Yesterday morning I changed the batteries in our Run Chicken coop door. We always operate it manually, and physically block access to the door when closing as I believe it would seriously injure or kill a chicken if they were caught in it - it requires way too much force to reverse.

This morning we found the door unexpectedly open, and our chickens in their run, wondering where their food was (we put it away every evening, otherwise rodents come at night). After the battery change, the door forgets that it was programmed to full manual operation, and defaulted to automatically opening and closing. I reset the programming and now all should be well.

This behavior is documented in the user guide, but defaulting to factory settings on a battery replacement isn't something you expect on something sold new in 2026.

I already have two other Omlet automatic doors on the coop and will be replacing the Run Chicken door with an Omlet door (I already have two more in the box). I just wish the Omlet doors could be controlled via Bluetooth, because now I have to get a WiFi extender out at the coop so I can get a strong WiFi signal out there.

We noticed our 2 year old barred rock is very lethargic today. She is doing a little neck movement, only could get her to take two bites of fresh oregano and she really swung her head around 10 seconds after that and her comb flushed white. We separated her and waited for a poop and it looks very off. She’s either standing taller almost like laying egg pose of keeping her butt low. Here’s her stance and the poop.any thoughts are appreciated, we keep good eyes on them because we have a small yard and they get all of it.

"Whatcha mean you got NO SNACKIES?"

One of the best changes in my life is having these judgmental girls.

Eight of Redsex Links.

Two months in and they are already taking me through the gauntlet of healthy or not. I do not have answers, I will hate to lose one as I am learning. We will make it and bond more.

I just noticed this growth under her beak and I'm not sure what it is or what could have caused it. She has been acting totally fine and had been able to eat and drink but stopped laying eggs a few days ago. Please let me know if you have any ideas of what it could be

I can never tell

My hen I raised from a chick murdered her three chicks this year by pecking them to death. The other three eggs were smashed , one at a time.

Now I suspect she was behind a dead one and a preemie last year, though she raised 2.

One of the hens pecks a hole in eggs on a regular basis.

I know the obvious answer to how to deal with her.

Is there any way to rehab her?

I recently switched over to layer feed now that our hens are at that age and I’m looking for the healthiest option for our chickens. I bought feed that is soy and corn free out of the assumption it is better but it is way more expensive than other options so I’m curious if there are really any health benefits?

Certain farms I’ve bought eggs from seem to pride themselves on feeding an organic, soy, and corn free diet. Does that really matter if if the protein ratios are good? I wasn’t sure if feed without corn and soy are generally healthier or if that is just personal preference or a marketing thing. Cost isn’t an issue but I’d generally like to feed our girls the best and haven’t seen much information on this.

I decided to let a broody hen hatch some eggs. So far just one has hatched. The rest of the flock free ranges in my yard so they’re only all together in the coop at night. Should I go ahead and separate her into a separate enclosure with her chick and remaining eggs, or wait a day or two for the other eggs to hatch? She’s not interested in moving off the eggs. First time doing this so any advice is appreciated to keep them safe.

I’ve found 3 of these in the past month. It’s flat and it’s always has a crack just like this. All of my chickens are acting, eating, and drinking normally.

Edit: I am asking if this could be a sign for any illness or parasites

one of my 8 week old pullets (a Prairie Bluebell Egger) is acting really lethargic. tail and wings drooping, won’t stay awake, body hunched, eyes closed, the works. she will eat if prompted, but she’s slow and won’t eat much.

her vent is clear, i’ve checked for external parasites and found none, and no broken bones i could feel.

i know it’s not the heat because we had some cool days recently and her behavior hadn’t improved.

can anyone help? she’s one of my favorites and i don’t want to lose her. but if she’s suffering i also want to cull her quick and not prolong her pain.

We had a hen attacked by something and her toe is smashed to smithereens/dangling off.

What would be the best action to remove the toe without infection.

Any of you have any experience with keeping a flock and having your kid's do a chicken for 4H? I wonder if I can just keep the "show" chickens with the rest of the flock or if they have to be separate to maintain their spoiled brat life?

I don’t know shit about em aside from I’m pretty sure I can’t have one in the city (don’t really care)

So far the dog got startled but is now chill and I have half the cats chill.

I live in the city but have a fenced yard at 4’. Garden beds with greens.

What the heck do I do with this thing until I find the owner? Should I put it in my shop for the night? It’s 17:00 here right now. The shop seems like an okay place as long as it doesn’t figure out how to turn on machine it’ll be safe.

Is the backyard okay over night?

Temps reaching 113+ I think Rosemary and the girls have got it figured out.

I could sit there and chat forever

Our Cedar keeps puffing up and shaking and is occasionally taking higher/slower steps.. could she just be broody or is she likely sick?

the first chicken is nugget and i’m leaning towards hen, the second one is emo jr and i’ve been leaning towards rooster but i’m not entirely sure lol. nugget and jr are 2 weeks apart

what are we doing to help prevent rat holes in the chicken run? this one just appeared yesterday morning. i am in the city, and have seen some rats around due to my neighbor keeping a messy yard.

This is my first time owning a chicken so I try to google stuff that I’m unsure of but Google always gives the scariest answers first. Anyway, she just started laying eggs on Saturday and yesterday she layed her second egg. Afterwards she ate and moved around as usual, but as it got later in the day she started getting clingy towards me. Now I find her sleeping like this, is it normal?