Recent content by usedhobarts

Don’t kid yourself, Fox are the worst the worst when it comes to chicken predators. They don’t kill, eat, take a break and then kill again when hungry. Fox are nasty hoarders. Given the opportunity they will take out entire flock in a very short time. They kill , go bury the kill, return and...

Drinking water at her age is more important than eating if she is weak. Put a little a sugar in her water to see if that boosts her up a bit. Also make make sure she doesn't have pasty butt.

NO, NO , NO ,NO how many times can I say no. I was thrilled with the info here and my first year of artificial lighting. My girls laid like summer. Wo Hoo. Oops. After that my girls moulted in June and did not lay again until this spring. These were first year pullets and are now screwed...

After 2 more months of experience I have found the following. DO NOT ,help your chicks out of their shells. I don't care what others say who don't care about the chicks long term health. Hatching is a natural thing and the fact that your not sure whether your temp or humidity was correct is...

As a newbie to incubating l have learned the following. What I'm going to say is my personal opinion and only my personal opinion based on my results and experince. DO NOT, EVER NEVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE REGARDLESS OF YOUR MATERNAL INSTICNT HELP A CHICK OUT OF THE SHELL. There is no good...

HI, my spitzs are laying like crazy. As stated in the initial post I got a few eggs last fall. From my experience with these now it just seems like they don't lay much the first year. Once yours starts she will lay like crazy. If you free range make sure you check hiding places. It got...

16 eggs was strong day. I'm averaging 10 or so. The days are getting longer plus this little heat wave probably has helped. They all have been coming out of the barn and ranging in some areas where grass is showing the last few days.

Thanks for the info. I'm using a "Kane" heated dog waterer this winter. It was a bit pricey but worth every penny and then some. Water is a none issue. My feed protien is bumped up in the winter along with fresh fodder daily. I'm certain the diet is very good. It must be something in the...

Hello all, I'm looking for a little information. Late Oct. 2015 I added 13 Appenzeller Spitzhaubens to my flock. 12 pullets and one Roo. They were about 24 weeks old. I was told they were just starting to lay. After about 5 days in the coop they did start to lay. I was getting about 3-4...

From that pic I would say Hen. I see no saddle feathers.

I'm constantly hearing about toxic things for chickens. I recently seen a chart on here that had a whole laundry list of toxic foods for chickens. In the bad list I found my chickens have eaten over half of those items at some point or another and many on a regular basis. My conclusion on...

Hi, I definately agree the light experiment had a significant effect however the transition on to the lights and off were timed with the natural day light to never let the chickens think it was dark for more than 9 hours a day. I completely agree with your scenario and how it could cause the...

I agree with junebugga 100%. Most frostbite scenarios are a result of ventilation issues and moisture. My hens pull out the bikinis when it warms up to 20 here in the winter. Chickens get frostbite fairly easily. If they're getting it in a coop you have moisture problem. Most breeds of...

It may vary if your flock has been raised this way consistently. I'm guessing those around the equator just lay for fewer years or they have adapted different habits then northern hemisphere chickens. It is my understanding that chickens are hatched with a certain amount of egg cells and once...

Hello all, winter is upon us again. We're in a mini blizzard here today in NW MN. the girls are not happy about it to say the least especially since Sunday it was 65 and sunny. Last winter I used artificial lighting to enhance egg production. The results were very good and I sustained near...