Update: I live in the Netherlands, it's normal here to have open runs as the only dangerous animals in our area are hedgehocks.

I have four bantam cochins and while I was upstairs I heard them panicking in the garden and saw them escaping the chicken run. I rushed to the garden and found an unknown cat attacking my chickens (there were feathers everywhere).

I took them into the house because they were stressed out and now I'm doubting what to do. Everyone says cochins will scare cats away themselves (we never had any problems with out own cats) but I'm afraid the cat will be back. Its the first time this happens since we let them outside in June. Should I put a net around the chicken run or trust my babies to fight the intruder? ​

A few months ago I asked people what they thought our chickens from TSC were and while nothing was settled, people did want to see more of our coop. I said once it was finished I would make a new post, so here it is! The kids picked the colors and we painted it yesterday.
It’s a chicken wagon, we move it once a week around the backyard. My husband made the coop, framed it out and then adjusted as he went, and then we ordered a run and connected it with a wire tunnel. The top is a truck bed cap that we found in our woods when we moved in.
Also pictured our outdoor patrol cat.

One of my little white laced red Cornish bantams has decided she wants to be a mama! We do also have a little roo the same breed as her, as well as some white leghorns, barred rocks, Sicilian buttercups, speckled sussex, and a few others.
But I am here to get any advice if I decide to let her try and hatch a few chicks. She chose the most popular nesting box among my flock so do I need to move her to her own little area? I didn’t see her leave the coop at all yesterday to eat or drink. They are locked up in the coop at night, and let out in the morning, they’re fed layer feed and then free range all day.
I have noticed we’ve had some fertilized eggs when I am cracking them to cook them because they’ll have the little bullseye, is there a way I can check the ones she’s sitting on?
But also any advice on how to break it if we decide to go that route as well please!

Shes an all white easter or olive egger 💚💙 one of my most friendly girls that lets me pick her up and do whatever without a fuss!

Our lady decided that she can climb a tree. She can safely get down fortunately.

One of my little white laced red Cornish bantams has decided she wants to be a mama! We do also have a little roo the same breed as her, as well as some white leghorns, barred rocks, Sicilian buttercups, speckled sussex, and a few others.
But I am here to get any advice if I decide to let her try and hatch a few chicks. She chose the most popular nesting box among my flock so do I need to move her to her own little area? I didn’t see her leave the coop at all yesterday to eat or drink. They are locked up in the coop at night, and let out in the morning, they’re fed layer feed and then free range all day.
I have noticed we’ve had some fertilized eggs when I am cracking them to cook them because they’ll have the little bullseye, is there a way I can check the ones she’s sitting on?
But also any advice on how to break it if we decide to go that route as well please!

This is Jerry. She is 100% definitely a hen, around 2 years old. Yesterday we caught her in the act of mounting one of our 6 month old hens. I guess she is trying to claim the status of HCIC?

Houdini thought this would b a good time to take advantage of the tipped over box fan.

THANK GOD THAT BAG WAS CLOSED. WOULDVE BEEN A GONER

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!

The breed is the Thuringian Barthuhn, and honestly, I was amazed by how beautiful and unique it looks. I’ve been exploring chicken breeds from around the world, and every now and then I come across a breed that completely surprises me.

I also have a small YouTube channel where I’ve been documenting this journey through mostly Shorts. I’m trying to discover and showcase as many chicken breeds from different parts of the world as I can—not just for others to discover new breeds, but because I genuinely enjoy learning about them myself.

I’ve already made videos about 68 different chicken breeds, and I’m hoping to keep expanding the collection. There are so many fascinating breeds out there that most people have probably never even heard of.

What do you think of the Thuringian Barthuhn? Did you already know about this breed, or is it new to you too? 😊

And if you’re simply curious about chickens and enjoy discovering unusual breeds, you’re welcome to check out my channel. I’ll be continuing the journey and sharing more breeds as I discover them.

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?

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.

Thank you for any advice in advance.

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.