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All of my broodies took their chicks up to roost at around 8 weeks without any interference from me. But sometimes they will still cover the chicks with a wing while roosting and the chicks all try to get the spot right next to mom. Lately there's only been two or three chicks in a brood so it's...

Nice to see the coop with a few more chickens. The youngsters looks so grown up.

Mix 1/2 teaspoon of Blackstrap (dark) molasses with 1/4 cup warm water and a dash of ginger. Carefully syringe it to her. Gently massage the crop and then abdomen. This was very helpful for Butchie when she got backed up and helped her to have many more energized days (before her final...

Wow. Thorough research and experimentation you are doing. I guess there are some advantages to the chickens free ranging on big land with varied vegetation thing (like I've got here) but when I'm hunting egg nests and looking for broodies hiding in jungle thickets, welp, there are the downsides...

It's taken me seven years to start adjusting to metric. The funny thing is here in Ecuador, they use a weird mix of both. Commercial packed food is by grams. But produce, meat, and bulk foods are by the pound. Timber and building materials are by the meter, but nails and rebar are in inches...

One year ago today, this holy terror of a bird broke out of a egg bought for twenty-five cents from a neighbor, one day before his only hatchmate. Baby Lucio, 1 yr ago The two chicks, Paco and Lucio (named after the great Spanish flamenco guitarista Paco de Lucia), were raised by a feral...

True, but if you look up "What is a quintal?" it says a 100lb unit of measurement. Not a sack that could hold 100lbs. So I think it started as a weight measurement, but now it's just became a colloquial way to say "the big sack" of whatever

True. There's also a 25lb sack called an "arroba" but the actual weight depends on what it is.

A lot of wheat farmers in the US and Canada still measure their production in bushels. In Ecuador and much of Latin America, a common unit of production is the "quintal" -- which is basically a big sack that ideally weighs a hundred pounds with whatever is in it. 1 quintal cacao = 100 lbs...

You've probably already done this -- but have you palpated her abdominal area to feel if there are any hard lumps or masses? When my hen Butchie started to decline, I could feel a hard mass in her abdomen. Dont know if it was a tumor or hernia, but I felt it growing larger over time.

They are toxic raw. Well-cooked they are a good food for chickens. Mine especially like garbanzos and kidney beans

Most legumes raw are toxic in general.

Thank you for the kindness. And yes, Slash the little chirapa is pretty darn cute. Definitely has a special bond with momma Dusty, I can see it.

Hi folks, I want to say thank you to @RoyalChick @Perris @ManueB (regulars on this thread) for your kind comments regarding my hen Rusty's sudden onset of illness two days ago. She likely has a reproductive infection triggered by molting (and laying the whole time she's been molting :(), but it...

I think it's the acidity in lime or lemon that makes beans more digestible. I usually add a little cider vinegar to bean dishes while I'm cooking them.

Great video! I didn't see Lucio shaking, unfortunately. Just his still-dirty aftermath.

Hi folks, Maybe you recall Han Solo -- one of the cockerels I gave away about 3 months ago. I gave him to a chicken keeper in the village a few km away. This is the same chicken keeper I bought my healthy hens from so I knew he was going to a good place, but didn't know how long they would keep...

Ahhh, I forgot to mention that about two weeks ago I noticed that when Lucio flapped his wings I saw some dark stuff stuck to the feathers underneath. I literally groaned. Just got rid of the lice and now he has mites? Ugh. But when I took him off the roost at night for further examination...

Glad you are ok and that it finally rained. I really relate to your last sentence.

Definitely notice this pattern with Lucio. His generosity with food and treats is one of his better qualities -- with hens laying eggs that it. Broodies, mums with chicks, and hens off lay are temporarily banished from the "inner circle" that get first dibs. He's like, "Hey, until you start...