Haven't posted for a while - but just to say I sadly lost one of mine the other day... Stella just gave up the ghost for some reason, went into the hen house one morning and she was lifeless, poor thing. I'd only had her 6 months and she can only have been about 18 months old. Bloody great layer she...

Reward something and it will happen again I was afraid of that! I think I've made my bed now, so I have to lie in it. Or not, as the case usually is! Proves they're not bird-brains as they remember behaviour patterns. The trouble is, with letting them out later, they sound really unhappy being in t...

Hi, I wonder if anyone else's chickens are behaving like this? Basically, after I let my two out of the shed at about 6.30am every morning, put some feed out and throw them a few titbits - and depending on what day it is and what shifts I'm on - I crawl back into bed, one of them will give it about ...

Hmm, may be a fox, but could also have been a cat. They dart away so quickly by the time you look out the window they're gone. They're annoying little beggars and you can't really stop them. My girls used to make a racket if next door's cat approached them, but since I put (humane) plastic spikes ev...

know it's not strictly eating, but one of mine pecks the oven door! Maybe it's because she can see her reflection in it...whatever, it's well funny And I don't know what I'm doing wrong because they show no interest whatsoever in my toenails...

I've got this flytrap thing - see m. It does work and traps lots of flies - not sure whether it actually attracts more than there would be in the first place but there you go. But if you put it somewhere near the chicken house/run, but not too near where you'll be down wind of it, it's quite effecti...

don't know about marmite but I sometimes spread a bit of olive oil on a bit of brown bread, probably about once a week, and they go for that like crazy, and it's supposed to be good for em as it lubricates their innards, or something!! it's totally true, they wind you round their little fingers. I c...

I discovered the other day that mine like cheese!?? I only gave them a few crumbs though as I don't know if it's good for them. But I'm sure they'd have eaten a full block if I'd put it out! Does anyone else have cheese-loving chickens?? It never ceases to amaze me what they'd eat if I let them. The...

Just wondered, do anyone's hens make a weird squeaky sound while they're laying? One of mine does from time to time, and it sounds like a subdued squeak/screech, kind of like she's squeezing it out and it's painful! (They are quite big eggs.) She'll take quite a long time (good half hour) and then w...

Mine eat pretty much anything and everything. It's amazing, it's as if they would just keep on eating forever if I kept on feeding them. All sorts of greenery, veg, fruit, biscuits, pasta, rice, leftover curry (not too hot!) - they come running at breakneck speed into the kitchen and look at me impl...

Hi there, from a fellow newbie (had my two girls about a month now) - just a few tips from my own experience, don't know if they're technically right but I haven't had any problems yet : I already had a garden shed in my yard - about 5ft long x 3ft wide x 4ft high - so I cleaned that out thoroughly ...

It's funny because when I go to let them out, they have got on the perch by then - and I know what you mean about the "flump"! I think they get up on the perch when they wake up and stand to attention, waiting for me to get out of bed and go and open the door (I play a guessing game with m...

That's ok, I've not had them long and am not used to their habits! It is really cute to see them snuggling up, and I can't blame them in this weather!

Hi all, Was observing my two girls going to bed last night (left the shed door open ajar to see what they were up to!) and noticed that one of them was trying to burrow her head under the other one's body and wing, so much so they pretty much ended up on top of one another. But when the one on top g...

Hopefully it wasn't a mite. I guess there would have been more of them falling off her, too, if she was infested with them. But I'm still concerned about the scaly leg issue and don't know whether her legs are infested. They don't look that great. Now I'm getting more confident with holding her, I t...