Your Chicken Questions Answered

Image: Hencam.com.

Image: Hencam.com.

I’ll be interviewing poultry expert, author and HenCam.com blogger Terry Golson for the Root Simple Podcast this Thursday morning. If you have any chicken questions you’d like me to ask leave them in the comments for this post.

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7 Comments

  1. My 10 month old Black Australorps only had about a month of laying every day before they slowed down for the New Zealand winter. Now that the days are lengthening, I’m starting to find eggs regularly again, but several were either laid without shells or smashed under their perch as though a hen was caught unawares and laid in her sleep. Is there anything I can do to help my young hens lay strong shells in the right place?

  2. Sometimes we have an off tasting egg from our flock of four in Anaheim . They have free range if most of our fairly large yard and we feed them a mix of grains and kitchen scraps. The taste is hard to describe. The best I can do is to call it kind of musty tasting. Not pleasant. Do you know what can be done?

  3. Can you talk a little about ascites? In our first backyard flock of 4, all just over 2 years old, we have drained 2 chickens of (self-diagnosed) ascites, getting 2+ cups of fluid out of each, and we are worried about the health of our chickens. Thanks!

  4. what to do when the hen gets plugged up with an egg? I had one plugged up, tried to massage her and the backside with warm water baths and soap but to no avail. the poor thing died. what to do?

  5. 1. We have a small flock of 6. 2 Isa Browns 3 years, 2 Easter Eggers 3 years old, and 2 younger Isa Browns just over 1 year. One of the younger Isa Browns turned mean after this winter. She wasn’t mean before. She takes every opportunity to peck your shoe/foot. Her neck feathers ruffle up and she is fast! None of the others do this. The rest are very friendly and come when called. She pecks and draws blood. What made her so mean?

    2. The older Isa Browns (2 years old) went through their first molt this spring. They have not layed eggs since. A few trys, but no shell eggs mostly. We are using the same organic layer feed, kitchen scraps, fermented grain for probiotics, and occasional oyster shell and diatenacious earth. Sometimes we crush a calcium caplet and put it in their kitchen scraps. We also give them a scoop of homemade dog food–meat & veggies with rice/millet/barley. They free range in our backyard two times a day early morning and early evening. They are in a pen that is moved daily to a new grassy spot and protect them from the hawks. Why have they stopped? Are they done laying so soon? They used to produce XLG eggs daily. The Easter Eggers are the same age, went through molt, and continue to produce! Any ideas?

    Thanks!

  6. i have a mixed roo 1 buff orp fem and a lavender orp fem. they are all exactly same age. 5 months old. shouldnt they be starting to try and nest. on layer feed/oyster and grit. they freerange 4/5 hrs daily. main question is my roo always pecks at lavenders feet and occasionally her neck when they go to roost @ night. doesnt do to buff. why is he this way towards her. she gets highly ticked off @ him when does it. pretty much nighly occurance……

  7. Hey all–thanks for your questions. Terry was nice enough to answer all of them (and a few from Facebook). The podcast will go up next Wednesday.

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