Ellie's urgent urges to run back to nest shortly after egg laying

feeds@yuku.com (jjthink) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 06:05:11 GMT

Ellie sometimes will lay an egg, then run off and play with BJ, only to get a sudden urge a little while later to run like a bat out of you know where back to the nest to sit for another 20 minutes or so. Then she once again appears in the yard ready to explore with BJ again. She's not broody. It's as though she gets the sensation of needing to lay after she already has but then it passes. I am wondering if this may be indicative of a looming problem of some kind or if it's...

A hen acting like a goose!

feeds@yuku.com (thkosan) — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:10:18 GMT

Lucky, a female goose that we have, is sitting on eggs in one of the chicken coops. Like all female geese, she is constantly using her bill to put leaves, shavings, etc., on her back. Today we watched a leghorn hen, standing about two feet away from Lucky, watching Lucky intently. We sat there very quietly, amazed by how intently this hen was staring at Lucky, but also a bit concerned because this girl is a known egg eater. We were ready to run in and kick her out of the coop if she decided...

Will they ever settle in...

feeds@yuku.com (BeckT) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:02:36 GMT

Back in may I got 4 ee pullets. They have been in the big coop for quite awhile now. Long enough to settle down and fit in.But they have not. All another chicken has to do is move in their direction and they run screaming bloody murder. In all the chickens I have had these girls are the most skiddish I have ever seen. It's not like I never tried to work with them, lord knows I tried. Even as little chicks they were this way. Can they be, shall we say challenged in the head? I hate to see...

bonding

feeds@yuku.com (farttie1) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 18:16:02 GMT

hello i am new here

i got my first chicken about 3 days ago and when i try and let them feed out of my hand they dont and when i just to get close to them they run away which all this is understandable
so i want a easy and sure wy to get your chicken to like me really

thx
farttie1

rooster attacking hens

feeds@yuku.com (TheBjorks) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:29:01 GMT

I am brand new to the forum; I hope someone can help. We desperately need a solution to the problem. Over the summer we have noticed that our RIR hen was really getting beat up. At this time she has almost no feathers on her back, tops of her wings, and only three tail feathers left. We live in Minnesota. The winters are fierce even with a heat lamp and an insulated shed. The hens need their feathers to survive the winter. I assumed it was our hen to rooster ratio. We have three...

Field trip for chicks

feeds@yuku.com (darlasmum) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 19:38:44 GMT

I took my 3 wk olds out to the coop today for some fresh air and a chance to run around. I carry them, from the brooder in the house, out to the coop in a covered basket. They dont like the basket and make alot of noise- that is til once in the coop I lift the lid. They look around all big eyed- like- what is THIS place? I am going to need to rename my BR Butter- cuz once in the sun she just melts.

chicken coops

feeds@yuku.com (ange) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:24:52 GMT

Any ideas on how to keep my chicken coops clean. Would love to hear on how everyone cleans their chicken coops and runs and keeps them clean

Two Mums, one chick!

feeds@yuku.com (treegod) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 06:13:09 GMT

It's one of those I wasn't paying attention to. They'd been sitting on the same nest for a while and I had plans to remove one and keep the other sitting there. But I didn't.
The chicks hatched (3 in all) and somehow both hens became their mothers and there has been no confusion. Unfortunately we had a rat attack or something and lost two of the chicks, but the third one has been mothered very well by both hens, something I wasn't expecting.

Mama has gone nuts

feeds@yuku.com (Homegirl) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:09:52 GMT

Geez it is one thing after another.....weeded out all but one boy, now Mama keeps chasing him away from the food. She did chase one of the girls too. But not like him and he was frantic to get away from her..... Their food was low, but even after she ate she kept chasing him....Not all the time, but he is afraid now....What the heck is this? PMS??? Manic-depressive...

Adding and subtracting too fast?

feeds@yuku.com (Homegirl) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 15:18:08 GMT

Hi All,
I have 4 pullets, 4 cockerels, about 9 weeks old now, and feral Mama Bette. All have seemed to get along just fine...I rehomed 3 of my roos saturday, reducing the testosterone! I share a hen house on my neighbor's property with her 2 pullets, one of my cockerels,. It is divided in half by solid walls. They can hear each other but not see each other....The same night, we took down the barrier and put my neighbors chicks on the perch.... Mama did stand up but did...

introducing new rooster

feeds@yuku.com (wendyb) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:19:07 GMT

Hello, I have 4 Americauna hens, all laying ......they are between 7 months and 14 months old.

A friend of mine has a Bantie Silkie Rooster that he got by mistake and needs to find him a new home. I'd like to take him into my flock because he's absolutely adorable and extremely friendly.

Obviously, scuffles can occur when you introduce adult birds into a flock....so I'm worried he will take a beating because he's so much smaller.
Or will the...

Strange Rooster Behaviour - doesn't crow, acts sad, etc.

feeds@yuku.com (jayde88) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:14:39 GMT

Hello,

One of my roosters is a little over a year old. When he was younger he was quite energetic and crowed frequently, but since last autumn he stopped crowing and has begun to act a bit 'depressed': he doesn't run around with the rest of the chickens, walks slowly, sleeps on the ground in the corner, etc. Sometimes he has trouble balancing. However, nothing particularly major seems to be wrong with him, he is not visibly injured, he eats, he hasn't been having...

Australorp Hen Acts Like a Rooster!

feeds@yuku.com (NewMamaHen) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:05:29 GMT

She is mean, mean, mean! She will hop on the back of the other girls at every opportunity and beat the crap out of them. Anytime they are laying down, (dust bath, waiting on the nests to lay an egg) or head down, (pecking at scratch etc). This particular hen does not lay any eggs. (Although a couple of months ago she laid a very small, (less than 1") dark brown egg two days in a row. That's it. Nothing since....

Getting chickens to like you?

feeds@yuku.com (StreetMutt) — Thu, 28 May 2009 09:48:22 GMT

Hi! I just made my first post on here on the coop section and as I explored more, found this section and have a question!

I have two 2-month-old pullets, a buff orpington and a RIR. I got them a month ago for my anniversary (my first chickens!).

Blanche, the BO, has always been very friendly with me. She will come running up to me if I crouch and open my hands. Rose, the RIR, wants nothing to do with me and does the "OMG I'm scared" trill when I approach her...

Change of behaviour - help please

feeds@yuku.com (adandsar) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:45:53 GMT

Hi I have two chickens, one of them keeps sitting on her perch adn fluffing herself up. When we force her into the garden, she darts around, fluffs up, flaps her wings, has something to eat then goes back to her perch for long periods. She is eating ok ... whats up with her? Help please

My chickens are eating dog poo

feeds@yuku.com (athena) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 23:03:15 GMT

Does anyone know if this is normal behavior or are they missing something in their diet? Thanks.

Sharing the coop...

feeds@yuku.com (xabbess) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:43:23 GMT

Hi,
I have one lone Banty. Her compatriots died. I will be getting 5 new chicks this next week and will keep them under a lamp in the house until they are feathered out enough to be introduced to the outdoor coop. Having read a lot about societal behaviors in this forum, I know that new birds need to be introduced slowly to any existing flock. Well...my flock consists of only one lone little lady. Do I still need to introduce the new teenagers over a period of time....or will their sheer...

Will a rooster keep the peace?

feeds@yuku.com (chixrule) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:47:23 GMT

We have 6 ladies. 4 are just about 3 years old and 2 are a year old. We decided not to have a rooster because of the noise. But some of our girls are bullying the younger girls. Will a rooster help keep the peace? We may just put up with the noise if it will help the bullying.

Thank you in advance for your help!

announcing "I laid an egg"

feeds@yuku.com (DonnaP) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 13:47:20 GMT

We have up till now, believed that our silly hens make the ruckus when they've laid an egg to announce the joyous experience. I just read in Backyard poultry that the reason they do this is to get 'any predator' that could be nearby to come get them, not their eggs. Wow, i guess you learn something new every day. We just thought we had proud hens. My question is, all the other hens chime in when such an event happens, are they helping out by doing the same thing or are they...

Hens not laying

feeds@yuku.com (taterpepp) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:44:08 GMT

I have 17 hens. Yes 17, not one is laying. I have 1 hen that is 4 yrs old, I understand her not laying, but a majority are around 2. They are well fed, are let out in the yard almost every day, and havent laid anything in a few months. Thought is was change in weather, time, wind direction anything. NO EGGS. Any ideas??? They are a mixture of wellsummers, cochins, buckeyes, amercaunas, and brahmas. Thanks for any help with this.

Chicken Behaviors