Thanks for all the responses! It's interesting how a subject evolves. Great web-site you have there, Velvet Sparrow. Very helpful. At this point, I'm pretty certain they are just molting. Everybody is as perky, active and hungry as usual. The feather loss seems to be increasing some, but the skin and remaining feathers look healthy and I see no external parasites. Still, nobody looks at all bald, so I guess new feathers are growing in about as fast as they're falling out! Dust bathing appears to be no more or less popular than usual. I use DE sparingly in the boxes -under the carpet scrap I keep in the bottom of each box- and on the slab floor, before replacing wood chips every time I clean the coop. And nobody with chickens on their own place EVER enters my hen yard. So I think I maintain a healthy environment. I never have wormed them (they are almost a year old now), but after reading VS's view on that, I'm thinking maybe I should. I guess I'll ask my good old country vet for his thoughts. I would really rather use the DE for worming, too, instead of ivermectin, but I'll see what his experience reveals. Doc spent some years in research at Texas A&M before going into private practice, and he has some really unusual and practical remedies up his sleeve for various things. If I learn anything good, I'll pass it on! I've heard the roo sneeze about 3 times in the past month. The first time he did it I was terrified that everybody was gonna be sneezing and wheezing within days, but nothing developed. I'm thinking maybe ol' Silver Streak just has allergies! DH and I are sure suffering with the oak catkins lately. Yesterday I only got 4 eggs - an all-time low, but then on Saturday we had disturbed the flock with tractor work all day right beside their pen. I get such a kick out of watching the ladies watch us! They are quite the curious little mob. Even tho the tractor is loud, they crowd right up at the fence to see what we're doing. Only poor Streak seems truly upset by the disturbance. I found it interesting that after a good rain yesterday morning, the chickens spent the day industriously excavating a pretty deep hole in the mud. I couldn't see any worms or bugs, but they acted like they were finding plenty to eat in their hole. Guess I had better get them some meal worms next time I drive to town. I wish I could let them into my veggie garden to devour whatever is munching on my chard, collards and lettuce, but the birds do more damage than the bugs! All I can do is pick off the pests I see and toss them thru the fence to the chickens. (and of course they also get all the bug-eaten greens) pam

I have a room in my house that is very drafty and if I let it stay cold it keeps the rest of the house cold. I brought this heater from Target last year, I keep it on 24/7 on a low temp and after about a day running it has kept the room comfortable although not real warm. If I turn it up it will be smokey hot in there which I did not want to do. It has solved the problem. I checked my light bull and it did not change significantly over the year. I am wondering if this might be a solution for you? You are in zone 7 like I am and I have had no need for supplemental heat outside yet and my birds seem to be doing fine. Their whole pen is made of wire mesh with a box for them to go in at night. The temp has gotten pretty low and when it did the chickens stayed in their box huddled together for a while but for the most part they were business as usual. I did close their box on really cold nights though to keep out the drafts. HTH Here is a link that might be useful: heater

Hi birders, checking in although nothing too exciting to report here. I'm doing my PFW every week, on a Sun-Mon schedule. This past weekend the birds were sparse. I hardly saw a bird in the yard or feeders for about 2 days during the snow that didn't really stop for about 3 days. Usually they are busy on the feeders during inclement weather, but for some reason they were nowhere to be seen. I do see the Bluebirds frequently, there are more hanging around this winter than the previous 2 years. I wonder if my suet log has influenced their decision not to migrate? If so, lots of pressure on me to keep the home-made suet stocked, wouldn't want those beauties to starve! Claire, that's great you had a male Purple Finch, I see the females from time to time, but the males seem very skittish. They will rarely come to the feeders although I have seen them lurking in the bushes while the female(s) eat. Thyme2dig, no problem about the photo, that day the Waxwings showed up with the Bluebirds was truly a stroke of luck that 1) I was around 2) I looked out the window and 3) the weather/sunlight/etc. was just about perfect for taking pictures! The Waxwings probably followed the Bluebirds there, because they eat from similar food sources in the winter. For sure, they are 2 of the most beautiful North American birds, together in the same spot 6 feet outside my window! :)

Dogmom- love your Bluebird pics! Really good! I'll tell you that it will be hard for bluebirds to have a successful nesting experience if you have a lot of house sparrows & house wrens nesting with you. You know by law that you are allowed to remove HOSP nests, eggs, & young. We're even allowed to dispose of HOSP because they have caused such problems for our native cavity-nesting birds. Otherwise, they'll keep bluebirds or others from nesting or throw eggs out, kill babies & kill parents if they trap them in the box. If you're not willing to keep HOSP from nesting in your yard, the only thing you can do is put up a sparrow spooker after the bluebird (or other) lays their 1st egg. Since you have HOWR too, you should put up a wren guard after 1st egg is laid. Otherwise, the others won't have a chance to nest with you. Also, the only sized opening that will keep a HOSP out is 1 & 1/8, which is the size for Chickadees. Some birds won't nest in boxes with smaller entrances. Most of the time with Chickadees, you have to start out with the standard 1 & 1/2 & put a hole reducer on after the 1st egg is laid. Then, they'll usually accept it.