Recent content by jgnveg

Sometimes when they are standing up they lose their balance and sort of hop, but favoring one leg while walking around.. I haven't seen that before. It could be from being cramped in the egg; I'd suggest giving him/her a little leg massage to make sure blood is circulating okay

We usually just wait for them to dry in the incubator, then move them to the brooder

It's also great because we can put the chickens in their overnight cages if we ever need to evacuate! The dog doesn't need her crate- she goes for rides all the time! Chickens, on the other hand... They'll need a container!

We usually move ours outside at about eight or ten weeks, but still bring them in and under a heat lamp at night, and we're in much warmer weather. Basically, once all of their down feathers are covered by their external feathers, they should be ready. Those ones are looking to be about two or...

I'm not sure that there really is such a thing as the baby pip-ing on the wrong end; we've had chicks cause pips on either end, sometimes even more toward the center. It's better to let the baby work its way out than to help it

My dad said you probably don't want to use a ceramic heating lamp; we use regular 25-40 watt lamps. We actuallyhatched five eggs so far with the red 25 watt light hanging about two inches above the eggs.

1. He/she can be held for as long as you can keep him/her friendly! We still pick up our three year old chickens from time to time, though only some of them will let us without running away first. 2. He/she should start walking normally within twelve hours, although it will be common for the...

You shouldn't leave an egg turner in while they are hatching. It's better to leave the eggs on the rack. Once each baby is completely dry, pull it out of the incubator and set it up under a heat lamp. We're hatching Americauna/Buff Orpington mixed chicks right now

It can take up to 25 hours for a baby to finish breaking open the shell, so absolutely, give it more time! Don't help it, either, because it needs to be sure to absorb all of the moisture on its own; also, if it isn't strong enough to get out on its own, it has very little chance of surviving...

As soon as each chick is dry, I pull her out of the incubator and do a simple body check. She was fine before we added her to the others. That's why we're thinking it might have been caused by another chick pecking her eye

Looks like our Americanas when they were babies

Aside from a vet visit, I wouldn't know what to do, so I'm glad someone else is helping. Hope all goes well!

To give you an idea on the desired temperature, in case you don't know since you're letting a broody hen take the wheel (by the way, I'm happy to see there are still broody hens out there! Many of our hens tried it for a few days and gave up; this year we've got one who stayed dutiful) a still...

If you wanted the chicks/ducklings, and the eggs come to nothing, then you should look elsewhere. A feed store is a good place to look, but as it is hatching season, someone might have some babies they don't want. And, yes, pips are any sign the baby is breaking the shell, and peeps are any...

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say she isn't a Bantam... Bantams are smaller than a full sized chicken, and that chicken looks full sized to me