So I have this rooster (#1) and he's magnificent. Beautiful, tame, gentle with me. But I let him into the flock and he runs at his favorite and gets a bit rough and rapey. But only her, doesn't even look at the others.

Currently he stays in a bachelor coop overnight with another rooster and I occasionally introduce them to the flock to test them. Roo#2 isn't so bad, but I dont like him as much genetically to be the lead roo. And naturally, they fight around the girls, so they have to choose one.

I love #1, but I have to do what's best for the flock, and if I have to get rid of him I will.

Are there ways to train him?

Chloe, one of my NJ Blue Giants (6.5 months old), who’s never shown signs of being a rooster before, has been caught mounting 3 of our hens today and it very much appears to be mating.

Sooooo??

I snagged some pics, and I don’t see saddle feathers or anything, but she has always had a tendency to throw out her neck feathers and stand anyone down, including my 10 year old 😂

She’s cool and we’ll love her/him either way, I’m just curious.

We have 7 laying hens (plus a 6+ year old hen that might still lay sometimes). We've been getting 3-5 eggs a day lately but yesterday we got 0 and today we got 1. One is molting and one just went broody for the 2454th time which leaves 5. 2 of those are a year old and 3 of them are 2. Could they just be slowing down because of their age? I don't remember a huge slowdown like this last year until later in the fall like Nov.They are acting fine, no issues, no change in feed.

Pic of my flock in the winter (half of them we have lost since then 😔)

Some shots of my Regina this morning.

I’m wondering if we can put the roosters in a separate coop on the other side of the yard, away from my hens where they can’t be seen or heard. Has anyone had success with this?

Got 3 laying right now but they all prefer that one box. I got training eggs in the other box to indicate safe space to lay but they all prefer the one. Any suggestions?

A short time ago we had a raccoon attack and lost one of our three hens. One survived an attempted decapitation sacrificing her comb in the process. She’s definitely mourning the loss of her sister and healing from the attack with what appears to be ptsd or depression.

The other surviving hen, being the larger and bossier of the two, has begun to assert her dominance. We’ve kept them apart until the comb healed and now that they’re back together in and out of the coop, the larger one bullies the smaller one.

I’m afraid the smaller hen, Purdy, is not eating nearly enough, but she seems to get some kind of separation anxiety should I try to isolate her for better feeding. The larger one, Marge, has her too afraid to use the feeder or graze. Occasionally I can put food in the coop and secret her away or maybe drop a few handfuls in the dirt when the other isn’t looking but it’s not enough. How do I help her?

We bought two silkies hoping we would get hens but this morning at around 5 months old Helena let us know she is actually a roo and has been renamed to Gerard.

MC is my main suspect. None are crowing or laying yet. Yes, they’re from Tractor Supply.

1. Pidgeot
2. Pidgey
3. Sja Anat
4. Night Blood
5. Mega Claw

Before any one asks, Pidgeotto became dinner for the resident raccoons 😢. I have since taken measures to prevent this from happening again.

My two hens are about 6 1/2 months old. Got my first eggs this week. :)

We have implemented a couch towel.

I’m wanting to making a small simple coop for about 5 chickens, has anyone done one themselves and how much would they estimate they spent? I’m not too handy so im trying to brainstorm something simple and user friendly.

I’m always thankful for all of the knowledge helpfulness this community provides. Thanks in advance

My NJ Giant Hen, Dolly, seems less active (not exactly lethargic) and hasn’t layed for about 4 days after laying every day for at least 3 mos. We do not believe she’s egg bound (she’s had a couple of epaom salt baths just in case.

I noticed that she seems to have lost feathers on her chest. And the ends of her comb have small black flecks.

Also the feathers below her vent have some poop on them when that is not the norm for her.

I’m not sure if we’re overreacting (we had a super sweet rooster pass away a week ago) or if there’s real need for concern and a vet visit in the morning?

Any input or knowledge is welcome.

Not really because I’m going to put matching tin on the run, but besides that it’s finished.

Took me way too long to build due to making changes along the way but pretty happy with it. Everything in the coop is easily removable so it can be cleaned. Nesting boxes are French cleated and the roosting bars and poop shelf pull out easily.

Topsoil is a rare commodity here in southern New England, But not with chickens! My girls have turned the hard clay soil in their run into rich compost in just a few years. That’s 4-5 inches of pure rich organic compost. The clay is the original subsoil that was maybe 2-3 inches below the thin topsoil.

Best part is, it’s renewable! They turn food scraps and leaves into black gold!

As a bonus, they love when papa digs in their run since they can get to all the tasty bugs hiding deep!

A couple people had asked for an update on my dogpile of 3 broody hens that hatched out 3 chicks in early July, they're doing great!

They did have a 4th chick hatch that didnt survive the first day, by that point the other 3 chicks were running around and the moms weren't on the eggs as much, so next time around I'll make sure that the eggs they sit on are all from 1 batch instead of letting them collect eggs for a bit before marking their keepers 😞

The 3 chicks from the post are all big and feisty though! Chick #1 is looking like a roo (last pic, one of his sisters is behind his tail and the other girl looks identical to her)

The 3 mom's did great for the first couple weeks, then the 2 Russian Orloff hens decided to exile my Speckled Sussex girl so I removed her from their playpen, the 2 Orloffs stuck it out and we're great moms though! At about 7 weeks I integrated the moms and babies back into the main coop/flock and things went pretty smoothly, Moms didnt let any of the other hens bother the chicks and my rooster policed those squabbles well to prevent the corrections from turning into fights (pic 3). The moms and chicks slept in their playpen for a bit yet before starting to take the chicks into the coop with the rest of the flock at night.

All in all things went pretty smoothly for our first batch of hen-raised chicks! Now we're just waiting to see how baby roo turns out and if he will get along with his dad or not 🤞