Silkie thread!

[MWAFORD]

I have an automatic egg turner but I do have issued keeping the humidity stable. I can keep it right most of the day but when I wake up in the morning it has dropped over night. I just can't keep the humidity stable without having to adjust thing every few hours.

 

[chick rookie]

Got a question??????????????????????????

The room my chicks are in ranges from 65 f at night to 70 f in the day time. they are 6 weeks old and almost fully feathered, would it be ok to take the heat away from them, I have been moving it out a little at a time. it is far enough away that it don't give them much heat but does a little.

 

[Fancychooklady]

I have an automatic egg turner but I do have issued keeping the humidity stable.   I can keep it right most of the day but when I wake up in the morning it has dropped over night.  I just can't keep the humidity stable without having to adjust thing every few hours.

That could be the root of your problems. I packed the incubator up and went back to the tried and true ' broody hen ' method. They say chooks aren't that smart, but they sure have the corner on
' incubation '.

 

[Urchin]

Got a question??????????????????????????

The room my chicks are in ranges from 65 f at night to 70 f in the day time. they are 6 weeks old and almost fully feathered, would it be ok to take the heat away from them, I have been moving it out a little at a time. it is far enough away that it don't give them much heat but does a little.

They should be able to handle 70 degrees just fine. You might need to leave the light on for them at night for a couple of more weeks. My first batch of chicks went out to the coop at six weeks old with no problems. This was in early May, so night temperatures were in the upper 60s. Also, right now I have a hen and two chicks living in my mudroom, which averages about 65 degrees. She stopped sitting on them during the day at about five weeks of age and nobody got cold. She sat on them at night until they became too large to fit under her, although the youngest tries her hardest to squeeze under her mother at bedtime. It's funny to see Ella sitting there with PJ's body sticking out from under her leg.

 

[Urchin]

I'm about ready to build a bachelor coop because this winter the boys have started pulling feathers from the hen's heads when they mate. Pinto is almost bald thanks to Tails the bantam cochin rooster. I don't know who breeds with Professor Fluffles, but one side of her crest looks like it's been hit with a lawn mower. Interestingly enough, Cottonball looks just fine. Even several of the LF hens are missing feathers on the backs of their heads thanks to a handful of tiny, little two pound roosters and the two bantam cochin hens aren't faring much better. We didn't have this problem this summer, so I'm hoping it's just because it's been a bad winter. There have been many days it's been below zero, so everyone's confined to the coop for up to three day stretches instead of able to be out roaming the yard. And with the snowfall, it means they don't leave the small, covered yard. They hate snow and refuse to even walk on it. I hope that the feather problem is because of space issues. In the summer when a hen didn't want to mate, she'd just run to some other part of the large yard and the rooster would turn his attentions elsewhere. It's harder to avoid the roosters in the confines of the coop and small yard.

The roosters all acting differently lately. They crow constantly anymore, which they didn't do this summer. One of them only yells, like the chicken version of a heavy metal band singer. I think that's his crow, but I really don't know for sure. Two chest bump a lot, but there's not skirmishes beyond that. We have six roosters and twenty-six hens total.

Do I need to be thinking about separating out my amorous roosters or is this really just a space issue that will correct itself when they can really get back to using the large yard most of the day? Are they just going stir-crazy because they're more confined?

 

[BelleFarm]

I'm about ready to build a bachelor coop because this winter the boys have started pulling feathers from the hen's heads when they mate.  Pinto is almost bald thanks to Tails the bantam cochin rooster.  I don't know who breeds with Professor Fluffles, but one side of her crest looks like it's been hit with a lawn mower.  Interestingly enough, Cottonball looks just fine.  Even several of the LF hens are missing feathers on the backs of their heads thanks to a handful of tiny, little two pound roosters and the two bantam cochin hens aren't faring much better.   We didn't have this problem this summer, so I'm hoping it's just because it's been a bad winter.  There have been many days it's been below zero, so everyone's confined to the coop for up to three day stretches instead of able to be out roaming the yard.  And with the snowfall, it means they don't leave the small, covered yard.  They hate snow and refuse to even walk on it.  I hope that the feather problem is because of space issues. In the summer when a hen didn't want to mate, she'd just run to some other part of the large yard and the rooster would turn his attentions elsewhere.  It's harder to avoid the roosters in the confines of the coop and small yard. 

The roosters all acting differently lately.  They crow constantly anymore, which they didn't do this summer.  One of them only yells, like the chicken version of a heavy metal band singer.  I think that's his crow, but I really don't know for sure. Two chest bump a lot, but there's not skirmishes beyond that.   We have six roosters and twenty-six hens total.

Do I need to be thinking about separating out my amorous roosters or is this really just a space issue that will correct itself when they can really get back to using the large yard most of the day?  Are they just going stir-crazy because they're more confined? 

I'm not so sure about your other questions, but in my experience when I separate roosters from hens they fight more. Just my experience though.

 

[cxs918]

I have a question - with my Silkies due to hatch this upcoming week - should I leave them with the hens and roo or take them inside and put in a brooder in the house during this Northeastern Winter? They have been under my broody hens outside in a well insulated coop/ Or is it best to leave them with their hens? This is their first set of babies.

 

[Doug the Chicken Man]

We find at our temps at this time of year we will let mom hatch them but check on the nest 3 times a day and take the babies away as if they wandoer from mom they did very very quickly.
This allows the most to survive.

 

[MamasSilkies]

I have a question - with my Silkies due to hatch this upcoming week - should I leave them with the hens and roo or take them inside and put in a brooder in the house during this Northeastern Winter? They have been under my broody hens outside in a well insulated coop/ Or is it best to leave them with their hens? This is their first set of babies.

Very good question. I wanna know too.

 

[chick rookie]

They should be able to handle 70 degrees just fine. You might need to leave the light on for them at night for a couple of more weeks. My first batch of chicks went out to the coop at six weeks old with no problems. This was in early May, so night temperatures were in the upper 60s. Also, right now I have a hen and two chicks living in my mudroom, which averages about 65 degrees. She stopped sitting on them during the day at about five weeks of age and nobody got cold. She sat on them at night until they became too large to fit under her, although the youngest tries her hardest to squeeze under her mother at bedtime. It's funny to see Ella sitting there with PJ's body sticking out from under her leg.

lol that's too funny...