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I couldn't tell you Josh. I never tried again!!

It's good to see a realistic photo. His dangling tail feathers look muddy!!!

Hi Josh. Do you put out clean drinking water for the birds? That'd be my recommendation.

That'll have been Suella Braverman then... 😵‍💫

I've not seen a hawfinch yet, but thanks to Merlin I heard one in a mature conifer in our garden a few months back. I wasn't sure whether it really was one, but when I played the call of a hawfinch on my phone, the bird in the conifer answered back!

Sorry Josh, I didn't mean to rub it in 😔

You'll hear people spouting all sorts of nonsense. If having cockerels encouraged hens to lay more eggs, then commercial egg producers would keep cockerels. They don't. I'll let you draw your own conclusion from that.

It depends how long you've had your setup. When you've just bought your coop, fox proof netting, onduline for the roof, tanalised timber posts, a staple gun, feeder, drinkers etc. , your first dozen eggs will look incredibly expensive!! But ten years down the line, it's a different story, when...

Do have a read through the old posts. There's some great information on runs, how much space per hen etc.

Five from five pullets. One pale blue, one chocolate brown, one mid brown, one magnolia pink matt & one magnolia pink with s shiny shell.

I'd question the theory that rounder eggs are more likely to be female than pointy ones. If this was true, guillemots would be extinct because all of their chicks would be male!!! Egg shape is partly down to the breed of hen that you keep. My Marans lay much rounder eggs than my Leghorn or my...

Hi Josh. I'm really sorry. It's heart-breaking, isn't it? Non-chicken keepers don't understand how your hens leave claw prints on your heart 😢. I hope you have some good memories to hold onto.

I agree that anything other than good quality layers' pellets should only be served as a treat & in small quantities. My youngsters are fond of the occasional carrot peeling & a few outer leaves of Brussel sprouts. If they're lucky they might get a handful of tinned red kidney beans. If they...

Thanks Chris. Any hints for removing the Postcrete that the posts were cemented in with?

I've not had any cockerels so far, so I’m not the most qualified person to comment. But I wouldn't want to be breeding from an aggressive cockerel, so I guess I'd be making room in the freezer...

Only a few minutes a day is a bit dishonest... I spend an hour per day cleaning drinkers, poo picking & feeding my 7 hens. Admittedly they're in 2 flocks, so it takes longer, & I usually make time for a cuddle or two so that they're used to being handled.

Hi Audrey. My current challenge is how to replace the tanalised timber vertical posts that hold up our hen run. They've been concreted into the ground for 12 years & are decaying. The question is how to remove & replace each post without dismantling the run, as the hens still need to live in it...

There used to be an invaluable post pinned to the top of this forum, containing lots of pictures of what constitutes "normal" for chicken poo. It covers a huge variety!! Perhaps Josh can reinstate it? I think it brought more visitors to the forum than any other thread! I hope your hen soon...

Hi Hellochuck. Yes, I'd agree that the one with the tuft on its head looks as though it could be a cream legbar hybrid. I don't know about the others. I examined my pol pullets pretty carefully when I went to buy them, but failed somehow to notice that one had had the end of her toe amputated...

I'm not sure if I want to look at an egg hatching in someone's nether regions! I think I'll pass, thanks! 😵‍💫