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One of my hybrids has gone broody, she is about 8 months old and in good health. Is there any harm in just letting her get on with it. She has taken herself off to a smaller coop that I just leave open for them but they dont sleep in, I put her out every morning and she eats and drinks (this...

One of my girls isnt herself. She was the friendliest of all my girls, we hatched her last July and she always was first out of the coop and the most curious. I noticed 2 days ago she stayed behind in the coop when i opened up for breakfast, and when she did come out she went behind the coop on...

So my previous chickens were ex-batts and very happy to be scratching around on the floor, they might sit on top of the coop from time to time, but generally they were on the ground... And the welsummers and Martha (the big fat hybrid) were very much the same... until I mixed the babies into...

At 26 weeks one of my welsummers has (finally) started laying YAY! I've bought some rubber eggs and popped them into the nesting boxes because the first 2 seem to have been dropped where she stood, but she seemed to get the hang of it by the 3rd one. Considering its winter I'm getting an egg...

Last night I decided that it was time to do the final integration of the clutches. In one group I have 2 welsummers (aged 24 weeks) and a HUGE hybrid (21 weeks) (all hens), and in the other younger group, I have 5 hybrids (18 weeks), 1 male. They are all of similar size, except for the hybrid...

So, I resolved my last problem (cockerel attacking what I thought was a hen) as the "hen" started crowing, which just goes to show you cant go by comb and wattles alone lol. Both boys have now been rehomed with a lovely lady, and are now freeranging over a huge area and we can go and visit...

Everything has been going swimmingly, all 10 chicks outside, the welsummers (now 15 weeks) the ss and hybrid (now 12 weeks) all free ranging and getting on well, no bickering at all, and the other 5 mixed (now 9 weeks) in a coop with run inside the free range area... great... then yesterday I...

I thought it was about time I posted a few pics

This isnt chicken related butI'm at my wits end and need some suggestions, I live on the coast and so I'm pretty used to herring gulls being around. However, we have one that keeps coming into the house and I dont know how to stop it. I've got the hosepipe next to the door and squirt it but it...

I have 2 beautiful welsummer girls who are now 9 weeks old and have started free ranging this week, and 3 6 week old chicks who are in a run inside the free range area (2 speckled sussex and 1 unknown breed but I suspect a hybrid). The welsummers are really docile and are lovely natured girls...

One of my 3 week chicks has diarrhea. She/he isn't unwell and isn't showing any other symptoms of anything other than very watery smelly poo and passing gas a lot. She/he is eating well, drinking plenty, not isolating him/herself. I've checked the crop (although they are still on chick...

Out of the second clutch I hatched I had a 50% hatch rate, which was disappointing considering all 7 had hatched last time (with one dying shortly afterwards). However, these eggs came through the post, 2 didnt get past the first week, and the other one, seemed to be doing well, but just didnt...

So my welsummers are 4 weeks old today. It was very obvious which were boys and which were girls, the boys had huge red combs compared to the girls, their chest feathers were black and well, their demeanor and behaviour was different. I ended up with 4 boys and 2 girls. There is no way I could...

Will I be able to put my chicks which are in the incubator at the moment with the chicks I already hatched? There will be 3 weeks age difference. I thought it would be okay, but then seeing how much my chicks have grown in a few days has made me question whether it would be possible. Thanks

You guys probably already know this, but I thought I would post it any way. I was talking to my vet over the weekend to ask for assistance in culling any males chicks I may have. Mainly because I dont have the confidence to do it and I am concerned I may cause distress and pain without...

So, I have just hatched 7 Welsummers. 1 died shortly after hatching (it hadnt even got out of the shell fully). I'm not sure if it was trampled, I read not to open the incubator until all the eggs were hatched and it was a bit cramped with all the shells and new chicks. Alternatively, it looks...

2 days ago one of my 6 ex-batts laid 2 eggs (I had 7 eggs one of which was white rather than brown) then yesterday she laid again (6 eggs) and I presume it was the same chicken that laid a soft shelled egg. I presumed it was because of laying 2 eggs the day before that the shell was soft...

Hi I am new to chicken keeping, I have 6 beautiful rescued ex-batts who came to live with me on Friday and have had me enthralled ever since. I can feel an obsession growing :D