We have added to our flock over the years, some adopted from neighbors who decided chickens weren't for them, so we are assuming not all our birds were vaccinated against Marek's as chicks. We purchased seven 1-day old chicks from Meyer's and had them vaccinated against Marek's. They are 4...
She is one of 24 that we received this Wednesday morning from Meyer Hatchery. Their hatch date was 3/18, but several of the chicks already had some wing feathers coming in (including her) so we suspect she is between 1 and 2 weeks old. They were all vaccinated for Marek's.
She was acting mostly...
We received 24 chicks this Wednesday morning from Meyers, hatch date 3/18, although some already had wing feathers so we're guessing they're a few days older. They are in a fresh brooder inside a climate controlled building and given fresh water daily. We are feeding medicated starter.
All were...
Amazingly she made it through the night. She's very weak and stands up constantly and stays under the heat lamp. She is passing alternates of mucus and white poo. She occasionally takes a single drink of water. I've tried both a nutrient/electrolyte water and warm egg yolk, but she doesn't seem...
thanks for all the support. She appears to be better today, able to take a few steps on the injured leg. Going to keep her in the kennel a while, until I can be assured that she won't get re-injured back with the flock.
her belly is very soft and mushy (I can't feel any egg), not sure how to tell if there's bloating or fluid). Not sure when she last laid, she's at least five years old, so she may be past laying age (I don't cull).
One of our hens (5 years old) has an injury of some type, may have happened jumping down off the roost or mounted by our large rooster. She seems to be able to stand upright on both legs, but she isn't able to maneuver her right leg, she just pushes it in front of her and hops on the other leg...
One of our hens (5 years old) has an injury of some type, may have happened jumping down off the roost or mounted by our large rooster. She seems to be able to stand upright on both legs, but she isn't able to maneuver her right leg, she just pushes it in front of her and hops on the other leg...
well, BB and the bantam have been with the flock for 3 years without more than the normal pecking order scuffles. And GG was born and raised within the flock and didn't become a problem until his dad took a medical leave for a couple of months. As I said, we don't eat our birds, they are all...
thanks for your reply. Yes, we have considered dividing the flock, but that means building a new predator-proof coop and run, which would take several weeks, and then still risking issues when we allow them to free range.
We started our flock 12 years ago, with 27 one day old chicks (McMurray), turned out 7 were roosters. They are all gone now, except one hen (yes, we have a 12-year old hen still in great health). We have replaced hens over the years and currently have 22. We adopted a bantam rooster (from a...
we soaked it a few times in warm epsom salt water and attempted to remove the scaby surface, but we did not find pink raw tissue, but instead, the tissue below the scab (as you can see in the photos) looked like yellow string cheese. I assume that you mean this must also be removed and, beyond...
we returned from holiday travels Monday afternoon to find our rooster with what appears to be bumblefoot in both feet. We soaked both feet in epsom salt for 30 minutes and was able to get the scab off his left foot, but the right foot appeared to have a thick scab through a puncture in the skin...
wondering what you think might be "going on" that we could catch on camera. Their coop and run is 40' from my bedroom window. If anything were going on, I'd know it when it happens. I hear them laying, haven't heard that sound in a long while now.
again, we're not new, our coop is well ventilated with large windows and vents, built on the edge of a hill facing prevailing breeze. Our flock has been laying consistently for 10+ years until now. Feed non-GMO, non-soy layer pellets, and, with this many birds, it always stays fresh as we buy...
our hens have a very large, predator-proof run (never breached in 10+ years). We are certain that nothing is eating the eggs (really, what would eat that many eggs every day for four+ weeks?), they just aren't laying any.
yes, we've experienced aging and molting breaks in our flock over the last 10+ years, but never the entire flock taking an extended sabbatical, without one single egg in 4 weeks. Especially when we have 6 pullets that have just entered peak production age (6-9 mo). And we have 6 more ages 2-4...