Cheers guys. Yes, I know laying hens should be on layers pellets, the point being, my 6 week old chicks are out and about in a garden area (before they go free range when older) with their mothers. Chicks are now on growers but the mothers have started laying again - splendid hens! See the problem? ...

I have been keeping chickens for the last three and a half years and it was only the other day that someone told me you should not eat eggs from hens that have been feeding on growers pellets! There apparently should be a withdrawal period, until the drugs that are contained in growers pellets have ...

Thanks Diane and Plumpudding. I gave the hen anti-biotics as soon as she started this staggering lark. They didn't touch her. I've checked her ears and they seem to be perfectly clear. Do you think it would still be worth me pursuing your ear drops idea? Do you know which one to get and is there any...

Thanks for investigating Plumpudding. She's a Black Rock hen and is proudly tending to four chicks hatched yesterday. They are complete sweeties! She seems to have withstood the last three weeks very well, so she can't be that sick, though she's still staggering. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for h...

I bought three new hens in March. A few weeks later, one of them literally fell out of the coop in the morning and spent the rest of the day staggering around as if very drunk. I separated her and gave her antibiotics. They had no effect. The vet said it was probably Marek's disease, but the chick h...

For those good people who are keeping an eye on this topic, my beautiful cockerel has now gone to the breeder I have bought chicks from in the past. The lady threw him into a spacious run with a large number of hens - good for him I thought. But there were also a few other cockerels in there. In the...

Thanks Johnboy. There's not much I can do about it then. I rent a cottage on the grounds of an old country house. The entrances to the grounds are not enclosed by a fence or gate and it would not be my place to erect such things - apart from the cost. So it seems I will have to rely on the co-operat...

Thanks Johnboy, I take your point. It's best to be forewarned of these matters. Cheers. My chicks are free range and that has always been the way I wanted to keep chicks. They do not wander onto the farmer's land however and stay around where I live. It is the farmer's dog that is coming onto my 'la...

Thank you very much Peter. That indeed was going to be my next question to the forum 'where do I stand legally as regards the dog in question'. Now I know, I shall put your information into action should reasoning not have any effect. The problem is, will one or more of my chicks die before the matt...

Thanks Elaine. I certainly wont eat him. I couldn't bear to. Neither do I want him to go to someone who will! I'm afraid there is no doubt whatsoever that they will continue to fight if they had the chance to get at each other. They spend some time each day stalking each other either side of the gar...

Thanks for the reply Alan. I must admit, I didn't think there would be much interest in the cockerel. Even at an auction I went to the other day, beautiful, fully grown cocks were going for as little as 50p! Yes, if I intend to breed further with my chicks, then I have to come to terms with the idea...

Don't believe the books when they say ' given enough room, Sussex cockerels will tolerate each other'! My two lovely cockerels (brothers from last year's hatch) fought bitterly the other day. They looked like they'd been re-enacting a video nasty - both drenched in blood! However, a shower and blow ...

Sorry to hear about your fox problem. What was all that about a hunting ban? I must admit, since living in the country and owning chicks, I've changed my opinions somewhat. Beautiful creatures though they are, foxes can devastate chick population in seconds. If your run has no roof, then it is possi...

Can any of you chick lovers pass me any tips on introdcing new birds into a coop? I have two Sussex light 20 week old (I'm pretty sure they are both cockerels!) chicks from a hatch earlier this year. The mother has gone back into the main coop some time back but the newcomers have remained in the se...

My Light Sussex cockerel Titus has got a nasty infestation of lice about his rear end! Very unpleasant! Not so much around the vent, but particularly over a red patch of skin in the down area. The rest of him is clear. I'm pretty sure they are not Northern Fowl mite. Neither are they red mite. Titus...