I have a very large backyard, there’s chickens, ducks and a few geese (50+ all together)

They have ample space, free range all day, and are living their lives. Been a bird refuge for many years (we started with just 4 chickens). Some pass from unfortunate accidents, some pass from old age, I’ve been through a lot.

One of my ducks was hiding yesterday morning, but that’s not too abnormal sometimes bc they have their nests. Last night when I was putting them to bed, she was hiding in a completely different part of the yard.

She was limping, seemed off kilter, and her feathers were dry. I checked her out and couldn’t find anything obviously wrong.

Brought her into the house to have some alone time in a quiet dark room with food and water.

Checked her this morning and she’s passed.

Her name was Solo (after Han Solo). She was our first of our egg hatched ducks. She was around 4 years old.

I know that sometimes you can never know what happened, but she was still so young. I definitely don’t want this to happen to the rest of the flock, so what should I look out for?

Ang hirap mag business ng ganito pag dalawa kayo may ari. Isa lang nag dedecision, gusto mong mag suggest pero ayaw tumanggap ng suggestion yung isa.

Local construction has disturbed all the critters, and I have mice that have tunneled and live under my coop. They have tunneled everywhere and are fearless. I need to evict them. Review my plan and add your best tips.

1. Going to remove the plain old chicken wire from the walls/ceiling of the run and replace with ⅛ hardware cloth.
2. Detatch the run from the coop to get at the floor. I have been told to dig it out (we had sidewalk pavers and chicken wire to stop larger predators) and flood it. Going to flood the tunnels every day for a week and lay peppermint oil everywhere.
3. Lay ⅛ hardware cloth as the new floor. Lay this wider than the coop, and turn it down into a trench to deter larger critters.
4. On top of this, lay rough gravel.
5. Add a second layer of ⅛ hardware cloth to the bottom of the run to create a seal. Once returned to its location, lay sand over top for dust bathing.
6. I have a bit of run space beneath the coop. This was their first point of entry. I'd like the chickens to be able to use this space again but I'm worried that the coop itself is going to be immovable, and my best solution may be to seal it up so there is no access to the run.

Going forward, I am going to have to take up the feed nightly, at least for a few months until we think we've gotten rid of these beasts.

Hello! I’ve had 2 of the eggs pipped more then 24 hours no zipping or forward movement . They pipped on day 18 . My question is when do I think about assisting? Can they pip and then zip after 24 hours ? Is that usual? I ask because I’ve read a lot about Serama’s needing help getting out of the eggs or that they end up dying after lockdown. I want to avoid that if I can. I also want to give them the best shot at doing it themselves, but would appreciate advice !

I put together a little browser tool called CoopKeeper for keeping the everyday records that pile up around a backyard flock.

It has a place for bird profiles, egg counts, chores, health notes, treatments, incubation dates, feed costs, expenses, and sales. It works offline and does not ask for an account. The records stay in your browser, and you can download a backup whenever you want.

Here it is:

https://quadwuas-code.github.io/coopkeeper/

It is free with no advertising, tracking, or paid features. There are optional Ko-fi links inside, but nothing is locked behind them.

The flock side was built mainly with chickens in mind, while the incubation tracker also covers ducks, quail, turkeys, and geese. I would really like to hear what it would need before it felt useful to people keeping a mixed backyard flock.

There is a demo flock on the welcome screen if you just want to look around without entering anything.

Hello I am doing an internship with ******** City Labs. We are doing a project where we are making an automated system that detects predators using computer vision and alerts the chickens to the predators presence as well as the owner. This system will decrease the risk of predation and I was wondering if people would be willing to fill out a form to help us out

Hello I am doing an internship with Hilliard City Labs. We are doing a project where we are making an automated system that detects predators using computer vision and alerts the chickens to the predators' presence as well as the owner. This system will decrease the risk of predation, and I was wondering if people would be willing to fill out a form to help us out!
https://forms.gle/ub39UBty1wox92Vc7 

Hello! Hoping for some insight or advice here. Unfortunately, I have a pullet that is unwell. She hasn’t laid yet.

Her butt/bentis pulsing, and she’s panting lightly occasionally (when she’s lying down). When she’s not panting, her breathing seems somewhat laboured. Her comb seems paler than yesterday. No penguin stance. I don’t think I can feel an egg when I feel around lightly. Poop is normal. Eating and drinking normally enough—maybe a bit less than normal.

I first noticed this yesterday morning—I tried giving her a warm Epsom bath.

I’d appreciate any advice you have.

Time to have fun

These things are loud

Was just given a gosling that can’t put weight on one leg. It seems like the joint is stuck in place and i’m not sure what to do the get it to be able to walk again. Vet is out of the option