Small-Scale Smallholding, A Tiny Farm In A Big Garden
From time to time your chickens will get worms, and not just the juicy kind they find in the garden. They'll also get intestinal worms. Icky. Poultry worms are a common occurrence, especially if your flock free range frequently. I realise this is a gross subject, but if you keep chickens then you should learn to recognise the signs of … Continue reading Poultry Worms
Around this time of year, when our chickens are going through their late autumn moult, coops and pens resemble a chicken crime scene. Huge bundles of feathers strewn everywhere! For the new chicken keeper, experiencing chicken moult can be alarming! When your flock decide it's time for a change of clothes feathers literally drop out overnight - … Continue reading Chicken Moult
My beautiful Speckledy hen is feeling under the weather at the moment, it's a complicated situation not made any easier with chickens naturally hiding illness. Ginny was diagnosed with egg yolk peritonitis last summer, a condition which basically means a hen begins laying internally rather than producing eggs in the usual way. Yolks and egg matter drop into … Continue reading Poorly Hen, Egg Yolk Peritonitis and Other Problems
I found 3 fairy eggs and 1 normal size egg in total during the first 2 weeks of the new rescue hens being here. Fairy eggs are tiny and yolkless eggs and are also known as witch eggs, fart eggs or wind eggs. They're usually the result of a disturbed reproductive cycle or occur when a hen is coming … Continue reading Fairy Eggs
Does my chicken have a cold? Sneezing accompanied by discharge from the nostrils are commonly referred to as a 'chicken cold'. However, it's very likely your chicken/flock are suffering from a respiratory infection such as mycoplasma, often severe in winter. A fairly common illness (according to my vet) and contagious, mycoplasma is transmitted by wild birds, footwear, clothing and feeding equipment. The first time chickens succumb … Continue reading Chicken Colds – Mycoplasma
I'm really sad to announce that my bluebelle hen, Myrtle, passed away today at the tender age of 17 months. She went downhill incredibly fast, suffering from suspected Marek's. Symptoms were paralysis of both legs (splayed), paralysis of the neck with blindness and inability to feed or drink. I took her to my vet today and the … Continue reading Marek’s and Myrtle
