Posts by Ridgerunner

I have no idea what you are calling pretty cold. I’ve seen chickens sleep in trees when the temperatures dropped well below freezing. They were not in the wind, but in a protected valley and they could hide behind tree limbs and the...

I also let my broodies raise the chicks with the flock, just like they have been doing for thousands of years. I’ve had a broody wean her chicks at 3 weeks old, though 4 to 9 weeks is a lot more common. If I let her raise them with the...

At 9 weeks I’d leave the pop door open and let them decide if they want to go outside or not. If you give them that option, you might be surprised at what they choose to do. And I never provide heat after five weeks, even with the...

Looks like you have them in your house. At 4 weeks it is highly unlikely they need any heat at all, not with how warm you are keeping your house. You can try turning it off and see how they react. Or you can switch to a much lower...

Hens have been providing all the heat their chicks need for long before there were electrical lines and heaters. A hen’s heater never runs out of power and never starts a fire. Providing heat to a broody with chicks is dangerous from...

Any advice? Next time you have a broody, collect all the eggs you want her to hatch, mark them, and start them all at the same time. Then check under her daily and remove any that are not marked. As long as you remove any new eggs...

Mine go outside Day 1. My brooder is in the coop. My wife would leave me (or more likely kick me out) if I tried to brood chicks in the house with the dust, smell, and noise. Lots of people brood in garages or other outbuildings, not...

I let my broodies range their chicks with the flock from Day 1. Mama's protective instinct will never be higher. At what age will the chicks be totally safe? Never. There are plenty of predators that can take a full grown chicken. ...

You don’t ask easy questions. I think most of us can tell you what will happen if you put them together. There will be conflict. What none of us can tell you is what the outcome or that conflict will be. I do think how much room you...

Yeah, it's hard to guess what it is. My experience with foxes is that they take one at a time. Sounds like your fox experience is a lot different. I've had dogs kill a bunch where most just disappeared. A few feathers and a few...