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Such a crazy spring with the broodys! One of my little "cookies and cream" hens has been broody twice already this season and it was less than a month apart. One of my sweetest girls who has never been broody decided to give it a try. Luckily she was easier to break. Here is the one that has...

Hi All - Usually when one of my hens is broody I get the "cluck-cluck-cluck" and the screech with the fluffed out wings etc....the whole broody ball-o-wax. One of my hens is NOT acting broody in terms of behavior, but she has been nesting on and off for 2.5 days including two overnights. I...

Hi All - my sweet Cookies n Cream (named Cookie - creative, I know...) tore off a toenail. We brought her inside, cleaned the wound, put antiseptic on it and put her in a hospital crate for the night. Problem is, there is blood all over the perches. What is the best method to clean blood off...

Hi All! Our dust bath consists of dirt and I have added "dust bath" (wood ash/DE product) here and there but even without that added in, our dust baths seem TOO dusty! We have an area of our coop that is 4x4 beams filled up with loose dirt so that they have a nice plush place to bathe separate...

Hi All - I am having a tougher time than usual breaking my broody hen. Usually the cool water bath does the trick but with temps in the 40s I won't do that. So....for the first time, I have to try the wire-bottom cage. Here is my question. How is that not cruel - doesn't it hurt their feet...

Here's a weird one.....we have a cream legbar who has always had a head twitch. We have had her now for two years and she has had it ever since she was young. She is perfectly healthy, lays daily, great coloring in her comb so she is not sick but it almost seems like she has a "tick" or like...

Hi All This is my second accidental rooster. My first one was really rough on the hens and constantly. It was obvious that I had to get rid of him and luckily I have a farm not to far away who will take them. This latest one is now 4+ months old and has been jumping on the hens to mate for a...

Is it normal for the bedtime pecking-order routine to be SO violent? I have a few who are really mean - one in particular - at bedtime and goes out of her way to try to peck others passing underneath or looking for a place to perch, I have also added 4 to my flock (in July as babies) so they...

Hello - well it did turn out that Wednesday, our fibro easter egger, is a he, not a she. I still have PTSD from our last and only other rooster who was an Easter Egger (from what I read docile) - He was not aggressive towards humans but was REAALLY bad with the hens. He would stand outside the...

We got four baby chicks on July 5 and they were all supposedly females. One of them is much bigger than the rest, and the feather pattern looks different than any of the hens that I’ve ever had. I can’t really tell if the comb is three bridges or one, but can anybody gets from these photos? They...

We have four pullets (? 12 weeks old) that we raised with a brooder outside in our run. they have been outside their whole lives pretty much, they no longer use the Brooder, but they still refuse to perch inside the coop. I keep moving them in every night. And then, every night they go up onto...

Hey all - I switched over from chick/layer feed to all flock (flock raiser) for my flock that has 7 week old chicks mixed with adults. I put out oyster shells for my grown up hens and the chicks love it! They want to chow down on it! I think it is deadly for them to have too much calcium and...

My husband and I are having a debate about how much and where ventilation is best all year round, I once saw a great diagram of draft vs. airflow but I can't find it. The diagrams I can find are either SUPER complex and confusing or too simplified. I tried searching articles but I can't find...

Hi Everyone. Thanks to the guidance of BYC friends, I learned to could incorporate my very young babies into the flock as long as they had panic doors and hiding spaces. It worked out really well and they are like the girls in Jr. Highschool hanging out with the Seniors LOL. I have a question...

Just wanted to thank those who told me about the concept of a panic door for introducing my babies to the old ladies from their "see but don't touch" brooder. The Panic Door! Brilliant! Added a couple of little tables 4" high also as escape spots but it went very well. Only one peck and it...

Hello someone gave me advice that if I make panic doors in the outdoor brooder I have in my big girl's run, that I can let them explore the big girls' space. Do they really know how to find their way back in to those tine 3 inch panic doors? I will also put a bunch of hiding props around but...

Hi all - first time raising chicks from day old. Since it is a hot summer I put the brooder outside in the run. The ladies are now about a month old. Two questions 1) Since my older gals have been alongside the babies from day one, how long until I can introduce them. I am not sure if the...

Hi all. I know this probably qualifies more under eggs/incubation , but do to the fact that it’s so urgent I figured I would post it here. We bought some chicks to put under our broody hen. From everything I read, you should set up a space for the mother and her babies. We have a beautiful...

We are thinking about putting some day old chicks under our broody hen. She is SUCH a broody girl, unlike other hens I have broken, she really is tremendously difficult to break and she goes broody often. If she gets to raise some babies will she still keep going broody?

You make S'mores! Never thought I would have 4 chickens sleeping next to my printer!