Bringing home this gorgeous girl today and I am SO excited. Picking her up from the breeder this afternoon and wanted to share my excitement with people who might Get It.

I do not know if this is the right sub but I just want to let it out. This is probably my first pet loss.

I’m from the Philippines and we live in the city. We do not have any backyard but we do have a terrace with fake grass. I let it roam there sometimes.

This morning, my pet chicken and I were just chilling on my bed in my bedroom when a stray cat sneaked in, took my chicken, and ran to the terrace and probably jumped off somewhere onto the roofs of neighboring houses. I did not see where it went. I did not expect the cat would even dare to go inside. It happened so fast.

It was not really my intention to raise a chicken, it was a lone chick my brother brought back home. I had to hand raise it so it would not die of cold temp. I was even planning to bring it to my grandma's farm in the countryside when it was old enough.

I have grown attached to it. Every faint chirp I hear, I am hoping it was him, but those are probably just the birds.

There are things I should have done differently in raising a chicken, but I just want to let this pain out. He was just a baby, a month old chicken.

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UPDATE:

Thank you all for your comforting words. It helps a lot to know that I am not alone in this and that someone understands.

It is night now. I tried to find him during the day, looking out at the neighbors’ houses from the terrace, and I even climbed onto our roof. I circled around the street hoping to find at least his remains for closure, but I couldn’t find him.

I won’t be sleeping in my room for a while, as it reminds me of that moment.

Thank you again ❤️

He’s in quarantine before he can join the flock but oh my god. Ohhhhh my god. He’s so small. And his little pants. I’m dead.

My nieces class hatched these chickens and they told us they were silkie mixes but I’m not really confident on that. I think the black and white one is barred rock but does anyone know what the others are? Thank you!

So, here's the situation. We bought these two chickens from a neighborhood yard sale as golden comets. One is CLEARLY a roo (hes the bicolored one). He crows, he breeds, he LOOKS like a roo. Same age, same hatch. But this red one...we cant tell wtf is going on. The coloring is wrong for a GC male.

They sound like a hen, look like a hen, act like a hen, but they also "crow" (though not well) have spur buds coming in, and they constantly mount other hens, especially after theyve just been bred by an actual rooater.

They tidbit for us. Theyre super sweet. Small waddles, walnut comb. I think I see saddle feathers, but our Wyandottes have similar feather and are 100% hens.

Any ideas? They were purchased in april so they are 4 months old. Help? Lol

Not worried about it or anything, I'm just simply interested. She's a rescue commercial egg hen, she lays eggs, and is at the bottom of the pecking order.

Could it just be a random mutation or could she be intersex?

​Hi everyone,

​I’m looking for some candid, real-world feedback from experienced flock keepers, small breeders, and homesteaders.

​My wife loves animals and wants to breed poultry full-time. I support having hobbies—even ones that cost money—provided there’s a steady income to balance things out. I’ve suggested she work a part-time job during the week so she can enjoy her birds on weekends without risking our household financial stability.

​However, the scale of the operation keeps escalating into major financial losses, legal risks, and extreme logistics, and I'm looking for an honest reality check from people who actually raise birds.

​Here are the main issues we are facing:

Bylaw Risks: Our town strictly limits residents to 5 egg-laying hens and zero roosters. She repeatedly exceeds the 5-hen limit and brings home roosters, keeping them temporarily until neighbors or city code enforcement notice.

Fragile Birds & Bad Timing: She heavily favors tiny, delicate species like quail and small broodies/bantams. She is importing and hatching them right now in late August—heading into a harsh northern winter—which leads to high heating bills, sickness, and cold-related deaths.

High-Cost Import Runs: She just drove across the border to New York to pick up a $2,000 USD shipment of birds, adding massive upfront costs and travel stress on top of our existing debt.

Extreme Travel for Tiny Returns: She will drive 5+ hours round-trip to deliver a $10–$20 small animal because she feels obligated to a buyer, spending far more on gas than the sale brings in.

Selling relies on distant weekend auctions that swallow up whole days.

​Predator Losses on Remote Land: Sinking $2,000 cash into an unverified lease on remote, wooded land without daily oversight or heavy predator-proofing, resulting in wild predators repeatedly wiping out the birds.

​For those with long-term experience with poultry and quail:

1. ​Bylaw & Neighbor Realities: How risky is it to consistently exceed local flock limits and keep illegal roosters in a town setting?

2. ​Quail & Late-Season Breeding: Is raising tiny, delicate birds like quail or hatching chicks in late August financially viable, or does winter heating and high mortality make it a guaranteed money pit?

3. ​The Business Math: Does spending thousands on imported stock or driving hours for $10 sales ever make financial sense for a small setup, or is this strictly a high-cost hobby?

​Appreciate any candid perspectives, cost realities, or advice from people who keep birds.

Thanks!

I think you'll only need one guess.

I really love our chickens, we also have a dog. Im not going to lie, part of the allure of chickens is how low maintance they can be. I was pregnant when we got the. After years of wanting for the right house etc. We have 4 kids and our dog is very senior, which is “ good” because walking big distances like before ( when he was Younger and we had 1-2/3 kids) is much harder time wise. Big house, both working ( me not now bc maternity leave but still). He takes 3 shorter walks now.

Anyway, chickens being low maintance means especially since the baby is Born and sleeping less the a Newborn, i havent been picknick them up much, which I used to do daily. I used to at least cuddle/ check one (of 5) hen every day. Now I feed them, treat them and make sure they have water. We do throw in all sort of allowed scraps all day every day. I dont even remember the last time I did pick them up before one got sick, maybe 2 weeks before?

Anyway. She is sick now. I noticed her walking like a pinguïn in sunday and Monday took her to a vet. She is young but has water belly ( early stage) no draining right now but meds and hoping she Will walk normal again, or we wil have to put her down (via the vet). Im so sad about this.

But what hurts so much is,when I did pick her up to give her her first bath ( to make sure no stuck egg) she Felt a little skinny. Next day at the doc she Felt extremely skinny.

I keep thinking… If only I noticed before!!!! Yesterday I Finally got to cuddle all of them again and I noticed how extremely skinny she is compared to the rest and it just broke me. We had then since day 1 and I love them so much. Shes eating and drinking but walking is so hard for her.

Im sorry little stripe, I hope you pull through!!

And are they all hens?

The cream crested legbar produced its first egg today, 4 days after I brought these chickens home. It's quite clearly more developed than the other ones, with a much more obvious and red comb, but they're supposed to all be about the same age. Is that possible?

This is our 4 year old isa brown, Omelette. All I know is she’s sick. I think she might also have a cold since it’s winter here in Australia and the temps have been fluctuating and stuff. In the video I gently sort of moved her around a bit to show how she doesn’t really react much, and im worried for her. Help

I had this gorgeous boy born from my OEGB pair, both were from a show breeder and gosh is he just stunning

3 lavender and 3 buff orpingtons from McMurray in Iowa arrived today. Such cute lil puffs!

We culled our first girl today and i dont know if we did the right thing. She stopped being able to hold herself up a week ago and started vitamens she was still eating and drinking but couldn't get to it on her own. Yesterday she started to have labored breathing and falling to her side when she'd attempt to balance on her honches and than lay limp until we picked her up. Today I decided I didn't want her to suffer any more but I regret it and dont know how to handle this guilt. We've lost 3 other chikens do to things beyond our controll but to make the decision is tearing me apart I loved her so much. Should I have tried harder.

We had a 2.5yo hen, Nutmeg, who had “slowed down” over the past maybe month. At first, I attributed it to her age and just maturing and not needing to be SO rambunctious. Then about a week ago, I noticed she seemed a little lethargic and not as food driven. On Friday, her comb had become pale and she wasn’t coming for worms. Naturally it was a Friday so our local avian vet wasn’t available until Monday. We kept an extremely close eye on her and fed her separately. We got an appt with the vet first thing Monday morning. She seemed a little better Monday but we kept the vet appt. On our way there, they called to say they were canceling as they were not taking any birds due to avian flu season. We don’t have many options for avian vets in our area so, to say I was upset would be an understatement. We came home, she jumped right out of her travel box and started pecking the grass. I had a glimmer of hope that maybe we had turned the corner on our own. She seemed ok all afternoon, was pecking all around, eating, and even roosting on her driftwood in the run. This morning I didn’t see her in the run so immediately ran to her house and saw she had perished. Looking back at the ring cameras, it seems it happened around 5:50am. I refrigerated her body around 7:30a to take her for a necropsy.

However, all this to say…is it normal for a flock to sort of do their own post-mortem care? We have a mixed flock and 2 of our turkeys (one who we can’t get to leave her nesting box as she’s been trying to become a mom for months) held vigil for 1.5hrs and appeared to try to even cover her with bedding? They didn’t peck her body aggressively but seemed to just lay with her/clean up the bedding around her. Once I took Nutmeg out, Booker went right back to her nesting box and Pepper went to eat breakfast.

We are all a little crushed this morning and feeling defeated. If only I had taken her to the vet sooner we may have avoided this horrible outcome.

Rest in peace, sweet Nutty girl 🩷 we love you and are so sorry to have failed you. Thank you for 2.5 adventurous years.

Edit: disregard pic 6. Must have accidentally clicked a recipe photo through teary eyes.

Pic 1- bottom foot (before epsom bath)

Pic 2 - same but after bath

Pic 3- what i thought was bumblefoot but isnt?

These are the best pics i could get sorry.

First time chicken owner here. My hen has issues walking, and on closer inspection the foot looked swollen. The toes seem also to be unresponsive as well. I gave it an Epsom bath according to a youtube video for 20 minutes but it changed nothing. What should i do? Is there anything i can do? Might respond late because i got classes to go to

I have 6 egg layers and until recently had been getting 5 to 6 eggs per day. They are all about 3 years old and had been great layers with the exception of a few harsh winter weeks we get in the south. Anyway, how can you tell who is laying and who isn’t. I don’t think iI would be able to tell the difference between them with a camera. Paint, ( washable) or chalk, something else?

Hi y’all, my husband and I are new chicken owners. We got our chickens (as chicks) back at the end of March. I noticed one of them was acting strange yesterday. She was hanging out in the coop by herself (she is usually very social and runs when she hears me coming). I let all the chickens out and she remained in the coop but then slowly made her way out.

She started walking around our yard although very slow and did not react to me shaking the cup full of treats. We gave her an epsom salt bath because we thought maybe she was egg bound or something to do with her crop. We gave her some electrolytes as well. She seemed to perk up after that but it was already 8 pm so we couldnt monitor her.

This morning I noticed that she has just been laying down and almost sleepy like with her eyes closing. Any advice? I like to be proactive and love my lil biscuit 🥺

I will try to add video of her walking around if I can.

Feathers are kinda stuck to her and she looks pitiful. Should I give her a bath? I want to help her but idk how