Recent content by Stephine

Hi there! I just had new chicks in the brooder for a week when I had to get emergency surgery for an infected gallbladder, then complications… Just got back home yesterday. My family is learning all about taking care of my critters (sheep, chickens, chicks) while I lay in bed and direct… to top...

I am always surprised at these recommendations of lower temperatures. My chicks love their heat lamp. Just this week I got a new batch of 4 from MPC and I had set their brooder up with a 175W red lamp. They huddled under it and peeped for a good while - in a 70 degree room, no drafts. Switched...

I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. You do what you can without driving yourself crazy and then hope for the best and deal with the bad when it comes. I would not keep my chickens confined for fear of Marek’s unless they are running around in a public place. If it’s your backyard and only you spend...

For 17 weeks that looks like a pullet to me.

Keeping fingers crossed for you!

Good decision. Avoiding drafts in a brooder is extremely important.

Second the no on peat moss - it can harbor very dangerous toxic organisms and make you and your chicks very sick. If you put a lip on your hoop run you can use sand bedding in it, otherwise wood chips will have the best chance of staying put.

You can feed a chick starter or grower. I am worried about three roosters though - they will most likely fight, so you should make plans for how you can keep them separate.

how old is she? If she was broody, she’d be sitting in the nestbox all day and growl at you.

Well, people have certainly tried to breed for Marek‘s resistance, only so far without success. There are certain breeds that are less susceptible and others that are more susceptible, but so far no one has managed to breed a susceptible breed to resistance. Every bug is different and Marek‘s...

The “grasses” you recommend are not grasses at all, they are forbs. Yes, and those forbs make fine fodder for the chooks, as do grasses. Tall grass (which can still be very nutritious if it is fast growing) is fine for chickens because they grab a blade by the tip and pull, which usually makes...

Sorry you lost so many in such a short stretch. I am doing all the same but can’t help the stress of hot summers and wildfires. My original flock all had to temporarily move to a friend’s farm after we burned down and that and the smoke must have been quite unhealthy for them. I only lost one...

Wow, that is astonishing longevity! may I ask you what you are doing for them? I only have two left from my 14 hens I got in Spring 2016, none of my 3 2017 hens… but then mine had a lot of stress with wildfires and evacuation…

You’ll need a coop. They need protection from wind and drafts as well as predators and pests and that pen has rather large gaps around the door. There should be no openings bigger than 1/2” or you will get unwanted guests.

Only one week old seems too young for coccidiosis, though I am not sure if that’s different for feed store chicks if the brooder isn’t cleaned out before adding newly hatched chicks. Corid won’t hurt them. If they were sickly at the store, they might have suffered in shipping - sometimes it is...