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  1. Erica

    Day 4, little veining and dark spot twice as big... but... HELP PLEASE

    108 is certainly high -- it could have killed embryos. However it takes a long time for that heat to get to the core of the egg. Half an hour at that temperature shouldn't make a difference unless it stayed there for a few hours, probably more. Personally I'd leave them until day 7 at least...
  2. Erica

    deterring hawks and eagles

    It helps to give the chickens a lot of cover. Heaps of low shrubs, but also low platforms they can rush under. Plenty of vertical obstacles like bamboo bean tripods can also help by interfering with ambush and lines of flight. It's easy to train a vine to grow up the tripod, and if it's large...
  3. Erica

    Bantam Hen Has swollen Eye and stuffed nose?

    Hello srpro, I'm sorry your girl is unwell. Unfortunately if there's sneezing it could well be respiratory rather than an eye injury (mycoplasma gallisepticum or MG, a respiratory disease agent, can affect the eye area, as can coryza). Being chased by a dog can certainly stress the bird enough...
  4. Erica

    How to feed chicks in with the adult flock?

    Fred's hens has great advice. It's better to feed the entire flock high protein feed (with a shell supplement on the side) rather than feed chicks layer. Layer feed will likely harm their kidneys, and even if it doesn't it will almost certainly cause shell problems when they do start to lay...
  5. Erica

    Is corn healthy for chickens (I recently learned it causes cows terrible stomach aches)

    Natural corn (not GMO) makes a fabulous chicken feed if you simply soak the grains overnight, let them sprout in a hanging bag, and feed them out over 3-4 days. If you could find heritage varieties (lower starch, lower yield but better nutrition) that were grown on good soil, and you then...
  6. Erica

    At what age do u feed baby chicks finisher feed?

    Hi Chickadee-23, normally people feed 'chick starter' to about 6 weeks, then 'chick grower' till point of lay or just a bit earlier. Pullet 'finisher' is for heritage type birds that may be full sized but not ready to lay for several weeks after coming off the grower feed. (This is because adult...
  7. Erica

    Free Ranging concerns (neighbor has gamecocks who are quite skilled)

    ...a non-drastic solution might be to clip the rooster's wing (only the flight feathers from one wing) next time he jumps the fence. As long as the fence is reasonable he shouldn't do it again (at least not until after he moults and grows new feathers). cheers Erica
  8. Erica

    Need to anchor down hoop coop

    I use heavy duty long tent pegs. A tent peg puller is all that's required to get them out of the ground for moving the unit. The trick is to get them in at the right angle so the unit can't be lifted vertically. (That is, the tent pegs go in at 45 degrees with their heads pointing away from the...
  9. Erica

    gurgley pullet

    Most chicken respiratory diseases aren't viral; one of the commonest (mycoplasma) is bacterial. If a bird develops only mild gurgly symptoms, it could well be an underlying case of mycoplasma gallisepticum that the bird has been harbouring since hatch. Stress causes the bird to show symptoms...
  10. Erica

    7 weeks olds run away then come right back

    They sound a little flighty. Flighty birds will still become tame (when given treats, as TTracy says), but it helps to keep your movements slow and steady. cheers Erica
  11. Erica

    Advice!

    Hi Whittychick, I introduce after the chicks are adult size -- usually about 14 weeks. However if the birds are free ranging and have plenty of space to get away from each other, you can sometimes do it earlier. Be prepared to intervene if it doesn't go well. I often find it helps to do the...
  12. Erica

    Pinking up of Comb

    Hi jdoane, There does seem to be a bit more wattle growth than a girl would have at that age. Have these birds been on a much higher protein diet than usual? That would explain early comb development in a girl. I usually comb sex all my birds at 3 weeks, not 4. By the end of that extra week even...
  13. Erica

    My red ranger chicks are sick, I think bronchitis, need advice.

    Hi coloradoalice, I hope you don't mind if I say that it doesn't sound completely like IB. I had IB confirmed in my flock a few years ago, and while there are similarities to your description, the main thing to note is that IB goes through the flock very quickly, and is also fairly quick to...
  14. Erica

    Noooo..... My dogs.........

    Good on you ducksarecool12, you're doing the right thing. Best of luck with the training. Erica
  15. Erica

    Training a dog to not attack poultry.

    Hi johari, In my experience, a dog that's killed more than once is very, very committed to the sport. The best thing would be (while still training it not to kill) to always, always keep them separated by a sturdy fence. If you want to give the dog the best chance at learning it would mean...
  16. Erica

    Weak and wobbly chick- advice please

    Hi abby hen, Brain damage is possible, but vitamin deficiency is perhaps more likely to be the underlying cause (vitamin deficiencies can sometimes be passed down through the egg, as when parents aren't well nourished). As well, being a white rock the bird probably needed more vitamins than...
  17. Erica

    hatching muscovy eggs and all hatched early

    Hi ksavageclarke, generally when eggs hatch early it's because the incubator was running slightly hot. This may also explain why some died or weren't ready. Most thermometers (especially cheap ones) are slightly out, some more than others, so checking temperature against another person's...
  18. Erica

    I prefer the natural remedies.

    I raise chicks using soured (probiotic) milk. It seems to make their guts stronger so they grow faster and aren't as susceptible to coccidiosis or worms No one thing is a cure-all but a range of approaches can easily take the place of commercial chemical treatments. Thanks for the thread, Erica
  19. Erica

    newbie with first illness?

    Hi CuckooNest, she looks like a well bird going through a moult. Note the baby feather buds poking through. They sometimes feel a little unwell when moulting, and can use a bit of extra protein like scrambled eggs to help them through it. She looks like a quick moulter -- many feathers at...
  20. Erica

    Ulcerative Enteritis questions

    Hi Lobzi, is there any chance of seeing the full necropsy report? Preliminary reports can be pretty vague. I'm not sure there's any point to treating with a specific antibiotic -- most antibiotics target particular things, so it might well be a good idea to see if the full report shows evidence...
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