went off to feed sheep and goats. When I returned minutes later, one of the runners had laid her egg in the pan. Clearly, she doesn't understand the finer points of preparation, but she knows I eat duck...