Recent content by Nick

One of my very fine looking White Leghorn Pullets has just started to lay. Rather small eggs (to be expected) but oddly not perfectly white - very pale, but not the white colour of the egg she hatched from. Was her mother putting it about, or can they start off a little tinted, but end up pure...

Hi all! my Speckledy has suddenly developed a huge swelling on her cheek. I've tried to snap it, not so easy, but is is basically solid, pink, doesn't feel hot and doesnt seem to bother the chicken. My first though was that she had been stung - but has anyone seen anything like this? Cheers Nick

Hi All, My super friendly little speckled has had a bit of a collapse overnight. Found her on the floor, gasping, and with a full, spongey crop. She was fine yesterday (laid a lovely egg), so I think this has literally just happened. I poured a bit of oil down her beak (made her cough a bit) and...

Thanks all! Ensign Rho is a lovely chicken, I was so happy that she survuved the foxes - she has a great character, really friendly, but very good mothering instinct. Morehens disease! Deffo - I can;t seem to shake the habit - particularly the habit of putting fertile eggs under anyone who goes...

Just for fun, Here are my three hybrids a bought a few weeks back... Tawny tau - my Chalk Hill Blue - currently laying lovely (smallish) blue eggs Zeta - my Blubelle, who is laying huge eggs, mostly double yolkers and then keeps popping out soft ones (although getting less) and Speckledy...

Hello all! Following my fox attack a couple of months ago, I got a nice new set of pullets from Chalk hill poultry. I think he said they were 14 weeks old This was on the 18th May, so 8 weeks ago. The chalk hill blue started laying lovely (rather small) blue eggs about 3-4 weeks ago (18/19 weeks...

And the bloody fox eats your chickens! Just one left out of a lovely flock of 5 - my Dark Brahma who is looking a little stunned - no damage to her I think. I almost wish the fix had taken them all, then I'd have just given up.... Think I'll get a couple of POL hybrids to keep her company, and...

Hello all! I had a shock when I went up to collect eggs the other day. Onle lovely tiny blue egg from the Araucana, one medium sized white egg from the Dark Brahma, and one *huge* mutant egg from the Bluebelle. It weighed 115g (twice the weight of the Brahmas egg), was 3 inches long and was all...

Hello all! My Welsummer, who is in permanent isolation as a backgarden chicken due to her vicious nature, is a bit off colour! She was layning nicely till last week, when she laid a shell-less egg and then stopped. She is now not eating much layers pellets, and is producing lots of almost...

My little lavender araucana has just started laying! Hurrah - unfortunately she seems a little dim witted, and goes into each next box in turn, making a lovely little nest. She then sits on one of her newly made nests for ages, before coming out and laying an egg on the path. I mean - honestly...

Hi All, I have a lovely Dark Brahma Cock who I need to get rid of (there is an advert - he is free if you want him!). Assuming the likely situartion that nobody will take him, I will need to cull him. I've culled a few smaller birds for the table before, but he is so huge I doubt that my...

Hello all! I have a bullying problem in my flock. Currently I have two Dark Brahmas - cock and hen One Lavender Araucana hen These three are all young, hatched in July. One Welsummer (the bully) - oldest hen about 18 months old One Speckledy hybrid - rather weak and wobbly - but a good layer...

Well, it had to happen some day and a couple of days ago I lost my first chicken to a fox. Naturally it wasn't the annoyingly wonky hybrid, nor the bossy head chicken who terrorises everyone, nor either of the two cockerals who will need 'dealing with' in the not too distant future, no it was my...

Hi All, Ages ago I got a single specledy chicken to add to my flock. This was of course a mistake, but a chicken I had bought turned out to be a cockeral, and the breeder offered the hen as a swap. The hen suffered some kind of injury, which has left her rather wobbly and unable to walk well -...

Hello all, My Barnevelder recently went broody, and she successfully hatched a nice set of chicks (4/5 hatched, so well done her). One of the chicks - a Dark Brahma is not doing so well in its growth, and has an odd bare patch on one side. She got a bot of a cut here after a few days, although...