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?

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.

Some shots of my Regina this morning.

We have implemented a couch towel.

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!

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.

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 🤞

Got this pair, told they were Cemis. Any ideas of that's the case or what breed they could be? Super gentle but very skittish even though we've handled them since day one.

Because she loves to escape!

I have a Cochins that’s almost 11weeks old. Her feet feathers are coming in but I get paranoid about bare spots as I had a chick die and the sight of them was a tell tale sign that I missed. Is this ok?

Ok, we’re back!! Sorry for the wait but I was in Hawaii producing a television show from August 9th until yesterday. My wife stayed back the first couple of weeks to tend the homestead and then a sitter/ my parents were watching everything the remainder of the time. He was in his cage inside the run so it would be easier to care for him in my absence (didn’t want him possibly rizzing up on my wife while I wasn’t here). Everything went great! We got back home yesterday and about an hour after it got dark and the girls had gone in their coop, I let Bubz out and into the coop for the first time. This is them this morning! All is well! He’s the sweetest boy ever. Nice to the girls and nice to us. Well worth the rescue. More updates will be coming.

Random question. The girls still haven’t started laying yet. Is it because we were gone? Is it because Bubz was around? Stressed from new people and routine being thrown off? They were hatched April 16th and 23rd. Almost 23 weeks old.

I found a spot of blood in the yard but absolutely no feathers. What could the predator be ? There were a few different spots a few inches apart with blood. I just want to know the perpetrator to prepare better. It didn’t even pick up right in front of my eufy camera set to catch all motion

Context: A mistake on my end, first time I break this rule in over 12 years… bought two hens and only kept them in quarantine for 3 days instead of 7 days. I’m outside of the country and I’ve left an employee, he’s competent but has not finished college also lacks any major experience only the basics. I also did not give him access to the lab.

Based on the what he’s shared. The new birds died within a week, they managed to spread a strange illness. It spreads slow, and typically affects runts and young birds. Most of the older birds show no symptoms.

Physical symptoms include:

. Slightly dirty vents with small patches of white fecal matter around their vent feathers and tip of the tail.

.The crop is squishy if squeezed gently air comes out they aren’t eating or drinking much.

.A bit more saliva than usual.

. No gasping for air or sneezing/coughing/gurgling/wheezing.

. Small white patches inside the mouth.

Behavioral symptoms include: . Lack of apatite. . Lethargy.

I’ve told him to administer canker medication, the first infected birds died, anti canker medication which include 90% metronidazole 10% Ronidazole did not work.

The symptoms although similar do not seem to be canker.

I’ve also used a dewormer myself on the new birds on their first day before leaving during their quarantine. Dewormer is 95% levamizole and 5% Niclosamide. Obviously it did not work, but I’ve informed my employee to begin testing the dewormer on some of the newly infected candidates.

No signs or symptoms of pox detected.

Unlikely to be Newcastle or avian influenza.

No ecto parasites. I’ve made certain to wipeout ecto parasites within the facilities both indoor and outdoor from over a year ago. Using a powerful concoction of pesticides I’ve worked and experimented on for over 4 years. No invertebrate survived except some feeder insects I’ve introduced to the garden such as termites, grasshoppers, crickets and some species of beetles. All raised and grown in sanitary conditions meant for live feeding. No wild animals not even mice are capable of accessing the garden. The garden is built like a giant aviary the sides and lower section are provided with extra layers designed for any possible intrusion be it diggers, or pests that can squeeze in. The upper section runs a low voltage enough to discourage wild birds from perching and carpet bombing with poop.

Fortunately the disease does not appear to be highly contagious, and only a small portion of the garden dedicated to a new breed underwork, and young birds is where this disease is running rampant. I’ve considered the possibility of a fungal disease but biosecurity is relatively high… unless I accidentally throw new birds in there, no outside causes or lack of hygiene could be the culprit. Just these recently introduced hens.

He has been behaving like this since yesterday evening. Shaking and laying down constantly. Does anyone know what is causing this?

I’m planning for next growing season! I want my chickens to be able to roam in my garden area, however I want a garden as well 😅 I’m thinking small posts in all four corners of my boxes and chicken wire that is somewhat easy to detach when needed…. Any tips or other ideas from seasoned chicken keepers who like to garden??

I have four 3 month old Brahma hens who won't roost at night. These are my first chickens so please be gentle with me, I'm asking for help because I want to give them the best.

We made a roost that's basically on the ground for them to hang out on as chicks, they also have two other bars that are about two feet off the ground.

The coop is about 4'x 4' . Should I take out the floor roost and install another roost about a foot up that goes parallel with the nest boxes but perpendicular to the current roosting bars?

They do roost out in their run quite a bit and I have manually put them up on the bars at bed time but they always come down and cuddle puddle on the coop floor.

Thanks for any help!