Recent content by DonyaQuick

  1. DonyaQuick

    Skipped molts - trying to figure out why

    Well, these two hens are not out of the woods yet. Metabolic issues continue and I may yet lose both of them to it if I can't get it in check, since it's really bad this time. The past couple weeks, one gained weight rapidly above her normal range and the other is headed towards being emaciated...
  2. DonyaQuick

    Main rooster letting his son mate all his hens

    I have one rooster like this; he runs his flock with his brother. He is absolutely in charge, there's no doubt about it with all the other interactions, although the two will happily sit together and preen each other. The alpha roo just has little/no reaction to seeing another rooster mating...
  3. DonyaQuick

    Crowing Rooster ..all night long

    Pitch black darkness shouldn't be necessary for birds to roost and be quiet. One of my coops sometimes gets very bright moonlight and there is no issue. I also have had house roosters for extended periods of time for various reasons and they always get a night light in their room so that they...
  4. DonyaQuick

    Those Almost-Good Photos...

    This one pullet of mine seems to attract weird background stuff that I don't notice until much later...this is the same girl as in my first photo in this thread, just quite a bit older now. I have thought for a week that there were surely two cochins doing some weird head-merging thing in the...
  5. DonyaQuick

    My rooster is eye pinning when i say his name

    It's not that easy to see with a lot of chickens unless they're right up in your face with the eye pointed right at you. Darker iris colors also make it very hard to spot eye pinning even with the chicken in your face.
  6. DonyaQuick

    My rooster is eye pinning when i say his name

    Personally I wouldn't use parrots as a model for chickens in much of any behaviors. Eye pinning in parrots can be very specific to the individual bird. For example, my parents had multiple parrots and there was one where it was only ever a warning and the only warning you'd get before he bit...
  7. DonyaQuick

    Official BYC Poll: How Many Chickens Do You Have?

    My original goal was to keep a single, small flock of 4-6 chickens. So naturally, a few years later, I currently have 4 flocks and 35 chickens total. But apparently this number is “about 20” when my husband was recently asked how many we had. 🤣
  8. DonyaQuick

    Jason's being a goblin

    Where is your hand when he bites? Does he just nip and release or bite and hold? When the hormones start to hit, certain hand approaches and approaching too fast can trigger the same bite-and-grab as a submitting hen's comb. Be cautious about moving hands too quickly around the area directly in...
  9. DonyaQuick

    Need some ideas/suggestions!

    This may be stupid of me, but just to check on the dash...you mean positive 20F, above zero right? 20F without a heater and mostly birds should be fine. But -20F below zero with 40mph winds is a whole 'nother beast even for birds with good thick feather coats.
  10. DonyaQuick

    Cat territory question

    Indeed, from the various replies here I'm crossing it off my list of possibilities. This is not something I'm willing to do with the current population. I already got sent on a visit to the hospital due to a recent encounter with one to be checked out for disease risk; it's just fortunate I was...
  11. DonyaQuick

    Cat territory question

    Ah...yes the personality thing could definitely be a problem. My best point of comparison there would be my roosters I guess...I have one roo who is a great master flock manager and defender. He's also a pain in the behind quite often LOL. Useful but kind of like "oh no not you" when I'm not...
  12. DonyaQuick

    Cat territory question

    Are there common diseases for cats that can't be vaccinated against or protected against with a monthly pill type thing? I know I keep comparing to my dog, but between vaccines and monthly prevenatives I think she's basically protected against anything a wild canid or other feral dog could...
  13. DonyaQuick

    Cat territory question

    I don't have any problem with rats, and only minimal issue with mice at this point (it was bad when I first moved to the property but I've progressively cleaned it up). That's why I've never really thought about a cat before; there's not really any traditional mouser niche for one. If I had a...
  14. DonyaQuick

    Cat territory question

    I don't typically deal with multiple cats all at once. I'm just far enough away from the place where the feral cats are being produced that I just one at a time trying to edge in most of the time. I suppose it's whoever is lowest on the ladder at the time gets kicked out towards my property...
  15. DonyaQuick

    Cat territory question

    Does keep a cat on one's property (like a fixed barn cat) help to keep away wandering ferals that are looking for new territory? Or would that completely backfire and just draw more in? I have no experience keeping cats and am finding a lot of conflicting and fuzzy info on whether cats attract...
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