r/chickens

Whooo~ is that girl I seeeeee...

And they really enjoy cucumbers:)

Can anyone explain what this may be? It looks solid up close but she wont let me get a proper look.

I've been the primary Chicken Tender for my family for a bit, and as such, the girls like me and are relatively chill with me. I've been giving them gentle Beak Boops (Just a soft tap), and they seem pretty fine with it! Today, tho, I gave Mountain a boop, and she just stared ahead without reacting, then made a new noise. She didn't seem overly upset!

But it reminded me of the "chicken hypnotism" thing, and when I looked that up, apparently its a fear response?? So, now I'm worried I've been terrorizing the babies ><

Anyone have any insight or thoughts? Thank you!

I recently rescued this chicken and I love her. I'm wondering if someone can help ID her breed for me?

Two of the chickens always get really poppy butts so every once in a while we’ll clean it off and try to cut a small area around their feathers so it doesn’t get so bad as quickly. And when I was holding her in the water I just noticed how red and soft that area was, like it seems like it’s just full of liquid. They’re free range chickens so I’m not sure it would be very safe to drain it, or if it even needs drained. My grandpa just keeps them for us since I live in the city for college, so we’re 3ish hours away. We don’t really have it set up for her to be resting in an isolated area at all. She was attacked by a hawk a few years ago and survived, and she walks with a little limp now. It seems a little more uncomfortable for her to walk than normal, but I just don’t want to do anything and it leads to an infection. If anyone has any idea please let me know! Sorry this post is a little all over the place, I’m trying to quickly post this before I lose WiFi.

I was taking my hen Lucy out this morning, and I realized that her tail was drooping down, and im scared. She has just laid an egg, so I assume it's not egg binding. Last night was the 4th of July, and she might just be tired, but I wanted to ask for help anyway

Ebony loves People. Especially People with Shoulders.

She's 3 months old now and I fear the day when she, a BrahmaxMechelner, will become too big to sit on shoulders

I think Pants and Britches have decided the heatwave is too much😅

Hi all! I could really use some advice on integrating my flock.

I have two 5-year-old Buff Orpingtons. They originally had a flock of six, but four were killed by raccoons about a year ago, leaving just the two of them together.
Earlier this spring, I bought two chicks. Neither Orpington went broody, so I raised those chicks myself. They’re now about 9 weeks old.

About a week after I got those chicks, one of my Orpingtons (let’s call her Alicent) unexpectedly went broody. I bought two more chicks and slipped them under her, and she accepted them immediately. She’s been an amazing first-time mom.

So now I have:
The Greens: the two adult Orpingtons + Alicent’s two adopted chicks, all living together in my main coop (“King’s Landing”).

The Blacks: the two chicks I hand-raised.
When the Blacks were around 6 weeks old, I started introductions by housing them in a separate coop right next to King’s Landing so everyone could see each other without direct contact.

About a week ago, I started letting the Blacks free-range with everyone. Things are… mixed.
The Blacks are absolutely terrified of Alicent. Every time she sees them, she chases and pecks at them. They’re completely comfortable with my other Orpington and can even spend short periods around her without issues. Because they’re so scared of Alicent, I often find them hiding in a far corner of the yard instead of interacting with the flock.
Interestingly, all four chicks get along great with each other. There have even been a few times when they’ve wandered into each other’s coops with no problems. The issue is only Alicent. She becomes extremely defensive and immediately runs the Blacks out.

My goal is to eventually have everyone living together in King’s Landing, but right now Alicent won’t allow the two hand-raised chicks anywhere near the coop.
Is this just normal mama hen behavior that she’ll eventually outgrow once her chicks are older? Or is there something I should be doing to help everyone establish a pecking order without the Blacks being constantly chased away? Any advice from people who’ve successfully integrated broody hens with separately raised chicks would be greatly appreciated!