Recent content by SamLockwood

  1. SamLockwood

    How Do You Know When They're Actually Broody?

    My broody hens have the same kinds of behaviors: They tend to make this weird sort of throaty cluck, almost sounds like they're gulping. They'll often pull their belly feathers out to warm the eggs better. They'll lay claim to a nesting box and won't want to leave it. They'll only leave once or...
  2. SamLockwood

    Will two guinea fowl males in a flock kill each other?

    They can get pretty aggressive in the spring time, but it's mostly chasing and feather-pulling rather than serious violence. By summer time they calm down as they pair off with their mates, although I always seem to have two that always end up chasing each other for what seems all day. There's...
  3. SamLockwood

    Rooster incompetent? Bullying?

    If he's under a year old, they take time to learn things even if there's an older rooster around to show them what to do. My youngest cockerel would grab a pullet by the neck, get her to squat, and then start humping the ground. I saw him do that for about six weeks before he figured out he was...
  4. SamLockwood

    Three hens in single digit temps

    Back before I covered my run I had three old hens (one was over a decade old), that would never sleep at night in coops. They even stayed out when we hit single-digits a couple years ago. I rigged some plastic on the one side of the run that was exposed to wind, and that night they got up on...
  5. SamLockwood

    When to put hens back outdoors

    It depends on how well set-up the coop is: if it's dry, free of drafts, and decently ventilated anything above zero is probably OK. We often get temps in the teens or single digits where I am and my birds have zero problems due to the cold beyond the rare bit of very minor comb frost-bite on...
  6. SamLockwood

    Too many eggs! Suggestions?

    There's a wide variety of preparing eggs: pickling, frittatas, custards, sfougato, and so on. Worst comes to worst, find somwhere to donate them to. I give excess eggs away to the needy.
  7. SamLockwood

    Injured rooster

    That's typical pecking-order-dominance injuries. They bleed a lot but as long as you clean him up he should be just fine. About the only thing I use for that is some antibiotic ointment, just don't use the kind with pain relievers as the dosage is too high for chickens & can poison them. If...
  8. SamLockwood

    Aspirin for chickens?

    I've never used it on chickens that had wounds, but I have used it one ones that had leg and foot injuries and it seemed to help them. I like the asprin powder sold at, among other places, Tractor Supply. For a standard size bird, I use a pinch of the powder in some water I keep some supplies...
  9. SamLockwood

    Guineas?

    To answer your questions: Thy should have a coop to sleep in at night time, otherwise they're vulnerable to nocturnal predators. Guineas are vulnerable to the same kind of predators that other poultry are. The main difference is that in a large enough group they will become rather aggressive...
  10. SamLockwood

    Rooster vibes are changing everything

    He seems pretty well behaved to me. As far as the keep them inside thing goes, one thing to keep in mond is one of the rooster's jobs is flock organizer. He will try to keep all his hens in view at all times so he can keep them safe. Either your cockerel is just being insecure, or he's noticing...
  11. SamLockwood

    Injured hen hawk attack

    If they're in a lot of pain they won't eat and they'll drink very little. You can give them aspirin for the pain, either crush up a tablet let or get some aspirin powder from somewhere like Tractor Supply. Mix.it on with her water. I think the dosage is a maximum of 150 milligrams for a full...
  12. SamLockwood

    Everyone's a critic now.

    I haven't found that simply changes outfits has any effect on the chickens. The guineas get confused if I wear anything that changes my silhouette: like a backpack or a hat. They all do get freaked out by certain colors and patterns. In particular mine get freaked out by anything bright orange...
  13. SamLockwood

    Moving keets outside

    At four weeks if you have an outdoor enclosure that keeps them dry and out of the wind they should be fine. I even had a few escape into the woods one night where we had a thunderstorm and two out of the three showed back up the next morning not looking too much the worse for wear. As far as...
  14. SamLockwood

    Real world experiences with rooster to hen ratios 18 to 2?

    It depends on a variety of factors: breed, space, free ranging versus keeping them cooped up, etc. I've had three roosters for 20 hens for several years without any major problems, but they also free range daily and I've got more than one coop.
  15. SamLockwood

    Do most/all layers, who are allowed to free range, eventually relapse to egg-hiding?

    In my experience, generally no. If I introduce new pullets they'll sometimes pick weird places to lay but they eventually figure out to use the nesting boxes.
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