Just an appreciation post for my good boy, Canelo. Always protecting his ladies and alerting if danger is close by!

We have a sick temporarily house hen. She's always been a bit of a runt. We got her from a friend where she was almost pecked to death by his other chickens.

We took her back into the house a while ago, because she wasn't well. Our avian vet found candida and salmonella, which she's been treated for. She looks A LOT better and she eats more BUT... I work abroad one week per month and even though my wife cares for her like I do, she just doesn't want to eat that much and as a result she's not gaining back enough weight. But when I get back she eats like crazy and gains back weight every day!

I can't believe it's really my presence... Have you noticed something like that?

Just wanting to vent and I guess ask for some advice here. We had a pretty tough day today with our flock.

I came into the coop to see blood everywhere and a ton around our nesting boxes. Our poor lady at the bottom of the pecking order had a pretty messed up comb by I assume one of our Wyandottes. Luckily when I got back out there it stopped bleeding and just looked bruised up.

I also noticed our Wyandotte’s back was bare and her toe was broken!! I think as a result of overmating with our rooster. He only mates with our 2 Wyandottes exclusively.

We made the final decision to cull him today and I’m emotionally beat up about it. He was also aggressive towards me every time I was in the coop and the overmating was our last straw.

I know culling him is going to change the pecking order dynamic and I’m afraid for my little creambar that was hurt today. I guess it was a tough day overall and I’m hoping for encouragement that I made the right decision.

What in your experience is the friendliest blue egg laying breed? So far, I would have to say my shetlands are the most friendly. I want chickens that are going to run up to me and talk to me and ask for treats not scream and hide as soon as they see me *Edit: not interested in EEs or other mixed breeds. I don't want to gamble on getting blue eggs

So my half leghorn hen is 8 months old and she got what i believe was mycoplasma pneumonia. She was aspirating her water and food, sleepy, she was pump handle breathing, sneezing like crazy, runny nose, puffy eyes all the symptoms. We ordered her a Tylosin and doxycycline powder it came and we put it in her water thankfully she drank it a few times that day without aspirating. That night her comb turned purple and im like dam she isnt making the night. To our suprise in the morning we heard her bock for the first time in weeks ! her comb was pink again she stopped aspirating i mean it was a miracle. Were about 9 days now into treatment but shes still sneezing and at times like when she wants to sleep at night she opens her beak to breath. Anyone ever have a chicken with this they effectively rehabbed back to health im looking for a timeline. I think 14 days is what i need to do for the antibiotics however ill need to stop them at that point unless it might be time to see a chicken vet after that? shes just a sneezy girl while its kinda amusing the little sound i know shes not happy about it.

I must not have payed close enough attention so it’s likely my fault. She was found dead in the nesting box. :(

The loss of feathers wasn’t noticeable a couple of days ago when I was with them and they were all out in their run so I believe I would’ve noticed then, but it looks like a lot of the loss of feathers was on the bottom and all of their behavior was fine…

I’m just trying to figure out exactly what happened and how it happened so fast?? I feel really at fault here, like I didn’t notice something I should have.

EDIT: Forgot to add that I live in southern MN where it’s been very cold this week. We don’t have a heat source in our coop because our research has shown that it isn’t super necessary with a well built and insulated coop and they were fine last winter when we had cold temps.

Help...

So months back I had some free range chickens go missing, we have woods behind us and the dogs do really good and keeping anything from coming up here.

These chickens go anywhere they want tho and that means something can get them if they get too far.

Well today I was driving down our dirt road and about half way down from our house and the highway what do I see. 2 chickens just hanging out in the leaves, they go into the woods when I stop. It's the land right next to ours so at night time I get a free chance to go look for them.

We spent a good hour and a half searching trees on both sides of the road and only found where they have been digging in the leaves.

They haven't been around people in MONTHS so I can just walk up to them in the daylight.

What is my best way to catch them bc it's going to be really cold soon and I don't want them freezing to death or getting eaten by something in the winter. (I lock all my chickens up in the winter)

I dream of having chickens but I know it’s many years off for me. However, I want to live vicariously through chicken owners on the internet so that I can enjoy the ups, downs, swings and roundabouts of chicken life. Which are the best chicken instagram accounts to follow, and any other accounts on other platforms (podcasts etc) that I might like? I don’t need to learn loads of chicken care stuff (although I don’t mind if it comes up) but I do just want to have the joy of watching chickens live their lives.

Hello, newbie here, I've been thing about doing back yard chickens even keeping some as pets but I have one question. How big to easter Eggers get, cause I was recommended them by my boss at my job who owes a farm and even thrown silkies as a throwaway and I've been doing research for a couple weeks and been getting more interested in these two breeds but I need to know are easter Eggers bantams or not?

My family currently owns a 6 month old Newfoundland puppy I want to know what is people option on using them as a livestock guardian to protect our chickens and future turkeys. We have been having issues with hawks and they have killed two chickens in the past two weeks. I just want to know your options on using a Newfoundland dog as a livestock guardian as I know it’s not a traditional breed to use.

Is this a scam or an actual useful remedy?

DPD VETRX Poultry Remedy - 2 Ounce https://a.co/d/g0Pol7z

I’ve been a lurker in this subreddit for over a year, and now I have a concern with my hen. I’ve been caring for her for a week now, and she still isn’t improving much. I’m at a loss and would appreciate some advice! Here’s everything that’s been happening:

Symptoms

•	She can push with her legs and flap her wings but can’t stand or walk.

•	Her eyes look normal, not cloudy.

•	Sometimes, she drinks her water on her own. The water is spiked with Rooster Booster with vitamin B-12 (and I added additional electrolytes).

•	Did not drink or eat for 24 hours early on. I had to syringe-feed her water to keep her hydrated.

•	No injuries, no curling toes, and no signs of swelling or infection.

•	Her weight seems normal.

•	Doesn’t appear to be egg-bound—I felt for an egg and didn’t find anything.

•	No visible signs of mites, lice, or external parasites.

•	She is our only chicken, and her playmates are little dogs of ours. Now she won’t play or roam.

•	Her poop looks normal, but she isn’t producing much.

She has been like this for a week now. She doesn’t move around much, and for the first couple of days, she didn’t eat or hardly drink at all. Now, she will drink when I syringe-feed her and sometimes drinks from her water dish, and she eats a little bit of her normal food (scratch, chicken pellets, mealworms, broccoli, and lettuce).

Diet

Her regular diet includes scratch, chicken pellet food, mealworms, broccoli, and lettuce.

What I’ve Done

•	I’ve been giving her water with Rooster Booster with vitamin B-12 (and I added additional electrolytes) using a syringe. She’s drinking well this way and sometimes drinks on her own.

•	I’ve been offering her her normal food, and she eats small amounts.

•	I’ve kept her isolated in the house with a temperature around 72°F.

•	I’ve tried gently massaging her legs, and they seem strong enough to push, but she can’t get her balance or stand up.

Environment

•	She’s isolated to reduce stress.

•	I keep her wrapped in a towel or supported so she doesn’t injure herself or flop around.

What’s NOT Present

•	No signs of Marek’s (no curling toes, no clouded eyes, no paralysis).

•	No respiratory issues (no wheezing, coughing, or nasal discharge).

•	No visible signs of trauma, swelling, or infection.

Questions

1.	Could this be a lingering nutritional deficiency, toxin exposure, or something internal like organ failure?

2.	Are there other supportive care steps I can take?

3.	How much longer should I continue this care before deciding it’s something untreatable?

Any advice or insight would mean a lot. I’m doing my best to care for her, but it’s been a week, and I’m not seeing much improvement. Thank you!

I want a TRULY dual purpose bird, meaning I plan on pretty consistently hatching chicks, raising them 30 weeks for so to maturity and keeping some for egg production and culling the rest for meat.

I also don't want to do any incubating or raising chicks myself so want a hen with almost guaranteed broodiness instincts and a good mother.

Another consideration is I am in Texas, so they should be able to handle heat. Obviously will provide them shade and water

(here is Hendersons breed chart for reference)

My current list from my research:

Buff Orpingtons: Considered broody online, but also get some mixed reports. Some say they've never gone broody for them. Hendersons breed chart puts them as just "good" brooder, but excellent mother. The big plus is that they are a full sized, 8lb adult chicken, so would be relatively more meat per bird, and they are moderately early maturing, making them suitable for meat.

Cochins: Hendersons breed chart puts them at "excellent brooder", so near the top of the list, and a "good mother", so moderate. Also a full sized ~8lb bird, but slow to mature. What I worry about these is the heat tolerance, they seem much more adapted to cold. But I've heard reports where people say they do fine in hot weather with normal shade and water.

Silkies: Considered "one of the most broody" of all the breeds. The only downside I see with silkies is their size, as a bantam breed they're only around 2lbs, so their meat would be mostly bones and cartilage and such. Also, they are slow to mature. I'm trying some silkie chicken from the local asian market to see if it's something i'd be interested in eating consistently, so this could be an option. But I think in general, id prefer a larger size for meat. It seems like as far as broodiness goes though, bantam breeds are generally superior.

What do y'all think? Overall, I think I like Buff Orpington the most as an option but worry about the consistence of their broodiness. I suppose if I get enough of them, I really only need 1 or 2 that go broody and they can brood for the remainder of the hens. However, on that point, Cochins might be the strongest option as they are considered "excellent foster mothers", meaning they'd be more likely to be good mothers for even chicks that arent their own.

I live in MA, I've ordered layer chicks from mcmurray and cackle before, but I'd always lose a few on arrival and another perpercentage would be on the brink. Seems all the big companies that deliver are out west. Are there any in central or eastern US? Or should I just raid tractor supply when they get chicks?

I need a humane way to shut my rooster up. He crows for 2 1/2 hours sometimes 3 every morning well before the sun comes up. It starts at 430 and doesn’t end until 7 most mornings. He crows with every breath he takes during that time frame. Wall to wall screaming. He doesn’t protect my hens from anything and he’s kind of a dickhead anyway so I’m not above culling him..

We cooked thet head of it and we have the roots and stems as scraps. Can we feed this to them?

We ordered in the spring several eggs and this one was labeled wrong. It said it was a barred, but she's clearly not. Is she an ameraucana?

You don't "need" a fancy coop to own chickens, they only sleep on my patio and go outside in a fenced in run during the day. Not that much poop ends up in the patio. Their "roost" is a shelf that I cover with cardboard and peat moss so i just sweep their nightly turds up into the composted. All in cost is about $200 for the chicken wire fencing.

My chicks were in this shoebox while I cleaned out the brooder.

I had three novagen brown hens from spring of 2023. They were great, friendly, healthy, laid faithfully beginning at 14 weeks. Last summer I decided to add two more pullets, whiting true blues, six weeks old. I kept them in a seperate space next to the big girls coop and run for six weeks.

Began with letting everyone out to range together. The hens didn't like them but no attacks or obvious issues. I decided to integrate when the pullets were about the size of my hens. The next morning the hens attacked a pullet when she tried to eat, she died that night. The next night one of my older hens died after no sign of illness or trauma. I rehomed the last pullet after that.

Another of my girls seems to be a bit unwell- laying less, more blood/tissue in her eggs, a bit puffy looking. I know these production hens are very prone to reproductive issues. I don't want to leave a lone hen if she goes, but I'm skittish as hell to bring in more birds after the abject failure last round.

Do I let the last girl live alone or try this again?

Title. How do I store eggs that have been in the coop while I'm at work? Coop temp was down to 23° F or so. I typically just leave them unwashed and sitting out on the counter. Can I continue to do that? Will the temperature swing be detrimental? I collected 7 today and decided to just put them in the refrigerator.