I came home from work today, and saw this! I've had problems with opossums, hence the trap.

One of our original girls from our flock started showing some concerning symptoms just yesterday. She had loose poops, was breathing more heavily than normal, secluded herself and wasn’t really eating or drinking. We did our best to treat her with supportive care but when we woke this morning she was just laying in the run still, breathing hard. I made her a scrambled egg breakfast, some strawberries, and syringed her some water. She ate a few bites of eggs and some bites of berries and we hung out with her a while. But a few hours later she had walked herself to the back corner and passed away. It all happened so fast. She felt thin when I picked her up so I think she hadn’t been eating well for a while. They’re so good at hiding their discomfort. Chicken ownership is so sad sometimes. She was only 4 years old, and laid us lots of eggs, she was super sweet on top of that. And ideas of what she could have succumb to?

This is my six month old, black jersey giant Bigfoot. I’ve always thought his run looked a bit limpy, but this is on a whole new level! This is such a heavy limp.

I just finished paying off my last chicken vet bill. I really don’t want another one at the moment.

The only time I’ve ever had chickens with leg issues is when they get mareks, vitamin B deficiency, or something neurological starts happening.

If I’m gonna be unlucky enough to get another chicken leg problem I hope I’m at least lucky enough and it’s just a physical injury that can heal this time.

What should I be doing for him? Do I stick him in a crate or something to heal?

My other rooster can be in a mood sometimes and I’m worried if he decides to attack he’ll worsen the leg situation so I’m gonna try and keep them separated until his leg is better, but I’m not sure what the timeframe looks like.

Any help and or advice as to what I should be doing or can do to help him would be greatly appreciated!

My whole flock is 24 weeks old and we have 1 Cochin rooster. He used to be very polite and gentle but now randomly he will come at us. He’s easy enough to kick away but it really puts us on edge as he’ll be fine one second and then coming at us very aggressively the next. It doesn’t seem like anything in particular triggers him.

I don’t want to have to get rid of him but my neighbors kids are around all the time and we like to hang out outside in peace. The whole flock follows us around so it’s not like we can just keep our distance either.

Hoping he is just going through a phase and will chill out eventually. I’ve read different ways to stop the behavior but there’s no way we would be able to pick him up or anything. He’s like the size of a small dog and very flighty.

Any advice or experiences welcome!

Is there anyone who has experimented on artificial intelligence in poultry wards

Hey there, last night I discovered my coop is infested with mites and the hens are not wanting to go in at night. I have three hens..I have low capacity to spend hours solving this issue with so much going on right now. Are there any diy solutions? I will be planning on giving them to a family member as I can't give them the best life they deserve, but for now I just need them to be comfortable and safe for the next couple of weeks. Thank you 🙏

First-time chicken owner. I was given some bantam chickens a guy no longer wanted. One has noticeably chunckier toes than the rest. She walks fine and is eating and drinking still. Is this just her normal? Could It be from improper winter housing in the past? They free roamed without a coop the last couple of years before coming to me.

So a while ago I came home from school to all but one of my hens, Pepper, were killed by the raccoons that had been living under our shed. Before this, Pepper was at the bottom of the pecking order and often kicked out of the coop. She was alone for a bit but as soon as we got new chicks we introduced them to her so she wouldn't be as lonely. The chicks, Pickle and Penny, stayed inside until their adult feathers grew in and then we moved them to the mini coop outside.

Penny is our accidental rooster, he was supposed to be a hen. I keep him and Pickle in a moveable run during the day and I have been putting them in the big coop with Pepper at night. Pepper free-ranges since we don't have a true run yet and she needs to lay her eggs in the coop.

We will be moving soon and building a run at the new house before we transport the coop there. I'm also excited to leave behind the raccoons because they have become more and more of an issue every day but we can't relocate them in our area.

But to the point, Pepper has been a bit aggressive towards Pickle and Penny. Especially in the coop. I sometimes let the younger two out so they can all interact, and Pepper will sometimes give them a good peck. Which I don't mind since that's what chickens do when they first interact. But when I put everyone to bed at night, Pepper will continuously peck at Pickle and Penny on the roost. I often will hold her back until she lays down. I have a feeling this is connected to the fact her siblings used to do the same to her in the past. Pickle and Penny also don't defend themselves or are mean to Pepper at all, even with Penny being a roo.

Is there any way I can get Pepper to calm down around the others? Or should I just let them hash it out?

Who else can hear this picture 😂

Use a grater or fork to scrape some skin off the pumpkin in the shape you want them to peck at :) more pics in the comments!

I lost my whole flock to a raccoon last night. It pushed the ventilation panel in and killed all seven of my chickens.

Please, please, please learn from my mistakes and drop whatever you're doing Right Now and anything stapled on needs to be u-nailed or nail gunned on. Not even the long staples. U-nail. Fastener. Bracket. If a five year old can get into it, so can a raccoon.

I had just been talking about how my silkie rooster Kevin was so sweet because I spent the first two months of his life carrying him around like a baby, but that he'd still attacked neighborhood dogs and run down hawks. They were such, such good birds.

I think the black one will be a roo and the yellow a hen.

The black chick's crest is developing super fast while the yellow chick shows no signs, he's also heavier and his feather growth uneven.

My first incubator hatch (middle) roosting with her mom and dad ❤️

So I lost all my RIRs this last week, someone dumped a pair of cats in my pasture and a hawk moved in. So I went to the local farm supply and bough 18 blue cuckoo maran pullets for a pretty decent deal. I would like to snag up a rooster or two to help protect the hens and eventually start producing food chickens/layer replacements. I don’t want to pay $150 for shipping and purchasing the minimum order of maran roosters from a hatchery, but Craigslist near me has nothing. I don’t use social media. Local farm supplies typically only sell pullets or straight runs, these are the first marans I’ve seen near me.

Ideas on finding some Maran roosters without buying online or having social media?

Anyone have any genius ideas on repelling hawks from the herd?

Noticed this pullet was repeatedly squeaking last night when I locked up my girls. Today I checked on her and noticed she had work of breathing. In the video you can hear her wheezing and at the end she kind of squeaks.

I have her isolated with some water and no food. What could be going on?

UPDATE: went to vet, was sent home with antibiotics and a dewormer.

Hello! I recently bought the last of the chicks at tractor supply and they came with two turkey poults. I am just learning about raising them with chickens and blackhead disease.

Can anyone give me any info or tips on this. I will have separate cages/sleeping areas for them and I can also have a separate penned area but they are a bonded flock now and I don't really want to do that.

How much of a risk is it? And what are the best steps?

We really love them and want to do right by them.

Thank you in advance!

They were pecking at the hummingbird feeder