Recent content by JimLad

After several years of raising chickens and ducks, I have finally given up on the constant, small predator battle. I happen to love small animals and having to cope with the seemingly endless supply has worn me down. I made a brief switch to rabbits and am happy to keep a few. So now, the sheds...

I'm really hoping that one is pure. If he is, I'll put him to good use. If not, he'll feed the family. Some of the others are smaller but with the same characteristics.

I think I'm only allowed one photo due to a lack of seniority but I'll try again. That particular bird has a very wide gait and a peculiar walk because of it.

I hatched fifteen out of twenty four eggs that were supposed to be large white standards. The first to hatch was a black Australorp then a brown Cornish. Most of the others had a brown symmetrical pattern on their backs and four were pure white or yellow. They are about twelve weeks old now and...

I was,of course, referring to the entire incubation process and too dry along with other management problems certainly can result in some hatching irregularities. But as a general rule, too humid is worse than too dry and too hot is worse than too cold. Very sorry to hear about the poor hatch...

If by "Chinese Incubator" you are referring to the cheap Chinese Incubator, it has a digital hygrometer built in. Regardless, the little plugs are to be removed just a day or two before hatching in order to allow more oxygen. Add water to the tray to raise the humidity and too humid is worse...

Looks the same as my Embdens. Do they have blue eyes?

I bought one today at a poultry swap and am thinking of using it to dry out the ducklings before they go into the brooder. Later on, I'll do a full hatch in it. What exactly is bending, please?

Nicely done!

Also goes by the name of hardware cloth, fuzzy 8.

If that's the last one. In fact, even if that was the first one, I'd help it. I'd mist the membrane and break some of the shell off and keep doing that every hour until the bird is out.

I built an 8'x8' run last week. The shed has an 8x8 steel roof which drains into the run. The run has a raised, wooden floor with a 1/4" gap between the boards. Underneath the boards and all around the sides as well as over top of the run is 3/4" hardware cloth. The whole thing is essentially...

Minks are my main predator here on Vancouver Island. There are no foxes or coyotes here although there are in the rest of Canada. I've also lost one bird to a hawk, another to a raccoon and one badly mauled by a feral cat. I have mink and raccoon traps set at all times and my runs have wooden...

Well, it's been five hours and since then another six eggs have pipped. Looks like tomorrow is going to be a fun day. Thanks for the welcome. Night all.