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My poor little cockatiel, Gimel, has a big lump just behind his left leg, about the size of a grape. The vet says it's a lipoma, a fatty tumor, caused by poor diet (too much seed, not enough pellets). She advised changing his diet and dabbing it with DMSO. The DMSO did nothing to affect the...

Today I was given a peachick that someone found. It's acting lively but it feels light to me. It came with game bird starter but the chick didn't seem very interested in eating it. I've added a splash of ACV in the water and scrambled an egg for the chick to eat. It was most interested in eating...

There's always something new to discover when you keep poultry...today my tom turkey, Wilson, has gone broody! Yeah, that was my reaction too when my boys came in from doing the chicken chores chuckling and shaking their heads. Some chicken hens have been laying eggs in the big wooden dog...

This is only the 2nd time I've used an electric incubator to hatch chicken eggs, I'd appreciate your advice & support. I've borrowed a Hovabator 1602N from a friend who included a digital thermometer and a humidity gauge. It also has an egg turner. There is a little fan under the lid but it...

A new entry for my "Now I've Seen Everything" file: some animal(s) got into all 3 tanks of feeder mice I raise in my pole barn and killed them ALL! What would do this? There were 3 aquariums set side-by-side with mesh covers on them. It was not necessary to latch the covers down because they...

We have a white mixed-breed bantam with very feathery feet who is, appropriately, named "Swiffer". He has a great temperament, a real gentleman with the hens, docile & easy for his humans to handle, doesn't usually cause a fuss with the other roosters. He was living happily in one of the...

I wonder if anyone else has observed this with their flocks. We live in South Fla and the mosquitoes are already active. There are several groups of chickens in my yard, some layers over a year old and three different groups of home-hatched chicks. One group is from my own hens' eggs, one is...

My turkey hen just hatched out 11 lovely little poults. What is the best feed for them? Chick starter? Flock Raiser? Game Bird starter? Please let me know what you use. I am going to the feed store tomorrow to get them a bag of something.

I have a wonderful young male Cockatiel named Gimel, hatched last July, got him last November. He is very personable and friendly with us. Should we get a second cockatiel to keep with him? Would it make him happier? Would it make him less interested in being with us? If we got one...

I just finished my first ever batch of incubated eggs. I set 40 eggs, 28 have hatched. But 4 of them had "navels" that didn't close completely, and had bloody loops of intestines hanging out. (I don't know what you call that part that attaches their abdomen to the yolk) A fifth one has just...

We've only had our cockatiel, Gimel, for a couple of months but he's gotten very friendly towards us in this short time. I'll often have him sit on my shoulder while I'm working at the computer (as he is right now!) It seems that he scratches himself frequently. He'll lift one foot and...

I am curious about what the policies are at other Fairs. In past years our local fair has allowed exhibitors to sell their birds to any fairgoer. The chicken owner negotiated their own terms with their buyers, handled all exchange of money. The chickens need to be kept on exhibit for the full...

It seems that each group of chickens will have their own unique traits, preferences & habits. This latest batch of chicks has gotten into a bad habit of feather picking/eating, and I'd like suggestions as to how to get them to stop. This is a group of about 30 chicks, mostly all pullets...

Whoever said "money can't buy happiness" never ordered ducklings from a hatchery. My post office called at 6:30am to say they'd arrived. There are 9 crested whites and 1 f&w runner. They are natural anti-depressants! But one of the crested ducklings acts like it is drunk, it has difficulty...

Please excuse me if this topic has already been discussed at length. We're new to turkeys and want to know. I recently was given a lovely young Blue Slate tom (we named Squidward) and 2 eggs that a bantam hen hatched 6 weeks ago. We're hoping that at least one of the poults is a hen for...

Tonight my son's wish came true, he was given a young blue slate tom turkey to keep as a pet. It is a young adult bird. What is the best way to make friends with him? What are good & healthy treats he could have?

This evening we acquired a young Blue Slate tom turkey. His snood is still short, about 2 inches long. It is swollen at the base, where it attaches to his beak. Otherwise he is looking & acting fine. The lady who gave him to us said that this just happened today, she supposed it was due to...

Three years ago I started this thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/181289/how-to-break-a-broody-hen to discuss methods to "break" a broody hen. Since then, I have encountered some hens that I think should not be broken, at least, not every time. Chickens have been domesticated for over...

For manymanymany years, from my teens until now, I've eaten the "natural" type of peanut butter like this http://www.smuckersnaturalpeanutbutter.com/product?gclid=CI2Y-7WNuLACFQOFnQodwQsJ6w Its ingredients are just peanuts & salt, and requires stirring to re-incorporate the oil into the PB the...

Many of you receive and/or ship eggs on a regular basis. I only occasionally ship eggs, so I would like to know, do your shipped eggs usually arrive in good condition? Do the boxes seem as if they were handled with care? I'm asking because I recently shipped 4 goose eggs across a few states...