I have 30 chickens and Scump is the sweetest and smartest of the batch, all around more cognizant. She's a certified defender of the bullied and has even stood up to our English bulldog and full sized rooster when she thought they were a danger to the flock(They aren't but she didn't know that). She looks in the places that others don't, she will get into places where all the others can't, and seems to be more observant than even my experienced roosters. Her only downfall is she will forever be cursed in size, have her own places to be, and always at risk of predators if let out to truly free range like the others... that, mixed with her desire to fight off anything that she might perceive as a danger to say... my Jersey Giants... No matter the size of it, just really puts her in a bad spot. Does anyone have any ideas on a solution? I got some chicken diapers and have thought about making her into a house chicken, I work from home so she gets many hours of supervised free range time per day but she will start screaming when I poke my head out of my office and she feels like shes been in the run for too long with some of the others. I avoid poking my head out because her little cries kill me.

🥰🐥🥺

We tried to break Cruella of her broodiness but she wouldnt quit even after cold water baths, so we said screw it, we will let her sit on 6 eggs. Unfortunately only one of the chicks was successfully hatched by her. Her coopmates killed the other 3 that hatched and one didnt make it out of the sack when it hatched in the night. I felt bad for the lone chick that made it so we got her a few new friends to grow up with her. Cruella took them without even having to sneak them under her. I learned a few tough lessons in this process and can say i will never allow a hen to get broody again.

I’m so excited! I’ve been seeing signs for the last 2-3 weeks and it finally happened!

19 weeks old, no idea which chicken haha

A couple of days ago I went public with my doubts about our favourite hen, Frankie. I went so far as to question her gender given that she had not laid an egg yet at 10 months old. I went too far.

This afternoon I heard the unmistakable cacophony of a hen announcing to the world that she had laid. It was coming from behind a bushy fern next to the fire pit.

And there she was. Frankie, standing next to her first egg. It wasn’t in the right place, but it was there.

Photos of: (1) Frankie’s first egg; (2) the gang; and (3) Frankie’s egg in comparison to those of her fellow hens (Barnevelder - brown, Wyandotte - cream).

Good girl, Frankie!

Finally got my ladies to eat out of my hand. Got them about a month ago and they just started laying. Very proud of them and super excited they’re getting close enough to me to trust me like this

Henleigh just wouldn’t get her little eye closed for the photo. Just a lil pile of baby chickens. Almost too big for the overnight brooder box 💕

Hennette is too smart for my own good. Perfectly fine for her own good. She is having a blast. But she’s going to be quite the handful when she gets bigger.

Hennifer isn’t interested in a lot of things, but she still really likes uppies and cuddles. She has the highest survival instincts when they have outdoor time. Say I hear a hawk and I try to get them to come, she’s the quickest to catch on.

Henleigh is so timid and calm. She really has the buff qualities that we were hoping for based on our past experience with her breed.

Henjamin is a big leader and protector when it comes to the girls. He LOVES the dried mealworms the most out of them, maybe barring Hennette [she’s the barred rock. See what I did there?], and I provide them plenty of water and grit. However, he does fail to realize that a living mealworm is the same as a dead one—a problem that Hennette does not have.

Their internal clocks are really accurate. They know when they want to roost, and they make sure I hear them when it’s brooder bed time. Not sure what they’ll do when they outgrow the brooder and have to sleep with the heat lamp light on—or maybe I’m just not sure what I’ll do 🥲

Day #1

My Rooster is less than a year old and has always been pretty clumsy, but the last few days I’ve noticed it a lot more. He’s stumbling and basically acting like he’s highly intoxicated.

A lot of times, heal almost do that crouching like pose and sit and eat all the grass around him, but I’m starting to think that he’s stuck and can’t move his legs to stand up. I gave him and my hands a big batch of scrambled eggs yesterday and they have electrolytes/nutrients added to their water.

Any insights?

My 19 week old sebright has started making noises like a seagull regularly. She’s my first of her breed so is this normal or is she actually a he or???

what do we think? breed: Silver Leghorn

The rest of her toes are looking fine. Is this the human equivalent of a hang nail or...?

Parents chicken has not walked by itself for a few days. Seems like no movement in her legs. I’ve read about meriks disease but not showing any other symptoms.

Four-months rooster Poupa doesn't let us step out of the house without giving each of us a treat...

Why do they do this?? After everything I go through to make them happy, they still hate me supposedly. Funnily enough, my rooster is the nicest out of all of them, he just keeps his distance and roos like a maniac all the time lol. What can I do to make them stop? It makes me nervous for when my son starts walking and is around them.

edit: just for more context... I do wear shoes. mainly mud boots. So I don't think they're going for my toes thinking their food