I've had similar experiences, but no dead predator. It's hard to imagine loving and respecting a bird as much as we do, but that's what roosters do: take pride in caring for their flock.
It's been a while, but I thought I'd update you. We asked some folks that know more than we do about her and they said that it sounded like a bacterial infection (she had black droppings, which seemed to be the giveaway). We attempted to treat her, but started too late I think. We lost her about...
She hasn't been wormed recently. Upon physical inspection, she seems normal. I'm giving her electrolyte water and soft food and keeping her separate in our "sick chicken box".
Thanks for the suggestions, i'll update you as teh situation progresses.
My maran is about 2 years old. Yesterday I noticed she had her beak open and wasn't interested in anything except sitting there. She ate a tiny bit yesterday morning and last night she roosted up high in the coop like normal, but wouldn't come out of the coop with the others this morning...she...
I have just merged my flocks! First time for me. It has been a little over two full days for them.
My run is enclosed and connected to the fairly large (for the 9 birds residing in it) coop. I waited until the newbies (Ameraucanas) were pretty substantial in size. Definitely not full grown...
Thank you!
I have two anconas who have gone broody once before (I kicked them out of the coop/run during the day and they layed after a couple of days). This time they are too determined for that trick to work. Sounds like the rabbit cage is the next step.
Oh, the things we do for our flocks!
As hens keep laying, their eggs can get a little bigger. My hens all started laying pretty small eggs and now lay pretty regular sized eggs. No JUMBO size (unless they are double yolked), but who needs 'em?
I am getting a lot of double yolkers from my Freedom Ranger. After reading that it isn't so great for her, I think I'm going to separate her while the food is out so I can more closely monitor/control her food intake. I think she just likes eating, and I don'e blame her. Almost all of us people...
The (first) Perfect Storm--All five of my hens laid on the same day!
Three white eggs are from my three Ancona (all named Penny because it's tough to tell them apart)
Pale brown is from my Freedom Ranger (shown, named Fanny)
Deep, rich brown egg is from the Maran (Countess Chocula)...GORGEOUS!
My maran, Countess Chocula, JUST laid her first egg. It is small (like my other breeds' first eggs) and spotted! She is about 25 weeks old. It all began six months ago, and I am very much enjoying being a chicken lady!
I am a first time chicken raiser, but friends got us into raising Freedom Rangers for meat. We got 12 birds (plus 4 other laying hens) and butchered all but one of the roosters (which I kept due to his beautiful tri color plumage) at around 14 weeks and got 5 4-5 pound birds. We lost one of the...
I have 6 birds (1 rooster and 5 hens) of 3 breeds and am finding out that not only am I a crazy dog owner, but also a crazy chicken lady, too!
I love my tri-colored freedom ranger rooster, Plop, and am glad we kept him as a pet, although, we've had to separate him from the flock due to his...