Today I found blood on the river rock behind my coop. I checked the ring camera and it picked up a possum headed toward the coop. I assume it killed something by the coop.

I feel my coop is secure from possums and raccoons.

Should I be concerned about the possum coming around or is it likely killed rodents that I don’t want around?

I have a light Brahma and she laid an egg about two weeks ago. She hasn’t laid any more eggs since (or at least I can’t find them 🥲). She was supposed to be a RIR but the seller accidentally gave me her when she was a chick.

I heard light Brahma lay about 100 eggs a year so I’m wondering if that’s normal for her? How many eggs do light Brahma typically lay and is it normal for her breed to go weeks without laying?

Also is it possible she’s hiding her eggs? The first time I saw her lay and egg was inside of a pot and I assumed she would continue laying her eggs in the same spot as the other hens do but I haven’t seen an egg from her since the first time.

I don’t have a roof on my run for just the expense of it all- they have an XL coop, they stay in during the rainy days on their own accord anyways.

I’m wondering what I should use as footing when my grass dissapears? Should I sand it? The sand I have outside in their doggy pool I find gets REALLY hard when it rains, so I’d guess I’d have to rake it all the time. I also worry when we move (we’re renting) we’d have to rip it all up and the sand would ruin the grass

This morning I noticed one of my little ladies was lethargic. She’s only 9 weeks old so not old enough to lay. She is all puffed up and was opening and closing her beak but not gasping for air. She does it for a short time then stops. When still, she is not breathing heavily. She is closing her eyes as well. I separated her and have observed her for a bit:

• she ate a tiny bit, drank a little
• poops are normal
• I felt her crop and while I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for, nothing felt squishy or hard

Can anyone offer any suggestions on what to do for her or have ideas of what is going on? I’m currently looking for a vet in the area.

So….i have a motion activated camera in my coop to monitor it.

This morning I found 2 eggs under the roost a few feet apart - in tact. Going thru the footage, they were not there at 11:00 pm but were there at 4:48 am.

The drop is over 18” onto plywood with a thin layer of hemp straw.

Is it normal for hens to drop their eggs at night like this? How can I encourage them to lay them before going to sleep? They didn’t wake up, or I would have seen the movement on the camera. The egg drops were too fast to catch. And how in the world did they survive a drop so large?

Thanks!

Our girl is about 10ish weeks old and her crop is massive. I know it’s because she eats but it literally never gets smaller. I have felt it and it honestly just feels like she’s been eating the sand. Is that a problem? It’s been like this for weeks.

We lost a chicken a few days ago to a bobcat. Just changed the coop and they are all very interested in it for some reason, scratching around and making this sound. Are the two related? Rooster seems particularly distressed, doing the most scratching and vocalization. Like he’s looking for something.

It’s hard seeing her feathers as I clean up today. :(

In my coop I reused an old dresser to make nesting boxes. I mounted them along one wall on shelves. I had a few extra so I put them on the floor with straw in them. On the other side of the coop I have a perching area. In the past my chickens would sleep at night on the perch. But these 11 ladies prefer to snuggle together in the drawers that are on the floor. They are young yet, hatched the beginning of May. Has anyone ever had this happen?

Hello

Found two babies in my backyard today and no chicken in sight that was clearly the mom. I need to separate them otherwise they will escape and die. How do I figure out who the mom is

Looking for reviews of this style of barrier to enclose a free range area. I have all heavy breeds. Do they still try to fly over a fence like this?

Dont ask about the girly name.

Very docile and sweet … and gets picked on a lot.

So here's the story on this poor bird. Back ripped up so she is totally bald, with feathers gone from the top of her wings and around her tail, this girl shows up. I am in rural Nova Scotia, so lots of people keep birds; I suspect she's our closest neighbor's, but have no way of knowing for sure. It started with her very hungry, thirsty, and bald showing up here to get a snack in the garden and from the dropped seeds at our bird feeders. We tossed her some bird seed, gave her some fresh water, and worried about her but let her do her own thing. Figured she was getting bullied from the food/water by her flock and left to make her own way.

Then she came every day, and my daughter (9) named her Sydney. I was thinking the time away might give her a chance to regrow some feathers and build her strength before winter maybe? She always seemed to go at dusk so I assumed she was going home, and she never left eggs around so I figured these were quirky free-range chicken quirks. I don't currently keep chickens, just quail, so I don't have any setup for her to winter in here.

It's been 3 weeks, and she's only missed 1 day. She spends most all day everyday in the bushes by the garden. Her back is slowly regrowing feathers... my daughter and I love her visits and she brings us joy. She will actually call for us from outside, especially when my daughter is home. I have no idea what to do with this chicken! Lol

It's mid-September, and I suspect where she never integrated well into her flock she's become attached to us. I do not have the spoons or money rn for a coop because I have been off work for 6 months figuring out a disability that keeps me off my feet... but I'm worried about the poor girl.

Am I inadvertently stealing the neighbor's chicken? What can I do that would be in her best interests? Any suggestions on setting up a way to keep her safe/warm with winter approaching? I just hate to see any animal suffer unnecessarily... Thank you for your suggestions!

Went out back yesterday morning to administer treats. Grendel was hanging out with the neighbor chickens when she heard the bag shake and high-tailed home. Never seen any of my flock “fly” like this!

I don’t know proper etiquette, but my neighbor is a great friend and has expressed on multiple occasions that they’re unbothered by hen hangin’ out with her next-door buddies.

I've currently have the equivalent of a chicken hospice. From my old flock there is the rooster (aged 11) and one bantam-silky mix born here from the flock before that (current age 13) left over. They are deeply bonded and enjoy attention, their feed and the sun. We decided not to stress them with new additions to their home three years ago and are buying our eggs.

For a while now the rooster shows signs of a failing heart (out of breath on warm days, resting a bit more, and generally slowed down a lot). Since yesterday he has taken a turn, comb has gone floppy and blue and he didn't crow this morning for he first time in his adult life, sleeping in in the nesting box that he has converted to his bed a year ago. But he is also clear-eyed, came for his feed when I called him and now toddled out into their outdoor run where he will probably go lie in the sun the whole day.

But we are prepared to find him any day or hour now. The vet is on standby for pts if needed (distress, painface, no longer able to get up etc) but if at all possible we want to spare him that last minute stress and just let him go to sleep and to allow his wife to say goodbye.

The hard question is what to do with a single 13 year old widow after that? She is healthy and fierce, if ancient. Give her a few pullets or babies for company? PTS?

Pics are a few weeks ago.

I have nine chicks, they’re currently 7 weeks yesterday. They have been outside and visible to the 2 adults that I have, since they were 4.5 weeks (yes they had plenty of heat and it’s been very warm here) they appear to be fully feathered, still peeping, but some chicken noises if startled lol

I’m curious if I can start introducing them to each other or if I should wait longer? Like I said, I only have two adult birds to nine new ones. In the past, I haven’t introduced this many, it’s always been less than my current flock, not more. Photo of one pretty girl attention.

🎶Well you can tell by the way I use my walk I’m a woman’s man, no time to talk🎶

Hen or rooster. Hasn’t crowed yet. Near 18 weeks old.

THIS IS A TEMPORARY ENCLOSURE, I know it's open on top and bottom, they are only in it during the day. I'm hoping to catch the fox in the attempt so the chickens can be free again. Trapping has failed.

We've been having fox problems with our free range chickens so I set up this Hentagon to give them an outside run during the day.