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A conversation that I might have overheard between my young PoL pullets yesterday... Tigger (the cream legbar hybrid): "I don't know what Mum put into our layers' pellets yesterday, but I don't half feel constipated today. I feel really weird." Eleanor (the partridge leghorn): "Well the rest...

Four of my nearly new pullets are now growing wattles & their combs are less tiny. The Speckledy hybrid (Sweep) surprised herself this morning by squatting when I reached out a hand to stroke her. I could almost see a thought bubble above her along the lines of "what the heck just happened to...

A couple of photos of firstly "Tigger the Digger", my cream legbar hybrid who enjoys nothing more than digging through the bedding in the coop and chucking it out through the pop-hole, and "Sweep", my Speckledy, who I got for her cuddle potential, as I'm not likely to get many from a cream...

Here's my new copper black French Marans pullet. Can anyone tell me whether her feet are more feathery than they technically ought to be? If so, should I trim the feathers if they start getting wet & muddy over the winter? I've never had a bird with feathered feet before...

Here's Sue, my young Pita Pinta Asturiana who I've had for a few weeks now. She'd just moved from growers' feed to layers' pellets when I got her; she's got a fair bit of growing still to do before she hopefully comes into lay in the spring. At the moment she fits perfectly into my hand and...

Well the thought of getting up at 7am each morning to take the girls' feeder back to the run after the clocks changed was a step too far, so I've splashed out on a second Grandpa's feeder, so I now have one for each run. It didn't occur to me years ago, when I got the first one, but when you...

Well my last two current ex-batts are now nearly 4 1/2 and are still enjoying life (& feather pecking, which is why they're not being integrated with my new flock). It's I who've been across the rainbow bridge this week!

OK, so how do I attach photos to this version of the forum that I've already taken??? If I take a photo especially for this, it'll be miles too big... What are the size limits please?

I keep logging on to the forum but finding no new messages & then logging out again. It seems that I'm not the only one! I just checked the stats & found that, while I'm the only member logged in, there are another 57 people looking at the forum too. Now I don't feel so lonely!

Looking at the photo that's just been posted makes me wonder whether KFC buy their chicken from Cameroon 😔. When I went to one once to get a takeaway for my husband, I asked for free range chicken. The person serving me had never heard of it, so I asked to speak to the manager. They'd never...

Once again I'm debating getting my first cockerel. This'll sound like a daft question to HenGen, but my mental health does benefit from a good cuddle with my hens on a regular basis. If I've got a cockerel, will I still be able to cuddle my hens? Will the cockerel let me pick up his girls for a...

I'm now down to a "flock" of two remaining four year old ex-batts, having laid to rest Holly (my favourite white leghorn) and two 4 y/o ex-batts in the last 4 months, all from old age. I doubt if the last two will see the summer out, so my thoughts are turning to what I might get next. In the...

This is the odd looking pheasant that I saw in my garden the other day. I'm hoping that BYM or another birding enthusiast out there might be able to identify it. Please excuse the appalling image quality but if I zoom in on my phone when taking the photo I can't crop off enough later to make...

I log in, click on "new posts" and am told that there aren't any ?. I know that BYM's away, but where has everyone else gone? It's lonely here all on my own... I've resorted to reading a fountain pen forum, but there's nothing remotely cute about fountain pens & they'd make a dreadful...

Another one for new chicken keepers in cold weather... It's great cleaning up chicken poo in freezing weather, as most of It's in the coop- less searching it out on the run floor, & it doesn't smell so bad. But when it's frozen solid to the floor, a dedicated garden trowel is handy for...

For the benefit of anyone out there looking after hens (or other poultry) through their first cold winter, I thought I'd share a tip for when drinkers freeze. Each day when I feed the hens & take them clean water, I bring their (second) dirty drinker back indoors. If the contents are liquid, I...

I was thinking... When a band or singer hasn't come up with much new material for a while, they're likely to release a "greatest hits" or "best of" album. As the forum, likewise, hasn't had much new material recently, I thought I'd kick off a "best of" thread. Look up your favourite threads...

Nibbles, one of my ex-batts, has been putting a fair amount of weight on (though there's no specific lump or swelling around her rear end). I was googling ascites again last night in case that might be the cause. We've had a chat this morning. If it is ascites, she needs to cut out alcohol &...

How are you all following storm Babet? I hope you & your flocks are all safe & sound? Lady A & Hen-Gen have been in my thoughts especially...

DEFRA have announced that poultry shows are permitted from 23rd August 2023 (in England only & no ducks, geese or swans allowed). https://www.gov.uk/government/news/bird-flu-latest-situation-avian-influenza-prevention-zone-declared-across-great-britain The question is, would you be brave enough...