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I want to send some hatchlings to some friends. What is the best way to package them and what service is best?

All of the components for a DIY incubator are easy to come by or fabricate except one: The thermostat. Before we go further please note, incubator warehouse is out of stock on its $50 thermostat and, for crying out loud how can they be out of stock at that price? I'm going to explain to...

My TA218C, which did great on the incubator run I just finished, decided to, on the first day I put the eggs in, tell me that the temperature was far lower than it actually was. I discovered this when I thought I was turning up the knob (Little Giants have that nasty little knob but I have...

I have 15 birds that survived this harsh Iowa winter gleaning harvest leavings of soybean and corn in the surrounding fields, consuming primarily snow for water. My only input was to provide incubation and well-trained cattle dogs at night to keep ground-based predators away. The roosters kept...

I killed an old hen that wasn't laying, and didn't have time to fully pluck, gut and dress it. Dog food being as expensive as it is, and the dogs being the ones who are letting the chickens free range without a care in the world, I decided to make some dog food: Throw the carcass in a big pot...

I'm putting up some chicken wire around my garden to keep them out and would like it to be a bit neater than it was last year. This chicken wire has several horizontal tension lines or tension wires running the length spaced about a foot apart vertically. Presumably these tension members are...

I'm thinking of taking one of those big garbage cans, filling it about 2/3 with raw soybeans, wrapping it in old sleeping bags, pouring scalding water on them until the beans are covered, waiting until the temperature has dropped to around 95F, mixing in a bunch of tempeh I got from an organic...

My garden is done for the year and I'll be expanding next year so I need to move the chickenwire fence (I free range my chickens). Of course, a lot of the chickenwire is buried. Is there any easy way to get the chickenwire out of the ground or am I going to have a great opportunity for a lot...

I bought an egg turner for my Little Giant incubator so I wouldn't have to open it up all the time. This, I thought, would allow me to add water through the holes in the top. Everything worked great until I spilled a small amount of water (a tablespoon full or so) and it ran into the...

This isn't your normal "wait till they're roosting and zoned out and carry them to the new coop" situation. My free range chickens decided they like the tree in front of my house, which they can jump/fly to from the front porch. That is unless they decide they want to roost on the front porch...

On Sept 11 I put about 40 eggs in a Little Giant incubator with fan. A couple of days ago I added a turner (yeah I know day 7 or there abouts is the most critical time). I restabilized the temperature without any large temperature excursions. Last night I moved it around to give it more...

I just had a drop off (50%) in egg production, its spring and I have recently installed 16 nesting boxes of this design. My lay-age hens are nearing 2 years old (I didn't start incubating until recently -- I have a batch that should start laying this coming month). However, this drop-off was...

Jan and I went hiking around the neighboring cornfield today and when we were at the far side of the field, about 1/4 mile from our property, where the forest meets the field, we saw one of our chicks running in front of us! It hid under some brush but I was able to gather it into my hands and...

I live in Iowa so there are LOTS of corn cobs lying around in the fields after harvest just waiting to be eaten by deer. Since I have chickens and a good relationship with my neighboring farmers I just go out and gather corn off the ground, bring it inside and hand shell them. Its good...

I bought a still-air Little Giant incubator and ended up with so much trouble maintaining the temperature and humidity that this time around I'm trying some tricks. With the help of others in this thread I'm compiling a list of "best practices" for the LG, given the fact that the reason people...

I'm interested in a breed of chicken that not only broods naturally but will nest naturally on a free range protected from predators. The closest I've found is the Red Junglefowl, however it looks like genetic pollution from domesticated chickens has put the natural subspecies in danger. Does...

We've got about 2 hens for every rooster and they seem to be having a lot of fun with each other this spring. What percent of the eggs are likely to be fertile? My wife and I have been tussling over whether we should be taking the eggs or letting the hens brood -- which they seem very willing...

The egg ecology out here is: Hens lay. Roosters protect hens from dogs who want to "play". Dogs keep each other company while protecting chickens from vermin at night (and sleep inside during the day). Humans feed the dogs (Great American Cattle Dog and Blue Lacy) and locate at the end of a...

I just found several of our free range chickens dead. The temperature has been in the 40s but right now it is in the 50s. No obvious predator marks so it might have been the neighbor's dog which killed a few months ago but hasn't bothered them since. All the birds in the coup are healthy. I...