Recent content by Priscila Leone

  1. Priscila Leone

    Chick Trying to Pull Off Its Own Wings

    Why do you put this in the food??
  2. Priscila Leone

    Chick Trying to Pull Off Its Own Wings

    You could wash her with warm water and mild soap/shampoo, towel-dry and then blow-dry her, taking care not to burn her skin with the hot air (use your wrist to gauge the temperature). Yes, it's time consuming but it might give her some comfort. If she continues doing it to the point of drawing...
  3. Priscila Leone

    Checking-In On Peeps - Post Here To Say Hello!

    Yes, I've been very busy with work (I'm supposed to be retired!). My partner has now taken over the duties of giving them treats and releasing them 1h before sunset, as I'm never home... :-( We had two clucky hens in late 2022 so I decided to give them some fertilised eggs: 12 Gold lace...
  4. Priscila Leone

    The run is loaded with flies

  5. Priscila Leone

    The run is loaded with flies

    No old wives remedy but this Envirosafe Fly Trap works well. Here in Australia you can buy it at Bunnings. Your local produce store or hardware store should have it or a similar product. (https://www.bunnings.com.au/envirosafe-fly-trap). It's a fly attractant liquid that lures the flies to it...
  6. Priscila Leone

    Comment by 'Priscila Leone' in article 'Tips for Successfully Sexing Your Chicks'

    Thanks a lot for this comprehensive and useful article, particularly about colour-sexing. In my experience, however, 10 weeks is too young to apply the pointy feathers rule. "...chicks around 10 weeks old...most of their feathers have come in..." Wyandottes for example won't be fully feathered...
  7. Priscila Leone

    How long should hen be broody before I give her chicks?

    "...my personal experience with... artificially brooded and hatched chicks, is that they won't stay with the mother well... I've always had at least one of the fosters wander off and had to keep reintroducing the fosters while the hatched are happy as clams." Interesting. I've had the opposite...
  8. Priscila Leone

    How long should hen be broody before I give her chicks?

    This (above) is EXACTLY what I meant, just didn't say with exact same words. I said to be prepared to buy chicks, locate them, as sometimes it's hard to find who has them at driving distance. Also I'd NEVER buy through posting; Postal services in Australia cannot be trusted, timing is all over...
  9. Priscila Leone

    How long should hen be broody before I give her chicks?

    I never said to remove pipped eggs. I said remove hatched chicks, fully dried and ready, obviously. But this may only be needed if introducing different looking chicks from the ones that hatched and only if broody starts to peck at the newcomers. I was lucky it worked for me. But may not always...
  10. Priscila Leone

    Fat Hens

    I've found this article the most useful and informative of all I read. (https://www.clorofil.org/post/2021/04/fat-chickens). Not only cleavage at keel bone indicates excess weight. Check below the vent, between the legs (see picture) for soft, spongy texture. The bigger, the fatter they are...
  11. Priscila Leone

    How long should hen be broody before I give her chicks?

    You could do a bit of both, place some good quality, fertilised eggs under broody hen and then, when they start to pip (crack the egg from the inside) and hatch, place some day old chicks of whatever breed you choose under broody, at night. Find out before hand who has day old chicks near the...
  12. Priscila Leone

    Overweight chickens

    You should stop feeding them this kind of high energy, high carbs, high fat foods. Layer pellets are good but my hens don't like it so I give them layer mash, a mix of whole grains, protein and calcium. As treats I give them chopped cauliflower leaves and low fat ricotta or cottage cheese...
  13. Priscila Leone

    Overweight chickens

    Why apple cider vinegar? There's no scientific backing that it makes them lose weight.
  14. Priscila Leone

    Am I setting myself up for disaster?

    If they are developing, why stop? DON'T! No, from my experience small eggs won't produce small or weak birds, likewise, large eggs won't produce necessarily large birds. You should go ahead and see what you get, and let your favourite duck, through her descendents live. It doesn't cost that much...
  15. Priscila Leone

    Expecting 19F Saturday Night so I'm Nervous -- Advice Wanted.

    You've got only 7 chicks in a huge brooder. At this tender age they don't need so much room, and that space is proving difficult to keep heated. Why don't you bring them indoors, inside a box, with the heat lamp on top?
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