ASK ME!!

[NC Chick Man82]

I feel pretty good today and I wanna try to help some people with their questions and concerns... so if you have either please feel free to ask me and if i dont know the the answer i will look it up for you and try to include the link to where i found it.

Im not a vet or anything to say i am certified, Im just a like the rest of you, I have my own birds and I have been through some of the ups and downs and done a lot of research for my own sake!

Just trying to help...

 

[NC Chick Man82]

im trying to find a chart or info on how to age a chicken.
i think my chickens are 9 weeks at the least ( i know this) but they may be older... any help on where to go ? or how to tell

http://www.garden-wiki.org/viewtopic.php?t=152

This person took pics of their chicks as they grew and uses it for a chart if it helps you

 

[NC Chick Man82]

Interestingly, individual hens--while they lay basically the same color throughout their lives--will still start out laying darker eggs at the beginning of the season after their bodies have had a (winter) break. When they hit their egg-laying stride, laying as quickly as they can for their breed, often their eggs lighten up. Heat stress can also cause eggs to lighten. And as they lay at a faster and faster rate and their eggs get larger, the hens themselves also lighten. There is only a certain amount of color each hen produces. If it is laid over more eggs or over a larger surface area, the eggs will be a lighter color.

quote name="shawn3295" url="/t/807339/ask-me/150#post_13120149"]let me add to that....... im talking eggs from the same chickens. the maradunas.  are some healthier than others?
[/quote]

 

[LoneOak]

Brooder temp...is a little cooler better than a little warmer?
I have 3 almost 3 week old serama chicks.
They are in a bunny cage in a draft free room. Ive been upping the lamp/lowering the temp but this weekend it was down to 80* and they were all huddled together. I lowered it and the temp went up to 91* I've tried using different wattage bulbs at all different heights but I can't seem to find a medium. It's either 80* or 90*+
What should i do? They don't mind the warmer temp (actually think they like it better) but I would like them to get use to the cooler so i can transition them outside once they are fully feathered.

Kirstin, don't worry about it so much! As long as your chicks are in the 80*-90* range they will be perfectly OK. As they age you can raise the lamp and try to lower the heat to somewhere near the ambient temp in your area. If the chicks are a little cool they will huddle together to get warm and if they are hot they will spread out. Personally I thing they do better if they are just a little cool as they grow up and it makes it easier to get them to adjust to the outside temp in your area. With summer quickly approaching it won't be long at all till they need no extra heat source at all.

Try not to obsess over just a few degrees in temp and it will make your life easier and might even cause less stress on the birds. In just a week or so from now you will have three happy little chicks and they won't need any heat at all.

 

[crested1990]

which came first the chicken or the egg? sorry I just had to. ignore if necessary

 

[NC Chick Man82]

Lol... I was waiting for something like that...

I would have to say the chicken cause how would the egg have got there if no chicken

 

[Howland]

Do you have any experience with scissor beak? I posted a thread and picture of my rooster that has it. I've never dealt with scissor beak and want to do the right thing. Thank you!

 

[NC Chick Man82]

Do you have any experience with scissor beak? I posted a thread and picture of my rooster that has it. I've never dealt with scissor beak and want to do the right thing. Thank you!

its almost impossible to fix it, its a birth defect but as long as the chicken is eating and drinking right then it can live fine... I would try to contact local veterinarian if its a defect you are not wanting to see the chicken live with and see what advice they can give you... I my self have never had to deal with it but have heard of it and read a few articles on it! I am however curious to what the veterinarian tells you if you do call for the advice i ask that you inform me and everyone else who sees this post!

Sorry I couldnt help you any better with this but where i stay i dont have a veterinarian that deals with chickens and can not call myself to see what the advice would be.

 

[Howland]

Thank you NC Chick Man82! Yes I think I will call my vet, he is very knowledgeable and probably knows something. I do know my rooster named Roo seems to have difficulty picking food up. I read the thread on here about scissor beak and making him a mash along with a few other options. Once I realized he had scissor beak I called the hatchery I got him from and they were NOT helpful or very nice. They didn't offer to give me a refund, a different chick or anything, not that I would have given him back, that pace was gross!! They did admit it was a genetic problem and when questioned about breeding bad genes, they brushed it off.

 

[Howland]

Wait I do have another question! . Do I need to feed my rooster a different feed than what my hens get which is a laying pellet? Thank you!