Recent content by Casey76

The chicks can stay in the incubator for 24-36 hours without issues (and should be fully fluffed before moving in the first instance). The movement (otherwise known as egg football ;) ) of the hatched chicks can often simulate the others to pip.

Very excited about this, though trying not to get my hopes up too much. The eggs have been in transit for a week, so they will be pretty shaken up :/ Hatching date 24 Apr :)

(bearing in mind I'm in France, so my choices may be different) I currently have an R-Com 20, and R-Com Suro (both fully auto), a Conti 24 (semi auto) and a force air manual which I use as a hatcher. Out of all of them I prefer the R-Com 20. Very easy to set up, never had any issues with...

Having more than one cockerel when all chickens are free ranging can lead to fighting between the cockerels as they collect their own flock. Having 7 hens and 2 cockerels is borderline for the flock to naturally divide into two, as one cockerel would naturally collect upto about 10 hens, but...

Ah well, you see I always base it on this calculation: Eggs through the post = 50% hatch rate Any eggs hatched = 50% cockerels Therefore if I order 20 eggs, I might, *might* get 5 pullets :D Of course, I may not even get that many! Males are normally culled as soon as they are...

Thought I would need to give myself a new or reintroduction! I've been out of poultry keeping for 4 years after my flock of mainly home bred fancy birds was wiped out after consecutive marten attacks, and I didn't have the heart to restock. In fact 2 years ago I got rid of all of my coops...

I've been out of poultry keeping for a long time, and my genetics are rusty. I've found somewhere selling Silver/Blue Marans hatching eggs. Can someone remind me the possible combinations I could end up with if it was SBxSB? Thanks!

Is that definitely chicken chick starter? In France, you would only get such a high protein starter for turkey/pheasant/quail. Chicken chick starter is usually 19-20% I'd be worried about them gaining too much weight too quickly with that high a protein level.

Meeeeeeeeee! I had one hatch yesterday on day 19, and 4 more pips this morning on day 20... I'm at work, so can't watch the progression Oh, they are bantam wyandottes, in silver laced, blue laced red and buff laced

How do her legs look in comparison to a "normal" chick? Are they both equal in length and "straightness" Are the hocks enlarged or inflamed? Are they warmer than a "normal" chicks? I can only think of skeletal abnormalities (body to heavy for bones) if it suddenly occurs at two weeks. It is...

Looks like you have 7 lovely boys you will be able to tell better at two + weeks olf, but only the boys have dark/black primaries, while the girls will be salmon coloured (of course, if the Faves are your regular salmon variety!)

You couls also try mixing a little fish oil (for Vitamin D3) into their compound feed. The vitamin D will help with the absorption of the calcium. Be caseful not to over supplement calcium - this could offset the phosphorus:calcium ratio, and actully make the egg laying problem worse.

Pasting up can be caused by the chicks getting chilled. I've noticed that for me, it is always the chicks I bought at the feed store which were prone to pasting up, but chicks I hatched myself were rarely effected.

I have my third brooder in the cellar to acclimate the chicks before they go outside. I just put a tent groundsheet on the tile floor then a couple of inches of pine shavings. If you have a couple of heat lamps then they should be find on the floor (with the thick layer of shavings)

Here is a site for the original French La Flèche: http://www.poule-lafleche.fr/ As you can see from the photos and the information contained in the "En bref" cocks should weigh up to 5kg (11lb); they are generally considered a good breed to start with for amateurs of table birds. Maybe you...