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A friend had an Australorp so severely injured that she required euthanasia. The attacker? Her cuddliest Buff Orpington.

I wish I had, too. Chickens can actually have expressions - not just on their faces, but on their whole bodies. The look on the dominant hen when the pullets would run over the top of her and step on her head was hysterically funny. She'd fluff herself up and try to intimidate them - but if she...

When we first introduced the Dominique pullets to our two remaining adult hens, they quickly developed the nickname of the Clown Unit of the Cirque de Poulet. They are also known as the Keystone Koop. The more dominant of the older ladies felt it was necessary to peck the pullets when they came...

I'm going to try some sustainable Poultry folks who are in Carpinteria. The problem I have is that chick season and when I can arrange to travel long distances just don't coincide. I no longer drive long distances alone because if I am spending the night in outer Jackrabbit Leap and have an...

Call them first. The program run by Davis is free to small flock holders; the other schools may either not offer necropsies or may charge for them since the Food and Agriculture Department in the state funded the program through UC Davis and the Tulare and Turlock laboratories. One of our...

I've had chickens off and on since I was in high school in the late 1960s - early 1970s, and the sad thing is that chickens die. Bird On Hand, the Black Star is special; she is my husband's special pet and is named for her favorite place to be in chick hood - on my husband's hand; as an adult...

At this time of year I start spraying the house with Neem, once a week until the mosquitoes are done. This is the time of year that fowl pox breaks out.

Thanks! Cackle it is for me then. We talked it over around here and concluded we probably aren't going to renew the flock until our Black Star dies of old age - or at least for another year or two. She's had enough changes around here, especially since her best friend was euthanized because of...

Oooooh! Fluffy girl.

Fun with Marek's: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/poultry/neoplasms/mareks_disease_in_poultry.html http://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf...

Actually the original smallpox immunization came from Africa by way of Turkey. It used the actual smallpox virus. Jenner observed the effectiveness of this, and then noted that milkmaids didn't tend to smallpox. He took the cowpox they stated they had had and substituted it for smallpox in his...

I am a member. I've made numerous requests regarding obtaining large fowl. Sigh.

No, it's not most common in commercial situations; it's most prevalent in backyard flocks. The old method of immunizing for Marek's, based on observation, was to place a turkey poult or a lot of turkey feathers in the brooder. Unfortunately, since viruses change over time, this apparently is...

Yeah. There is also a woman who raises very good bantams here in California. I communicated with her, but my husband thinks large fowl make more economic sense - as if we are particularly sensible given the expensive powder-coated aviary in the backyard....

Ouch. I drive past two feed stores to a third just so I can be sure of having chicks immunized for Marek's disease - although it may not protect against all strains, I've noticed that those who don't immunize lose a lot more chickens to it.

Good luck with that. I've been looking for a year; the best I can find is driving several hundred miles to another state.

Hens do love seclusion - and *dark* nesting conditions.