Been a long time since anyone posted here.. But I thought I'd give it a go. I live in an area of HIGH predators. I have 2 coops, which 1 has my established flock and the other had the new hens and some rooster's. Well, there was a break in the door of the "new" coop, and we found this out by coming to a scene of horror. One chicken leg with no sign of a body, one chicken with it's head missing, and one that was barely alive and had to be let go from his misery. Needless to say- we had some hens that REFUSED to go back in at night. The next night I put a covering over the entry point and checked on it throughout the night (only until about 1am b/c I found 3 juvenile raccoons inside eating chicken food before, no doubt, another massacre. So I "took care" of that quickly, and covered things much better, fixed the entry point in the morning for good...But there was STILL no getting the hens back in. My black white faced Spanish hens stay in the coop- but the 8 leghorn refused. I try to go out and protect them through the night. Chased some predators away- but still lost 3 hens. I'm grateful to still have the 5. So... Tonight, I FINALLY figured how to get them in the coop- and one by one I did it. I then moved the Spanish hens to the established coop with the new leghorn girls. But as my daughter was closing up the coop- she found that our feisty buff Orpington had at least 3 baby chicks.... I'm thrilled about that! But, I am concerned b/c the plan was to keep everyone inside to get them used to the coop & the situation. I've HATED them in the tree's. Losing 3 hurts- and I would've lost many more if it weren't for sleepless nights. So the ONE night I finally got them in- with the plan to keep them there at least a week or so- I find out chicks are involved. Any idea's??? B/c they're all normally free range. The last time there were chicks- even with a bantam Silkie as their mama- they were fine and still with us. So. It's a big coop, they all get lots of food, water and love. But the new 5 hens are absolutely not used to us #1 and scared of coops #2. I can't stomach the thought of losing one more to the tree's! But I also cannot imagine losing any Of the new chicks b/c I'm making free range chickens stay in the coop!!! (20 hens total & 2 bantam rooster's that are actually dominant among the rooster's from other coop and are fanatic and living protectors of the girls. They were AMAZING protectors or the last chick- but Idk if it's b/c the mama and baby were bantam?) Should I move the mama and baby's? Should I keep all as is & hope for the best, or should I give up on the MONTHS is taken me to finally get the tree dwelling girls to the coop and allow them all to free range per usual!?! Please please if you read this and have ANY insight please help. I don't wish to let any out...I'm so glad I don't have to worry about going out at night to protect the girls in the tree- and I was hoping to use this time to bond with them as I have my other girls (which yes, many are leghorn and they are SO loving and fun. I don't have one chicken owning neighbor who isn't jealous of the relationship I have w/my leghorn. They are so sweet if raised on LOVE!) But I am SHOCKED at my buff Orpington's strength- all 4 of mine are that way! Will they be ok?? She ran a rooster off that got in the coop w/her chicks when my Daughter found them and my daughter said all looked well...shall I keep them in as planned... Or should the new chicks have a normal surrounding to Benin their lives??? HELP

Have you or anyone else adjusted anything? This is a very unusual complaint.

bizabet, my cat's acne came and went throughout his lifetime. Generally when we'd get it cleared up, it would stay cleared up for extended periods of time without being cleaned or treated- for us it was breaking that cycle and getting it cleared up that was the tricky part. The last time that cat had acne, he ended up losing all the whiskers on one side of his face as a result. I had him in an e-collar for a while, and also ended up putting soft-paws on his hind claws to keep him from scratching and mutilating himself. That reminds me that I also made a point of cleaning his feet/claws regularly to avoid extra contamination. I had heard, and strongly believe, what harebell said about lower immunity. This particular cat was also prone to having ringworm and similar outbreaks. That is generally associated with a lowered immune system. That's not to say that there was something fundamentally wrong with him, immune systems can wax and wane, but anything you can do to strengthen his immune system might help.

Thank you for your response. The AC guy thought he was smelling creosote and ask where my furnace was, which I don't have. I have an air handler up in the attic. I had all the ductwork cleaned last week. Not much was in there. When I first smelled this odor back in April when I bought the house, it smelled like "a swimming pool" to me. Above this tar waterproofing on the outside of the house (because this is in the basement below the stairs) is a 1987 central air conditioner that still runs. I suspected they had water leaking from that unit at some point..because the copper pipes go into the closet and because when I removed the mulch from around the air conditioning unit outside THE MULCH SMELLED OF THE ODOR THAT I AM DETECTING. 3 Air conditioning repairmen later, and they all said the unit is not leaking and is running fine with no cost out of my pocket except for the service call. The windows are open every day and the bulkhead doors too. I am guessing it will not dissipate. I can smell it in my clothing if I leave my laundry to hang there near the washer. I would like to paint over this dry-feeling tar with something like a KILZ ODOR BLOCKER, but I am not sure which one I should use. Sadly, if I cannot overcome this I will literally have to sell the house. I have also removed the drop ceiling tiles in that area and the insulation- that ALL smelled of this odor. I will just have to cover it up, I guess. Any ideas what I can use? The Baxter Group out of Chambersburg, PA said they could sand the tar off the wall in January. Not sure I want to remove the waterproofing tar material, though, without a back up plan. And after all this, WHAT IF it is not even the tar being the culprit sickening odor? LOL OMG. Thank you for your information! Stay safe, Sir.