Recent content by chicksandchickens

I have t very same situation. Had a broody hen, nothing hatched, 2nd day of breaking broodiness. She is hardly eating and constantly scraping her beak on the hard stones or paving. I also wonder if it is frustration. She is clearly out of herself. Or falling sick? She has a red mite infestation...

Thank you for your prompt responses. I think you have swung me to keep her. Well, who knows... maybe you are right and they will start developing some kind of resistance to the disease :-)

I have a great dilemma. I have just had to put down a 2 year old hen due to very poor health (paralysed wing, dropped tail, refusal to eat, preferring to just sit complaining silently of pain). I am new to chicken keeping (I have had them just for 2-3 years), but I have seen so many of my...

Hello, I would like to increase my flock of heritage chickens. So far I have had Speckled Sussex and Orpingtons, but recently I have been able to get hold of Light Sussex that have proved to be really good in egg laying. I am however quite puzzled when reading about them as in some sources they...

The video seems to large to attach. Anyway, there are more observations. I am getting pretty sure it is her tummy. whether she has developed some infection (all eggs in this batch were quite soiled) or has been born with some underdeveloped digestive tract. She is having (very occasionally) a...

Here is the video of the chick taken half hour ago. He seems to be growing weaker and does not come out of brooder anymore. When in hand, he can get sloppy and sleep in hand on his side. He feels different, weak and perhaps dehydrated to touch. We use Brinsea EcoGlow brooder hot plate. He seem...

Hello, does anyone know what could be going on? Our 3 days old baby chick is looking greasy and refuses to feed or drink looking a bit sad and lost. I think he came out of the incubator looking a bit greasy, but I was wondering if he is actually getting greasier by day. We have suspected that...

We haven't cut of the yolk sack and I think we should have.. in fact I think we should have played in between (letting it partially get absorbed). As he was still attached to yolk sack, he must have pulled his intestines out by his leg as it might have got entangled. The story has a sad ending...

Hello, could anyone please help. We have had a chick prematurely hatched overnight. His yolk sack has been out so I have let him in the incubator to absorb it, which it has, but also it did stuck to the bottom of the chick and his intestines. It is quite possible that he might have pulled some...

Many thanks for all the responses! There seem to be a great prevalence of voices against keeping the ducks and chickens sharing their run, so I guess I will have to leave my perhaps a bit utopic idea of the two species co-living together. However, I am kind of hoping that our current run is...

That's great you have managed to sort his behaviour. Our results seem fluctuating. I think we lack being consistent though.

Hello, I would very much appreciate an advice on selecting the right chicken breed for us. We really would like them to be friendly and docile (as we hope for them to become our pets too and children would like to actively participate in looking after them). They should be able to get along with...

Hello, I was wondering if anyone could help. We are new to duck keeping and although we have tried to read and learn a lot prior to having ducks, it seems it wasn’t enough. I would have never dreamed the duck imprinting could become such a problem! We have hatched 5 runner ducklings in early May...

Thanks for the prompt response, DuckyDonna. Should I be worried about potential choking though as I often find them having eaten their straw during the night. With them having access to water made me more comfortable about washing down whether they would try to eat.

Thank you, Aart. I have added my location :) We have built our fence now. 2.1m tall with additional climb-proof outwards 0.5m overhang and 0.5m outwards skirting covered with turf. The holes are 50x75mm, heavy gauge. The ducklings now live locked in the coop within the fenced run, but we would...