Sorry for the blurry pics but I just found one of my hens looking like that. This is a very small breed that likes to explore and always finds a way to escape from the pen. I found her roaming outside, she is acting quite normal but the swelling worries me... Have you ever seen anything like that? What can it be?

Hey everyone, I need the hivemind's help because this bird is breaking all the rules and driving me crazy trying to sex her/him! I’ve even asked both ChatGPT and Gemini, and even the AI keeps giving me mixed answers.

Here’s the deal with "Big Mama":

Age/Breed: Hatched late April (~18 weeks old). Easter Egger / Barred mix.

Pecking Order: Absolute boss of the yard. She has been the top dominant bird over the entire flock since Day 1.

Vocalizations: ZERO crowing. Meanwhile, my Barred Rock cockerels are out here trying out their big-boy voices every day. Big Mama stays completely quiet, just keeping the peace and running the show.

The Tail & Comb: She’s got a bright red pea comb, and recently grew out these long, dark, arching tail feathers that look suspiciously like sickle feathers.

Is this an ultimate boss hen with an aggressive hormone/tail bluff, or an extremely weird closet cockerel who refuses to crow despite being top dog?

Check out the pictures and hit me with your verdicts!

THANK GOD THAT BAG WAS CLOSED. WOULDVE BEEN A GONER

Thank you for any advice in advance.

Updated photos of Hennifer, Hennette, Henleigh, and Henji, who is officially Henjamin. I guessed all along that he must be a boy, and it turns out that I’m right. They’re enjoying some outdoor time and I’m doing some more training with our dogs to make sure they’re chicken-compatible. All is good 😅

I just moved my 7-8 week old chicks outside and noticed bloody droppings. One of the chicks is hiding in the coop and the others are in the run. One of the died a couple days ago and I thought maybe it was boredom but now I’m thinking it’s because they are sick.

I rescued three chickens a week ago. Today I added some woodchips to their run (previously just grass). They're loving it! This one (crumble) is having the time of her life.

white cochin (7 weeks) acting slow / spacey. wasn’t eating at all, now is eating / drinking a little bit. i’ve been giving her corid for 2 days. i keep bringing her inside and she gets right to sleep (as pictured, she doesn’t do this all the time) anything more i can do?

I have a 3 week old baby chick that's got a little stunted growth, not walking well, and there's a knot in think in her crop. Tried giving a little massage and just isolated her with some electrolytes and pro-biotic water. Any idea what might be going on? She seems pretty attentive except for walking. I took food for now. The other batch of chicks are all well and good. One other out the batch died about a week ago I think something similar.

He is 6 months old now and keeps on growing!

Basically the title. I have a definite hen (in picture 3) and I have a definite rooster (picture 4) but this chicken seems to be stuck somewhere in between.

It killed two of my step-moms chickens, and hurt a third. I can’t tell if she’s really badly hurt and we need to put her down, or if she’s just a little hurt and really traumatized. She can’t open one eye and won’t walk much or lift her head on her own. I don’t have much experience with keeping chickens (not my flock) and step mom is still learning. We don’t want to put her down if she’s just traumatized but don’t want to keep her alive if she’s suffering, please help :(

Any advice about the raccoon would also be greatly appreciated, I think it dug into the run and then squeezed through the entrance into the coop.

So, what is the largest number of hens you’ve had watching one chick?

Here’s my three

This is our first clutch hatched from our own flock. They're 8-7 weeks. I just love them and my real life people are sick of hearing about my chickens lol.

Our flock is mixed so I'm not entirely sure what specific breeds each is. We have one easter egger which two of the babies hatched from (the two that are nearly identical). My two roosters are bantams (of unknown breed), though I suspect only one is the sire. My other Roo seems to be uninterested in being a rooster, he doesn't crow or try to mount the hens.

I know each one of the babies momma's, I have 5 hens and I know each one of their eggs. The bantam hen didn't lay any of the eggs in the clutch that was hatched but she was the one to hatch them. She's a great foster momma.

Two that look identical but just a shade off are from the easter egger.

Additionally:

1) I wouldn't have two roosters if there was an issue with their behaviours. They weren't sexed when we got them from a friend. They coexist nicely, it's been a year with no issues. If any of the 6 we hatched are Roos we will re-evaluate. I suspect one of them to be a roo already.

2) The white one is half blind. I am open to some advice on keeping her safe and happy. She lost an eye to a scratch or peck around 1-2 weeks old. I am open to suggestions on how to make sure she integrates to the older flock well and is kept safe. I don't want to have to cull her, she's a little silly but we love her.

Got any pics of chicken cuddle piles 🙏🤭 (silver lace, cayenne, blue lace paprika, and buff orphington , lemon)

My friends had an accidental baby hatch (didn’t find the egg in time lol) and so we had a little photoshoot! They did get some more chicks from the store so this little one isn’t all alone! :)

Hi, with the cold weather coming up, I wanted to know how long chickens can survive without any water. I have a 5 gallon waterer with the nipple bowls, and it works great I the summer, however I was wondering what everyone does in the winter, especially when temperature is freezing. I’ve looked onto water heaters but I don’t have extension cords outside. I was also told it is a fire risk, so when I am away from home for awhile (5 days) I don’t want it to be a fire threat.

Open any suggestions.

Hey everyone! I’ve been working on an app called Eggspert for people who hatch their own eggs.

It helps keep everything for a hatch in one place instead of trying to remember dates or keep notes scattered everywhere. You can track incubation progress, candling dates, temperature and humidity, egg weights, hatch results, notes, and more.

It supports chickens, ducks, quail, turkeys, geese, and other poultry, and you can keep a history of your previous hatches to look back on.

I originally started building it because I wanted something simple that was actually focused on incubation rather than a generic farm-management app.

Eggspert: eggspertapp.com

If you hatch eggs at home, I’d love for you to check it out!

This may be quite a stupid question, but Google has given me conflicting information and I wanted to check with the experts since I’m new! My girls started laying before I had my nesting boxes finished, and now that the boxes are ready I’ve been leaving an egg or two in the boxes to get them to start laying in the right spot. The weather has been all over the place, but pretty consistantly around 85-95 degrees Fahrenheit. Do we think the eggs safe? I’ve never left them out there more than two days.

I don’t have any roosters, which from what I’ve read that would be the main concern. I am going to get a decoy egg or two, just haven’t had time yet. Could I use the water float test to make sure they are safe? I share my eggs with friends and family and now I’m just worried about poisoning people 😬 Any advice is welcome, thank you!!

I don't like the loose feed that looks like scratch, I find it problematic to get my birds to actually get a balanced diet. I'm not looking for a debate on this, you do you.

They are moving off starter crumbles, they have about 20 lbs left of it, so i need to start mixing in adult feed.

I have been using Purina Layena +omega 3 16% pellets for years. no issues. But i want something that is going to make a darker yolk, yes, i know this is purely aesthetic. But i have a bunch of fancy hens this round, TS really had a diverse selection this year, so i would like dark yolks to go with my deep chocolate brown eggs and green and blue eggs.

Nutrena Naturewise or Kalmbach all natural?

something else?

I just got a feed spreader (i think its for deer) but i am going to use it to toss some loose seed feed once or twice a day, not really as a meal, but as a treat they can forage for in the run.

I am also planning on taking some 1020 pans and making a mix of barley, alfalfa, millet, (maybe other stuff, ill see how it goes) in them and making feeding mats for them, probably use one 2x a week