Recent content by RPw1690

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    3-day old chick sleeping a lot and not opening her eyes much

    just had this same thing from Valley Hatchery, give her some apple cider vinegar in water. They say 4 tablespoons per quart, but 2 teaspoons per quart is plenty. Also they say chop up a cooked egg to provide protein. Look in the papers they emailed with the birds. I lost 6 before I realized I...
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    Still making a mess with port feeders

    We have a pair of these for up to 30+ birds, chickens & guinea fowl, and even ducks have used them. Only 2 adult or 3-4 Guinea keets can feed at a time, but lots less feed (crumble) on the floor. The level of the crumble is low in the trough so they can’t flip it out on to the floor, as they...
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    Pros and Cons of Roosters

    Roosters also keep peace in the flock. This I have witnessed, with up to 3 roosters at a time. I see him breaking up hen fights. The 3rd ( oldest ) rooster, father of the other 2, took it upon himself to be the sole protector of a hen with a new chick. No aggression towards the chick, and a...
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    High fail rate for heated drinker waterer bases?

    I had thought of an external freeze thermostat,!but the load is so high, it would take the batteries down too quickly, even if left on just during cold days. I have something similar to keep duck water from freezing, using low power birdbath heaters, I have enough overnight capacity to keep them...
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    High fail rate for heated drinker waterer bases?

    I started using these metal heated bases in 2021, in North Carolina. MannaPro/Harris Farms, 125 watt thermostat controlled. The first unit I purchased still works fine, 5 years of faultless service. A second coop, identical, has an identical heater, also plugged into an outlet right next to the...
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    Fake Eggs in Nesting Boxes-- Good Idea, Nah, or Meh?

    I like to think that the fake eggs deter the egg eaters. We do lose one egg every two weeks or so, half of them in a nesting box. Judging from the many dings in several heavy plastic white eggs, they get a lot of experimental pecks. The heavy wooden ones don’t ding like that. Marans and Leghorn...
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    Changing a broody hen's nest to a maternity ward nest?

    I built a small 4 x 4 x 4 ft cube with one side a door & hardware cloth, facing the 2 other full size coops. 4 broody hens over 2 seasons have raised their chicks in there, until they decided on their own to roost with the other birds. They are let out with loose supervision early on, and...
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    Rooster crowing all the time

    I always understood the crowing was to let anyone listening to know the limits of his territory. We have 3 generations of black Marans, grandpa & grandson hang out, as son is currently in charge. I think no one realizes grandson is a boy yet, but the 3 of them crow, 2 of them always at a...
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    When do hens most often go broody?

    I had one stubborn Black Marans brooding for a month & a half in spring, feeling sorry for her, finally left her two Marans eggs, of which she only hatched one, someone ate or broke the other one. Within 2 weeks of hatching the chick, she was back laying, still in the nursery. Then two more...
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    Niacin Question for the Folks at Purina

    I received a very timely and complete reply from Purina, signed TeamPurina, and in checking back, found the same person handled the request, not a robot(!) I quote: Purina® Game Bird Starter is not an appropriate feed for starting ducks, including mallard ducklings. The protein level in Game...
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    Niacin Question for the Folks at Purina

    Asked the question again, today, specifically for Game Bird Starter. I see Niacin in the ingredients, but no estimate of the amount. From the response, you could imply that the amount was at least 70ppm, but no statement. Their duck feed pellets, which are large for ducklings, have 55ppm Niacin.
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    Coop building isn't working out, running out of time and not sure how to proceed

    I will build something like this, and if it is too flimsy, add a brace, then push it around some more, and see in what direction it’s too wishy washy, where the next brace should be. On the end, I misstated the brace location, you want it from the floor next to the door part way up the outer...
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    Coop building isn't working out, running out of time and not sure how to proceed

    That looks like a very good design, well executed, all it needs is a few more triangles at a few corners. Kind of like the wood design that it looks like you could drive a car on top of. You can just add some 1x3 strapping, and attach braces at a few corners, making triangles where you see...
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    This is a duck/predator question

    I don’t know when they were attacked, but I have read where a hawk can take a bird like a duck with no feathers left behind, big bird and must be hard hitting. Did lose 2 ducks with feathers left behind, one a lot, one just a few, about 70 feet separation.
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    This is a duck/predator question

    Fox leaves no feathers?
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