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A bit of history: I was overseas in May when DH told me that my Silkie hen had gone broody. I organized to have a half dozen Brabanter hatching eggs shipped (because I've always wanted to have a Brabanter or two in my flock). They arrived the day I got home, and after letting them settle for 24...

I have a plastic heated pet bowl similar to this: http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produc … _vc=-10005 I was wondering if I could fill it with sand instead of water so that my hens have a place to dust bathe inside the coop on days when it's really cold and windy - like today. It was -30 C, with...

Posting this question for someone who is incubating eggs for the first time. I have zero experience with incubating, so thought I'd throw the question out to you folks for some possible solutions. She candled her eggs yesterday on day 12, and found that one had the air sac at the pointed end of...

On a chicken keeping blog I follow, someone recently posted that we should clean out feathers from the coop because they don't absorb moisture and it may encourage feather picking during the winter months when hens may get bored. I do scoop out poop under the roost regularly, but is it really...

I found this in the nest box this morning. Not sure whether it's a practice egg/wind egg from my EO pullet, who has been checking out the nest box A LOT over the last few days (she should be starting to lay any time now), or if it's some sort of weird alien lash egg from my 3 year-old BSL, who...

I got this 1 year-old hen in the spring, as a friend for my lone bantam Wyandotte. When I got her new buddy, I also picked up two 8 week-old pullets and a 4 year-old Silkie hen. Integration went well. Sadly my bantam Wyandotte fell ill and, no matter what I tried, she never got better, so she is...

So, I took on a 1 year old chicken who had been named by the previous owner. I have no problem with her name, but it sounds very much like my dog's name, and more importantly, since she's become part of the flock here, I kind of think her name does not suit the chicken she has become here with...

This is my first year with chickens of my own. I have 4 hens: one is a 4 year old Silkie, one is a 1 year old Appenzeller bantam, and two are 3+ months old - a Euskal Oilak and a Barnevelder_Wyandotte mix. The EO pullet still has her "little girl" voice, but my little "Barnedotte" has been...

I am new to chicken keeping and I have a chicken that has developed a bad case of what appears to be vent gleet, so I need to be able to catch her in order to give her an epsom salt bath soak and clean her up. The problem is that she won't let me anywhere near her - she's afraid of me. The...

I recently took pity on a lone 8 month old bantam Wyandotte mix pullet at an auction, and bought her. It's my first chicken. I know, not a smart move, but there it is. Although she seems healthy enough, eats and drinks and poops, there is one behaviour that has me stumped: in the evening...

I am wondering what's the best way to integrate three pairs of pullets, all from different sources, but approximately the same age? I will be buying started pullets in the spring - 3 different breeds, a pair of each, from three different breeders. I don't currently have any chickens. The coop...

Anyone? Eggs for incubating, even? Have been searching for awhile, but no joy, so far ...

Hi all, I've been reading through the threads related to the best bedding for nest boxes, and several posts have mentioned pine straw. Is this fallen dried pine needles?

I am wondering how long before it's safe to allow chickens onto property that has been treated with herbicides (weed-out, or round-up, for example). We have not treated with any chemicals in about 4-5 years, but our neighbours have, as recently as last year. Although we don't plan to let our...

Hi All, I'm new to chickens - at least to raising them myself. My father grew up on a farm, but he took a different career path after university, so my siblings and I grew up as city folk. Many of our relatives did have farms, though, and whenever we visited, one of my favourite things to do was...