That is very true Manda misuse of antibiotics is a huge problem. Definitely should be only used correctly and for the right situation. And perhaps not unique of course but all I was saying is that a vet is not the 'be all and end all'

I know you will have a unique perspective as you work at a vets

Certainly have a word with the vet, but at the end of the day your know your hen. I would disagree with Bluebell that vets are always the expert where hens are concerned. Yes if you are lucky, sometimes not the case and they are willing to give up too easily.

I've had a few new ones sent to me for review but to be honest, most of them are either seemingly published either through research or just written in the 'I know everything' mode and all pretty much the same. Thats a bit harsh, Richard, its a lot of time and effort to write a book and credit to any...

I would say that as long as she is eating drinking and behaving normally with no pain and enjoying life I would leave her on baytril and metacam for a while and not have her pts. I have had hens who have laid internally before and in time the egg has been reabsorbed and the hen was fine. I dont see ...

Not that anyone really needs me to say this but please be extra vigilant with locking up your hens. I have a bloody fox that is visiting my garden a minimum of three times during the day at the moment and at night too. I know that if I am even a bit careless or let my guard down, my hens will be gone.

Thats great. I am sure you have made the right decision. If anyone gets too bossy a quick squirt with water will put a stop to it. Good luck

A lot will disagree with me but I personally do not have anything over 2' high for them to jump down from and even then it is set up so that they prefer to walk up and down ramps. Prevention is better than cure, however I have extremely large and heavy hens

errr no that did sound bad lol

If they are going in the boxes I reckon all your eggs are being eaten.the assumption that there would always be signs is erroneous as they will also eat the shell and the yolky bedding. I suggest curtains

Hi Cate I petsonally would not worry about vaccinations as long as you get them from a reputable breeder where it looks clean etc. i eat runny yolk eggs and tiramasu and havent had any problems (touch wood). I think problems like Salmonella on a small scale like ours are hopefully very unlikely if w...

Hi there

I personally agree you should get younger hens as it is more likely in my experience that they will be less confident and bossy and so Mildred should not get bullied as easily. Those sound like a good plan.

Read this; proof it works (my previous advice)

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=47158&p=667629&hilit=+Curtains#p667629

Just make sure there is a slit in the middle that they can get through, no need for a gap as it will let the light in. Yes Kitla ime it works perfectly every time, instantly as long as it is dark blackout stuff. The egg rate often gets better as hens will choose the dark privacy of a curtained nestb...

None of my hens are vaccinated but I am extremely careful from whom I buy. You need to be careful mixing vaccinated and non vaccinated hens as some vaccines use a live virus etc which could be harmful to non vacinnated hens