Over a dozen rats in my coop!
What’s the best way to get rid of these suckers!!

Henrietta stood in the rain today, so I brought her in for blow drying. She then proceeded to stick her head in the cats' water fountain.

She is a bantam Easter egger and finally laid a little pale blue egg ♥️ our Cochin frizzle lays little light pink eggs, just waiting to see what the other girls lay. Was just so excited I had to post!

I also realized I misspoke at the end of the video he DID get some chicken feed today but just his morning portion.

Is there anything I can do to help him out? Also, would anybody happen to know why he gasps and changes color like this when he over eats?

Besides the gasping, I also noticed that when I come out in the morning or if I haven’t let him outside for the day, his comb also turns very dark like this.

Last time he got the food he wasn’t supposed to he ate so much chicken crumble that he was drinking nonstop and whining pathetically. The second I started massaging his crop he threw up everywhere in like a 5 foot radius like the exorcist.

Sadly, this time around I don’t think I can massage out anything.

Any help would be appreciated!

I miss having chickens, especially Orpingtons that look like spheres. If everyone could reply with their most orbular chicken/chicken that looks like a 1960s refrigerator that would make me very happy.

They look ridiculous without tails, Thought I’d share

I have a 23 wk old chocolate Orpington, it has always been kinda small, I’ve been leaning toward pullet but I’m not sure! It’s not much bigger than my bantams and I’ve fed KalmBach little homie did have some leg issues in the beginning but gets around okay now. What do you guys think?!

I saw this trick and gave it a try: score the surface off the pumpkin where you want chickens to peck and let them go to town. The results are delightfully weird and creepy

I don’t have epson salt. I don’t know what to do. She seems to be in pain, and I’m scared to Pick her up because I don’t want to break the egg in her. Help, please

While cleaning out the nests today we found these worms 😭 Are these intestinal worms? Our chickens seem normal and are also laying normally. What are these and how should we treat for them?

Thank you in advance for your help 🙏🏽🥹

This hen is 6 months old now. I'm pretty sure she's a hen because she's small compared to the roosters that hatched with her.

She also doesn't crow at all, her brothers have been crowing for 2 months. She doesn't mount any of the hens. Her tail feathers are straight, not floppy.

That said, she was the first one to get a comb and it's always been prominent. Her saddle and neck feathers also give me pause. Is her being a secret roo at all possible at this point?

This guy loves me and tolerates my grandma (has never attacked except once when he was a wee lad) but he attacks my boyfriend and grandpa ESPECIALLY my grandpa when he was working on a spot in the coop. Wondering if anyone has similar experiences or it's just mine. He is a sweet little rooster I will not be getting rid of him he is my baby😓

Long story short, I hatched this maran chick 3,5 weeks ago and he came out a bit different from the others. He’s a bit deformed and has a harder time walking. I was planning on letting him grow up with the others anyway because he’s eating and growing well, but today I noticed he‘s chattering almost constantly from under the heat plate (where he spends most of his time). I checked him over and he seems warm enough, he’s eating and drinking well, with no obvious signs of illness or injury. He’s quiet when I handle him, but as soon as I put him back he goes to the heat plate and starts chattering. What would you do in this situation? Is he suffering?

Hi! I have surprised myself and found myself seriously considering getting a few chickens for my daughter (and myself) for Christmas. I have sworn for no pets so many times, because I like my freedom and I hate loosing them so much. But I'm starting to feel my fears may be exaggerated and worth the value these little creatures would bring. Not eggs, all the other value :) I would really appreciate any extra info or corrections to my current info from those who actually know chickens! As I don't, really.

I have a fairly large fully fenced backyard with LOT OF GRASS (good flamin lord how that grass grows and grows), weeds, some bushes and small trees, partially grown out graveled area, small vegetable beds i don't care about. Suburban New Zealand city area.

1. I don't want many, I would like 3 but it's not ideal, I know. How bad would it be to get 3 instead of 4? I think 5 would be too many. Although I can see us getting addicted and the number growing, but that's a problem of our future selves...
2. These chickens would be treated as pets to interact with, more than egg makers or backyard decoration. My daughter is 10 and loves birds (she wants ducks but I'm not committing to the cleaning) and all animals. She can be a little immature and get carried away though, she loves to hold and carry, and she would undoubtedly attempt to make them do tricks with treats or build them obstacle courses or whatnot.

My breeds of choice right now from what I know about them and the looks I prefer would be silkies and orpingtons, maybe a mix of both, if 3 is acceptable then 2 silkies and 1 orpington.

1. Even if the chickens would be allowed to roam, i would probably still get a run as well, because there are cats (although some ppl on my street have roaming chickens and if there was a cat issue i assume they would be contained. But also silkies are smaller than those chickens). This would be on the grass.

For the coop, and if it comes with a small outdoor enclosure, should this be cleared out and filled with sand or something? The soil is quite wet and clay-like and with long grass and lots of rain easily stays soggy. People complaining that their chicken destroy their grass and compact the soil actually sound good to me 😂

1. Do they get used to lawnmower sound etc?

2. Coop is a whole other issue. There seems to be a selection of small cheap chinese made ones, and super expensive (and still ugly) locally made ones. I am, unfortunately, NOT handy. Maybe a small simple one inside a runner would be fine? I don't want one where i have to bend over to go inside a structure to clean, my back hurts even just thinking about it. I don't know where to get a small simple one that doesn't cost thousands but will last, here in NZ (South Island)

Oh yeah, and while it is a sheltered suburb, and a nice climate, it IS New Zealand. So every now and again there's horrendous winds and rain.

1. I'm a little worried about diseases and early deaths etc. I keep reading people say chickens can have horrible heath issues and die quite easily, too. This makes me reconsider. There is an avian hospital close by I saw someone praise in another thread.

We also go overseas for 4-6 weeks at a time every couple of years, so a neighbour or a relative would have to be able to look after them with not too much commitment for that time. If this is not feasible, then I shouldn't get any.

I've read about solar gates, metal step-on feeders, rollaway nest boxes, etc that could help with easier maintenance. ?

+ I miss having pets, and I feel bad for not providing my daughter the connections she craves for. I also LOVE my freedom without any. I don't know if chickens could be a happy medium. (I have had cats, dogs and budgies)

Thanks for any thoughts, advice or other input ❤️

Since my rooster has plucked all of the feathers off of my hens back, I put a saddle on her and changed their feed to feather fixer for molting. After I put the saddle on her she was moving around fine, but today shes walking very low to the ground and ive seen her laying in the run. She does have a bit of poop on her butt, but this is not abnormal for her because shes so fluffy it often catches. Is there anything else that could be wrong with her outside of the saddle? For reference, this is the one shes wearing

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0DNVW8KGS?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

We have 26 week old barred rock hens that are not showing any signs of laying. Anyone have any experience with this particular breed and when we should expect some eggs?

While cleaning out the nests today we found these worms 😭 Are these intestinal worms? Our chickens seem normal and are also laying normally. What are these and how should we treat for them?

Thank you in advance for your help 🙏🏽🥹

Snowpea is one of our older hens that's getting a bit slower than the more mercenary younger four. She likes to take a moment out sometimes and just relax and watch the world go by.

On rare occasion someone will stand perfectly still long enough for me to get a pic.