I don't need to hear about ice trays or "back in my day" stories. We are having another heat wave, "corn sweat" (wet-bulb), for a few days again. I live in the northern Great Lakes. I researched the best breeds that can endure a cold winter. They are not acclimated for the heat... so basement tent they go! We did the mister, etc. Their coop just gets too hot at night (extended off the garage), and my Dark Brahmas can't take it. Not happy but not dead.
Have a feeling this is just the beginning 😔

Hi everyone! I raise backyard chickens and would like to have some of their eggs tested by a laboratory, mainly for peace of mind about food safety.

I'm looking to test the eggs themselves (not soil or feed). Ideally, I'd like to test for things such as:

• Heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury)
• Pesticide residues
• PFAS
• PCBs / PBDEs or other environmental contaminants

Has anyone in the U.S. had their backyard chicken eggs tested for these contaminants?

If so, which lab or university extension did you use, approximately how much did it cost, and how many eggs did you have to send?

I'm in California, but I'm happy to ship the eggs to a lab in another state.

Thanks!

Chickens and goats I understand, but what do you get from mutant rainbow chickens besides deranged screaming?
Getting ready for football season, do they make good buffalo wings? /s

Orange chicken, no idea breed. Seems to stick closer to mom than its brother but its feathers are so colourful they’re are throwing me!!! About 7/8 weeks old. No comb or wattles. No idea breed but its feet are growing some feathers.

Every single batch of chicks one day decides to fly atop the feeder or waterer and I'm proud and laughing every time.

First one is Lemon Drop (Buff Orpington, now 2 years old)

Second is Pom-Pom (Sapphire Olive Egger, now 1 year old)

Third is Paisley/Basil (Easter Egger, now about 6 weeks old, name pending confirmation of male or female)

Just noticed these marks on one of my hen’s feet. Thoughts on what it could be?

He's purple and his comb flops over one eye a little like emo hair. I call him Big Al. He is very soft when he lets me touch him. I am trying to gain his trust more lately with treats. I got some okay pictures of him recently. I thought I'd share him here today.

I have another question. How are you all watering your chickens? The waterer I have, I’m over it. It gets nasty in 5.9 seconds, is not easy to clean and when it’s hot out, turns the water hot in 9.9 seconds. It’s not in the sun either. I need a better solution to getting them fresh water because I’m changing their water multiple times a day and I can’t do that anymore.

I have 2 girls currently and one of them continues to lay misshapen eggs. I have ground up a Tums tablet and given it to them, saved their shells and baked/ground them and added that into their treat area and feed. They have also been free ranging daily. What can I do better?

this is nightmare, i hatched a batch of random eggs from the flea market. got 2 black, 2 grey, and one orange. siblings look like brahamas but the two black ones look significantly different. black one(phantom) is a hen she has a small amount of white and her feathers are completely matte, nightmare has no white at all though and his feathers have this really pretty shiny metallic green/blue coming in.

We had our first egg the other day, and while I’m not 100% sure who laid it, I THINK it may be our frizzle. Well today I let the chickens out to do their evening free ranging and I checked the nest boxes to see if we got anything (it’s been 4 days and nothing since). Well she was in there so I quickly closed it, not wanting to disturb her if she was laying. I sat outside watching them like I usually do and when she finally came out after 10 minutes or so, I went to check for an egg and there was nothing? Was she just sitting in there for fun lol? Could she be egg bound? She seemed ok when she walked out, just got some water and was a little puffed up.

picked up 6 baby chicks a month ago, 5 of which were just the default chicken breed, and one of which a different one that I didn't ask about. he has a blacck upper beak and a whole lot of black feathers. his neck feathers are also more yellow/blonde than the others. and the biggest difference is that his feathers just feel a whole lot softer. any guess about the breed?

also, any names for the little guy? 1 month old male

She/he is 4 weeks old. Is it too soon to tell? I don't know why I suspect it, other than the personality seems to favor a sexing of male. I hope I am wrong.

I bought 6 females from Tractor Supply but ended up with two Roos. I rehomed one of the Roos and Tractor supply gave me two female replacements... I hope. This is one of the replacements and is supposed to be a Chocolate egg layer.

The irony is I misnamed the two birds and can't change their names because they answer to them lol. I named the chocolate layer Olive and the Olive egg layer Cocoa!

New coop is done, now the nest box. 8 hens, so two bays.
Specs: 2 x 350 mm bays (14 in), 18 mm pine, 754 mm wide (30 in), sits on the coop floor on skids instead of being wall-mounted. 120 mm front lip to keep the straw in. Flat roof. Nothing is cut yet.
What I’m unsure about:

- Floor-standing instead of mounted at 500 mm — how badly does that invite floor eggs?

- 120 mm lip, 260 mm opening: right, or too tall a step?

- Do I need a sloped strip on the roof to stop them roosting up there, or is scraping it easier than building it?

Plan and cut list in the pictures (drawn up with AI help, so the numbers deserve a sanity check).

Steal it if you like it.

So I currently have a flock of about 14 hens and two roosters. They currently have one large coop and one small coop, with two runs that are attached and they are free ranged quite a bit. We are rehoming one of the roosters and 10 of the hens that stay in the large coop to friends. They are first time chicken owners so we are trying to help with logistics. The friend is debating if it would be easier to build their own predator proof run or try to dig up and move our larger one.

My question is, if you relocate a flock of chickens with their coop, do you still have to keep them locked in the coop/commit to stuffing them back in nightly for two weeks, or do the chickens still just go back in their coop because it's familiar? These friends have decent acreage and the coop is predator proof, so they could free range during the day while he builds a run if we can't figure out how to move ours.

I’m thinking about getting Easter Eggers (5 hens + 1 rooster), Golden Comets (3 hens), and Delawares (3 hens) but wanted to see what everyone’s experience was with these? I’m hoping for a mix that will mesh well with each other and allow for toddlers to be involved in their care and that will lay well

Also any advice to introduce kids to chickens?? We’re months and months away but I’d like to begin preparing now.

Please feel free to give me general chicken advice, breed suggestions or any info you’d just enjoy sharing.

Thank you!!

This is my roo. He's not currently fully grown but he's close. Around 20ish weeks. He gets a little beef from the two turkey hens that I have but nothing super aggressive. They're working out it. So are his tail feathers like this from the turkeys or is this mites? I've had poultry for about 3-4 yrs and have not had this issue before and none of the hens of the same age as Heihei (roo) have feathers like this that I can tell.

Good morning!

Backstory particulars: I've recently got into chickens (have four in my newly built chicken mansion) and I hear quite a bit about keeping blu-kote for wound treatment. I live in backwoods Alaska and I'm a medic for humans - but everyone in the surrounding area brings me their animals to treat/help/save all the time.

For those who don't know, Blu-Kote, is a purple antiseptic spray used for surface wounds on animals. People often say it's great for chickens because it is a great antiseptic but it also changes the color of the wound so chickens peck at the wound less (so I hear).

The question and interest in your thoughts surrounds that I've heard that blu-kote may be illegal for food-producing animals because it contains violet which is a carcinogen. Because of this I'm told that treating your backyard chicken means it's eggs/meats can/should never be consumed.

Is this true? If so, is there something else for the treatment of injuries that is equally as effective?

Black Betty had a damaged eye and favus on her head/neck when I bought/rescued her with the other 2 hens, Gardenia and Bloody Mary. The favus made her lose her head and neck feathers but I hope she gets some back with a molt. She can see out of the eye but obviously can't see right. She has gotten so much better after the favus was treated. I was having a hard time holding it together when I saw her head turn all the way around and then some from above.

I bought 6 chicks in February. My first chickens. 2 each Rhode Island Red, Black Australorp and Buff Orpington. 1 of the RIRs ended up being a rooster. The female RIR, Lucy, gets picked on by the 2 BAs and gets chased away every time I give treats or they are all interested in the same thing. She avoids the BAs and is normally off by herself doing her own thing. She's also a little smaller than the rest. I always thought BAs were good natured but I guess it's just the pecking order? I'm a little disappointed and I feel bad for Lucy. She isn't pecked on or anything like that. They just snap at her. Now when I throw out treats and they all go running, Lucy knows to wait back and I give her her own pile. Anybody else have a mixed flock with BAs that show aggression?