Frequently Asked Questions

This is usually an occasional thing, although younger or older hens are more prone to it. If your chicken is young, sometimes rough shells can occur for a while until her egg-laying cycle has settled. Older chickens may lay eggs with rough or pimpled shells, too. This issue can appear at any age, however. For instance, in the winter, sometimes a chicken may be getting excess calcium as laying slows down and they are less able to graze; the excess is distributed over the shell, sometimes in "pimples" or rough patches. Other possible causes: sometimes, rough shells will be caused...

In many ways they do. Chickens can make a very wide range of sounds, and they communicate amongst each other well. Roosters can sing loudly when they crow--they also issue predator warnings. Interestingly, they have different "words" for a predator that is coming on the ground, compared with a predator that is coming from above, like a hawk. They can call their girls over whenever they find a tasty treat by using a specific vocalization that the hens recognize. Hens make a similar clucky calling sound when they are teaching their babies what is good to eat and what is...

A hen who is ready to lay exhibits the following signs: Her comb will get larger and redder right before she begins laying. She will "squat" submissively when you reach down to pet her. She may get a little louder right before she begins laying, since she is experiencing new instincts, and she may not be sure exactly what they are telling her to do, yet. She may go in and out of nest boxes looking for a safe place to lay. She may try to drive the other hens away from possible nests if she is feeling protective. After...

Straight run birds are an "as hatched" mix of males and females. Therefore, if you were to order eight straight run birds, for example, you will get between zero and eight roosters and between zero and eight hens--there is no way to tell. Straight run chicks are sent "as hatched"--they are not sexed first and then separated out into each order. The reason is that expert sexers of day old chicks get top dollar since it is such a specialized skill--this is why ordering all straight run birds is less expensive than ordering all females. The only way to get...

The age a rooster will first crow varies, but generally speaking, he will begin crowing at about four or five months of age, at about the time he begins to look like a mature rooster. It can certainly vary considerably, though. We've seen roosters hold off crowing until they're eight or nine months old, and we've seen them start as early as two months. (Talk about cute!) That said, if you have a crowing bird that is younger than three months old, don't be in a hurry to find a home for "him," however. Hens can crow, too, so you...

Well, yes, they could... if your chickens are unable to cool themselves, they could seize and die. How can you tell if your flock is in distress? Hot chickens will pant with beaks open. They'll also ruffle their feathers and hold their wings out to try to cool themselves. Just because a chicken is hot, though, doesn't mean she's going to die, so don't panic. But do take a few precautions during heat waves. First, make sure they have access to shade and fresh water at all times. Dust bathing can cool them, too, so give them plenty of room...

Pecking, also called picking, is almost always the result of high stress levels. When that happens, the birds will sometimes pluck each others' feathers out, and can really hurt one another. Those lowest in the pecking order may have bare spots on their backs or their heads. Address the root cause of pecking in your flock Since we know happy chickens don't pick one another to the point of terrible feather loss, to deal with this problem you'll have to figure out why they're not happy. You may not be a pet psychic, but consult this list of common factors...

Probably not. Chickens actually produce two types of poo: fecal poo and cecal poo. Cecal poo is thicker, stinkier and stickier. It usually looks sort of like melted chocolate, and it occurs once every eight or so poos. Perhaps this is what you are seeing. If so, it is nothing to worry about. Some foods may cause sticky poo, too. Lots of barley in the diet can cause sticky, tar-like poo. Barley lacks an enzyme chickens need to digest (1,3�1,4)-�-glucan efficiently, and the poo is described as "viscous." Sometimes various fruits will cause looser, darker poo from the sugar and...