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September 9, 2007

Online sources for chicken health questions

Posted by Dervaes

Q. Not sure if you will remember me....I'm the chicken lover from Queensland , Australia. I am really worried about one of my chickens this morning as she is behaving oddly. Being new to the whole chicken experience I'm not sure if my worries are founded and need some advice. She is moving very slowly and then pausing for long periods of time (like frozen moments)....not the usual darting of the eyes and head movements and the other chickens seem confused as well about her behavior. Is this normal? Should I be veting?
Confused, worried....please reply with your advice. Regards Madonna

A. Sorry to hear of this latest problem with your flock. Has anything
changed to your hen recently since your email -- any new symptoms, etc?

Since you said you are new to the whole experience of chickens, I was
wondering if you watched to see if the hen is broody? You probably already
know what broodiness is, but is she keeping her feathers puffed up and is
clucking continuously?

Maybe you can give me a little more info on how the hen is acting,
such as if she's making any sound, is eating, is laying any eggs, etc.

Also, in the meantime, I'd suggest that you visit these message
boards: www.homesteadingtoday.com and
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/farmlife/ and post questions regarding
your hen there.

There is a lot of knowledgeable people on these forums that have
helped me many times. I'm not chicken expert myself, so they might be able
to give you a definite answer.


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3 Comments: "Online sources for chicken health questions" »

  1. I heard that cedar chips are toxic to chickens, Is this true and should i not use cedar boards in constructing a coop?

  2. My chicken eggs have areas of rough raise egg shell, I wondered what causes it.

  3. I am new at keeping chickens and have raised 6 chicks to maturity. They are about 20 weeks old and today one of them laid ( probably) her first egg.The egg was small and had a soft shell. The hens are free roaming and she did not lay the egg in the provided nesting boxes in the coop but laid it in the middle of the run. I just happened to see it. It might have happened before. Shouldn't she have used one of the nesting boxes? Also, one of the hens picked at the egg and ran off with the shell ( skin). Is she now going to break every egg in the coop and eat them?

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