I have 12, 18 week old pullets (6 Americanas, 6 Production Reds). I was moving them to their new coop when I noticed one of the americanas had most of the feathers over her butt pulled off. I decided to keep her where I kept the chickens previously and put the other 11 in their new home. When I came out the next morning she hadn't touched her food or water. I had seen the other chickens eating random feathers laying around which I read is usually a sign of lack of protien. Could this be one of the reasons why they pulled out her feathers? What can I do to get her to eat(she currently has one of the gentler chickens with her right now so she probably isn't too lonely) and what can I do to make the others stop picking on her/eating feathers. This is my first time doing this and I'm about to drive myself crazy!! Please help! zzbetzim

Well Jack, you are wrong, again! I did not "do a search for 'are there any vegetables that critters will not eat' when you already knew the answer was no". You see, after I finished reading all of these wonderful and informative comments, I did further research and LEARNED (because I am still capable of admitting I don't know everything) that deer/critters in one area will eat some things while deer/critters in other areas eat other things and that most vegetables will ultimately be subject to deer/critter consumption. But you have to admit you have a way of going off topic.

Who does the cooking, you or your husband? If you do the cooking, then cook some things you like and some things he likes. If he doesn't want to eat them, then too bad. Let him fix a PBJ. I come from the old school where we were poor and we ate a lot of fresh veggies which were cheap or home grown. If he gets hungry enough he will eat whatever is cooked and will soon learn to like it. We raised two kids and two grandkids who eat veggies and love them. Too many people cook veggies such as tasteless boiled yellow squash, boxed plain mashed potatoes. Yuck. Try frying breaded yellow squash with onions. Fried green tomatoes in panko breadcrumbs. Squash croquettes. Serve white rice with milk and browned flour gravy made from the fat of fried pork chops. Mashed or creamed potatoes with the au jus gravy made from a pot roast (floured and browned) cooked with onions, celery and carrots. Green beans seasoned with salt pork or ham hocks. If he has good veggies he will eat them. Go to Foodnetwork and look for Paula Deen veggie recipes. She cooks good, Southern style veggies. If you notice, many of them use a meat of some kind in the cooking process. When I was up North, I got so tired of tasteless boiled veggies. You have to make them taste good.

If you have recipes that you like that contain beans, try substituting green peas or chick peas for the beans - you could even prepare 2 1/2 batches and add beans to your portion. (How does he feel about lentils?) Get creative with grains! They are so easy. Cous cous, different rices, risotto - you can do a zillion one dish meals with them. You could add prepared meat (e.g.,cooked shrimp) to his portion before serving. Everything that you do with pasta you can do with grains. Lots of meat eaters love wild rice - it is really satisfying. I make the rice and while it is cooking saute thinly sliced celery and mushrooms in a little butter, mix with the cooked rice, pour in baking dish, bake at 350 for 15 minutes (or even longer) - yum! You can experiment on this theme with any grain - the little bit of baking seems to "marry" everything together. Veggie casseroles can be prepared in advance and frozen. I find that freezing in general helps my diet and wallet so that I don't eat unhealthy expensive food out all the time. Making a big batch of artichoke tomato pasta sauce is just as easy as a little one - just freeze in the little bags made for this purpose in the correct portions. Same for soups. Don't forget that old standby, the crock pot. You can make a very hearty stew with potatoes, onions, great bean-less chili for a different taste. Throw everything in the post before you go to work, turn on low or med, dinner is ready when you get home. Polenta pie is super quick and delicious: make your polenta in the pot, stir in any thing you want - diced red/orange/yellow peppers, garlic, jalapenos, a little cheese, any spices, anything not too watery or that wouldn't go with cornmeal. When it's cooked, pour into a greased glass pie pan, sprinkle top with cheese and bake for 15 minutes, until cheese melts. Cut like pie and serve with salad that you make while the polenta is baking. I agree that the prepared (frozen, etc.) vegetarian foods are just as junky as non-veg. Have you ever looked at the sodium contents? Got this off another website: Vegan "Meatloaf" 1 package of frozen TVP (Texturized Vegetable Protein- Ground beef imitation type such as "GimmeLean") 1 bell pepper, diced 1 medium onion (or according to taste) 1 egg OR equivelent in egg-replacer Approx. 1.5 cups of bread-crumbs (Add as you feel needed) A lot of ketchup (the more the better) Defrost TVP. Hand-mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Put in casserole dish, mold to dish. Add more ketchup to cover sides and top( like cake icing). Bake for 1 hour (or until the veggies are tender). Note: When served, it may fall apart, or crumble. This "meatloaf" is best with corn and mashed potatoes on the side! Personally, I love to cook and be creative with food - it really relaxes me. Perhaps since time is a factor, you can start to prepare meals together if you already don't. It's a nice way to be together after a day of work. (If your...