Yes, some chickens absolutely can tell the difference in an odd egg. Not all chickens are this new dumb, clueless, domesticated chickens of today that have lost most of their basic survival instincts they were originally installed with like they're portrayed to be. I'm not saying that most hens...
If I'm not mistaken, frizzled feathers can come with any breed. It's just a gene that affects the feathers. Much like us humans can have curly or straight hair? So I'd say it's just a Frizzle Golden Comet if that's the bin they were in.
Oh how cool! I'm jealous! Lol. I cant wait to see it finished! Above the roost is where the ventilation is most important, as thats here most of the feces will be. Maybe replace the window with hardware cloth and add an awning of some type off of it to keep out rain & such?
Looks like a cockerel to me too. In my own experience with my own BR mix cockerels. But mine are sexlinked so its easy for me to confirm with mine, lol. I dont know how it works if the dads the BR.
No, they do not need their own eggs, absolutely. What i meant was starting them directly on duck eggs may be iffy because chickens have the ability to distinguish other breeds eggs, such as duck eggs. Not all of them will, but its a possibility that comes with their natural instincts. It's...
There are quite a few ways to do it, but the main idea/goal is to bring the legs in and fix them to the correct position. I did it with a thin strip of self adhearing sports tape, but people use bandaids, tape, etc. Surely someone can find a link for you here. I just googled it when i needed it...
Oh, there's none of her own? If she's just wanting to become broody, she may not even accept them and brood properly. Or she may. Chickens are pretty smart and picky. They can and will be able to distinguish the duck eggs from their own. It's much easier and accepting if they are snuck in with...
How long did she wait for a clutch before she started to brood? In other words, how many eggs is she sitting on, aside from the duck eggs you added? The refrigerated eggs "can" hatch, but with drastically lower chances. The unrefrigerated 2 have a pretty high probability of hatching if they are...
Absolutely, given they were ready to come out. Meaning if they had already absorbed the yolk sacs and blood veins. Normally you don't necessarily have to help them out, you just need to help break the shell and tear the membrane enough where they can kick themselves out when ready. How are they...